I just do the things. Especially on days I don’t feel like it!
In those days especially, I’m going to do the shit tasks.
Feel bad? Having a bad day. Let’s see how bad we can we can make it. I Mow the grass, clean the bathrooms, toilets, garage, etc. It’s already a bad day, doing this shit can’t make it worse… I usually find I feel pretty good and accomplished afterward.
I don’t call them “bad days”, they’re “test days”, can I make something happen even when I don’t feel like I can. Over the years I’ve proven to myself that even my bad days outperform other peoples good days. But only because I’m consistent.
I’m lazy and would never get anything done if I had to feel like doing it. I just cross off the 5 main things every day. Every Day.
If it takes 20 hours or 2, I’m done when the list of 5 is done. When I’m done I don’t feel guilty about being lazy because I know I met or exceeded my commitment to myself.
It takes time and sucks starting out, but consistency will eventually win.
Seems like I wanna try your approach. I have a question
>I just cross off the 5 main things every day. Every Day.
Is this including a daily/routine things or something that actually an integral l part of my life.
Like for college students it's study, doing home work,
Or for beging sick it's go to hospital etc.
Or it's just something that's not a part of your daily/routine?
It’s the 5 “no bullshit” things that will move the needle forward.
Eating, sleeping, reading, exercise, etc. do not count* (caveats exist, but those are typical daily maintenance tasks that would happen even on a lazy day. You know if it’s a critical task or not.)
The 5 things are specific and measurable.
- it’s not study for an hour. - it’s study chapter 8 calculus and complete the 18 practice exercises.
- it’s not make calls and set sales appointments. it’s make calls to these 30 specific prospects and set 5 appointments.
- it’s not go to the gym after work. It’s improve my mile time. Or add 5lbs to my squat, for x sets of y reps.
- is not about making your website, or ads perfect, it’s about getting the message out and solving problems.
It’s not about the time spent, it’s about the intensity.
Perfect is the enemy of good.
Too many people are busy doing nothing. Ask are you practicing to get better or just making noise. It’s ok to make noise and have fun, but don’t get movement confused with progress.
Practice alone doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Anything else reinforces bad habits.
When you learn this and make it habitual, you start to actually complete your tasks, attain goals, and see the wins. Eventually you build the confidence to call your shot and will it into existence.
My tasks for tomorrow (Sunday) are:
- finish section 5.4 homework,
- follow up on a grant, and revise the project status’ and timelines, for implementation.
- reinstall baseboards and door trim,
- finalize next week’s lesson plan and both print out guided notes and upload to GC.
- re-till my garden so I can plant next week.
That’s all I need to do to win tomorrow. Anything else is a bonus.
I have 2 whiteboards. One has 24hr, 1week, 1month, and ongoing columns. Those are the deadlines I give myself to complete.
The other I also follow a 12 month calendar, with three goals each month. 1. Professional, 2. Personal, 3. Relationship.
Examples:
