Day in The Life of a Creative Director in Los Angeles

What's it like working at a startup company in Los Angeles? How do you take a slow and steady approach to a busy lifestyle? How do you get more stuff done in a day? Hello, 👋 I'm Matthew Encina. I work as a creative professional in beautiful Los Angeles, California. In a previous life, I was a designer, animator, and a creative director working on TV commercials. Now I teach and create content at The Futur, an education startup, where I help creative professionals sharpen their skills and earn money, doing what they love. This is a typical day in my life. ▬▬▬▬▬ Details & Links ▬▬▬▬▬ By using some of the affiliate links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This is the easiest way to support me and helps me continue making content like this for you. Thank you 🙏 🎧 Do you like the music in this video? It's all from MusicBed. Use my link to get your first 30 days for free: http://share.mscbd.fm/matthewencinamusic 🎒 What gear do I use? Complete list here: https://kit.co/MatthewEncina/what-s-in-my-bag-camera-tech-design-gear 0:00 – Who am I? 0:20 – LA drone footage provided by Mark Contreras 👨💻 0:25 – What do I do for a living? I was a Creative Director at https://blind.com/ Now I make content and teach at https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere ⏰ 0:52 – I try to wake up between 6-7am every day to make the most of the morning. ☕️ 1:06 – I LOVE coffee. Below are my favorite coffee tools. Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle: https://geni.us/StaggEKG AeroPress Coffee Maker: https://geni.us/aero Hario Cold Brew: https://geni.us/HarioColdBrew 📱1:28 – I start my day with a dose of GOOD social media @matthewencina. Tip: If you don't like your feed, curate it. Unfollow accounts and hide content that doesn't enrich your life. 💪🏽 1:40 – I climb, box, dance, and lift weights to stay in shape. My workout headphones are the Power Beats Pro: https://geni.us/PowerBeats 📝 2:15 – Writing is my brain workout. I write articles on Medium: https://medium.com/@UCSLeoz5odIGS2GdlbHbCAUg Take a tour of my home office: https://youtu.be/JFqiSr9A-Go 🗣 2:30 – I give talks around the world. Here's one from TED x CSULB: https://youtu.be/Ow2cZxpY2TE 🤼♀️ 3:00 – To keep my team productive and organized we use these tools: Practical Project Management: https://thefutur.com/course/practical-project-management The App we used to run a virtual post-it note session: https://mural.co Project management in Notion: https://bit.ly/3FMdM1g Sprint by Jake Knapp: https://geni.us/DesignSprint I also recommend AJ & Smart to learn about Design Sprints: https://www.youtube.com/ajsmart 🖥 3:35 – Personal planning, inside my office Notion, my favorite organization tool: http://bit.ly/2MUXPMy Here's an interview I did on how I use Notion: https://youtu.be/_zEItBna0zI My appointment app: https://calendly.com My email app: https://sparkmailapp.com Like my office? Take a tour: https://youtu.be/cNJYWHhXM58 🌮 4:25 – LA, hands down, has the best food in the world. I eat healthy (most of the time), and I'm slowly getting on board with this vegan thing 😛. ☕️ 4:48 – Coffee part 2. Revenge of the 3pm energy slump. At work I use a Chemex to make coffee: https://geni.us/chemex 🤔 5:24 – Focus Sprints help you get so much done. I explain Focus Sprints, and how to reclaim your productivity in this video: https://youtu.be/ybaom7OVtIw The clock is the Amazon Echo Spot (Update 12/19: they've discontinued, and replaced with the Echo Show): https://geni.us/BsC1UW 🎮 5:40 – Taking breaks is as important as working hard. We love to play Smash Brothers in Nintendo Switch: https://geni.us/NinSwitch 👨💻 6:04 – Learn all about our creative community https://thefutur.com/ 🕹 7:02 – Decompression I spend most evenings playing Xbox after dinner: https://geni.us/onex 👩🎨 7:14 – My wife is an artist You can check out her work: https://www.instagram.com/belindarodriguezzz/ Take a tour of her mini art studio here: https://kit.com/MatthewEncina/art-workspace-supply-organization _ Hello. I'm Matthew Encina. I'm the Chief Content Officer at The Futur and a Creative Director at Blind. I’m a Filipino-American. Born and raised in LA. You can find me on many platforms: Instagram (Workspace Aesthetics): https://www.instagram.com/modmusings/ Instagram (Creative Projects & Thoughts): https://www.instagram.com/matthewencina/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matthewencina.design/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthewencina Kit: https://kit.co/MatthewEncina The Futur: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere/ Medium: https://medium.com/@UCSLeoz5odIGS2GdlbHbCAUg Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewencina/ #DayInTheLife #Productivity #Startup #TheFutur #MatthewEncina _ DISCLAIMERS: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Some of the products featured here were provided to me.