Notes From A Beautiful Greek Island
How to go on an extended holiday while having the most productive time of your life
Ask almost anyone with a PhD about writing their thesis and they will tell you how much they hated it, what a painful and excruciating process it was, how much they were stressed by the looming deadline, and how many months they toiled over it, writing a few words every day.
Ask me the same thing and I will tell you that it was an incredibly enjoyable experience, and it took less than six weeks from the first word to the completed thesis.
It was simultaneously one of the most productive as well as relaxed and stress free times of my life. In fact it felt like I was on holiday the entire time.
And in a way, I was.
Other than most PhD candidates who write their thesis in their usual environment, locking themselves into their rooms, their university offices, or the library, I decided to get a change of scenery.
I was already fairly used to a digital nomad lifestyle, having spent more time in London’s various coffee shops than at my office at Imperial College, and sometimes not being in London for weeks at a time.
So I decided to take it to the next level for the final stage of my PhD.
More than just change my environment, I wanted to get a break from city life and force myself to disconnect as much as possible. I also wanted to explore a place I had never been to before, and to surround myself by nature. Inspired by writings such as Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, I also wanted to spend some time living near water, be it lakes, rivers, or the ocean.
Given these criteria, as well as some other considerations, I decided that I wanted to write my thesis in Greece. Being the birthplace of so much of Western culture, it seemed like a fitting place to compile my academic achievements thus far into a single coherent work.
I estimated that it should take me no more than three months to complete my thesis. Since I had already accepted a job in Tokyo starting from November 1, I could use that as an artificial deadline and work back from there, concluding that I should start writing around mid August.
To commit to this, I told my landlords that I would be moving out at the end of July. This would give me enough time to move my belongings to my family home in Germany before relocating to my writing spot.
Having roughly decided on a location and timeframe, I could start working out the details. Where exactly should I go? And how would I find a place to stay?
Instead of wasting countless hours on researching and finding a place to stay, I decide to post a job advert on upwork.com. The ad read
Web research for short-term apartment rental in Greece
I am planning to spend some time from mid-August to the end of October in a slightly remote location to focus on a project I’m working on. For this I need some research done on renting an apartment.
I want you to compile a list of 3–5 apartments in Greece. The apartments must be available during this time and satisfy certain other criteria (see below). I would also like to know some details on why these apartments would be a good fit.
The main criteria are:
1. Available starting any time between August 15-August 26, and until October 31
2. The apartment should not be in a big city. More remote locations are preferred, as long as all daily necessities are easily accessible
3. Double bed
4. Kitchen (doesn’t need to be big)
5. Near water (ocean, lake or river). On an island would be nice but not necessary.Internet access is also very important. I would like you to research if the apartments have internet access and also what other options are available (for example pocket WiFi) and how much they would cost.
For each apartment I would also like to know how they can be accessed from the closest international airport.
After getting replies from several freelancers, I selected a Greek local for the job. And I really didn’t regret my decision!
Not only did she save me a lot of time doing the research myself, she was able to find places I would have never been able to find, for prices I wouldn’t have gotten. The $40 I payed for the job were more than made up for by the saved time and cheaper rent.
Out of the places she listed for me, I chose a wonderful little house on the beautiful yet little known island of Syros in the Aegean Sea.
Nestled into the mountains overlooking the small port town Ermoupoli, it was a perfect mix of remoteness and beautiful natural scenery, while still providing fairly easy access to everyday necessities.
“To cleave that sea in the gentle autumnal season, murmuring the name of each islet, is to my mind the joy most apt to transport the heart of man into paradise.”
— Zorba the Greek
With barely any effort on my side, it was all settled.
On a warm evening in mid August 2016, carrying a suitcase that contained the many notebooks I had accumulated during my PhD, I arrived on Syros via ferry from Athens. At the port I was immediately picked up and warmly welcomed by my wonderful landlords who not only made sure I felt at home on Syros, but also introduced me to the local culture.
After spending the first few days exploring the island, I quickly settled into a routine of contemplative solitude and deliberate rest, interspersed with short but highly focused writing sessions.
Getting up around 9 or 10 am, fairly early by my standards at the time, I would start my day meditating and stretching, before setting out for a short run in the mountains or riding the little scooter I had rented to one of the beautiful beaches for a quick swim.
Afterwards I would leisurely make a nice big breakfast, for example fried eggs and avocado on some freshly baked bread.
Breakfast was usually followed by an hour or so of reading. Only after this, in the early afternoon, I would have my first 60 to 90 minute block of writing for the day, often in a small cafe in town. Despite only writing for a short time, my morning routine had put me in a state of calm focus and the words usually flowed freely.
At no point during this time did I experienced anything akin to writer’s block.
Having gotten some writing done, and maybe also having had a light lunch at the cafe I was writing in, I would usually head back home for a nap, which allowed my brain to subconsciously process the previously written. This was often followed by exploring the island a bit more, doing grocery shopping, going for a swim, walking along the beach, or some more reading. All activities that didn’t involve consciously thinking about “work”.
Many afternoons were also spent baking bread, a habit I really enjoyed not only for its delicious results, but also for its meditative aspects. Besides that, it was scientifically surprisingly interesting, almost like performing a new experiment with every batch.
“I made a study of the ancient and indispensable art of bread-making.”
— Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Before cooking dinner I would have my second writing session of the day, again for about 60 to 90 minutes.
Afterwards there would again be plenty of time for undistracted thought. I often used this time to work on some other side projects, like teaching myself about AI and Deep Learning, a topic I was just getting into during that time.
As with the thesis writing, I spend considerably less active time on these side projects than during the months leading up to this, but made significantly more progress. Not to mention that I got a much deeper quality of insights that I could have never gotten to by sheer quantity of time spent on these pursuits.
Eventually I would pour myself a glass of wine and sit down for one more late night writing session.
The wine’s effect generally started out as a productivity and creativity boost, and then gradually shifted to me getting easily distracted. That’s when I knew it was time to wrap up for the day, maybe watch a movie and read some fiction to wind down (possibly with another glass or two of wine), and finally get some good sleep.
“How simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else. And all that is required to feel that here and now is happiness is a simple, frugal heart.”
— Zorba the Greek
This kind of routine is certainly not what most people would associate with peak productivity. After all I spent less than four hours a day actively “working”.
Yet it was exactly this leisurely schedule that allowed me to write my thesis faster than anyone else I know, while simultaneously having a wonderfully relaxing time and even completing some other side projects I had been stuck with for a while.
I have previously written at length about why this seemingly idle lifestyle is so exceptionally conducive to productivity and flow, and how these lessons can be incorporated in a more normal lifestyle that doesn’t involve moving to a remote island.
One of the core ideas is that productivity can be broken down into four phases: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification.
Our normal working habits almost entirely ignore the crucial incubation phase, and as a result not only leave us feeling stressed, but also prevent us from reaching true mental clarity and the resulting deep insights of illumination.
Other writers on Medium, such as Zat Rana in this story, have also written extensively about the fact that working less is by no means equivalent to being less productive.
In many cases, particularly when the work contains a creative component, the opposite is true (up to a certain extent of course). Yet overwork and busyness are so ingrained in our current culture, seen as badges of honour and validation, that the idea of being more productive by working less still seems entirely foreign, even ridiculous, to most people.
I really encourage everyone to try something similar.
Yes, depending on your circumstances it might not be as easy to get an extended period of time off. But turning into a digital nomad is becoming increasingly easy and more compatible with a large variety of professions.
And many of the excuses people use to justify to themsevels and others why they can’t do this are simply not valid!
Think you can’t afford renting an entire house on an idyllic Greek island? Well, guess what, I actually saved quite a bit of money compared to living in London in my tiny 21 square meter studio flat. And there are still far cheaper and no less beautiful locations than the Aegean Sea.
There are probably many more excuses popping into your head why you can’t do this. Many of them are addressed for example in Rolf Potts’ wonderful book Vagabonding — An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, and if you are even remotely interested in trying a similar experience I highly recommend it.
One of the books I enjoyed re-reading during my weeks on Syros was Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The titular character Alexis Zorba personifies a passion for life. He is full of vices and faults. But despite these, or maybe because of them, he is an incredible teacher, an unconventional sage, and an admirable role model.
“It’s all because of doing things by halves, saying things by halves, that the world is in the mess it is in today. Do things properly by God! One good knock for each nail and you’ll win through! God hates a halfdevil ten times more than an archdevil!”
— Zorba the Greek
Take these words of Zorba to heart.
Don’t take half-assed holidays and trips that last a few days, during which you keep checking your work email constantly.
Fully disconnect and work on that project you wanted to complete for so long. And give yourselves ample time to relax and recharge. Don’t consider this time wasted or unproductive. It is just as crucial to the creative process as the time you actually spend conciously working.
Work less in order to get more done. You will be surprised by the creative and productive power you will discover within yourself.
And very likely the positive effects will last much longer than the actual trip itself, long after you have settled back into your normal life. If you choose to go back to your normal life at all…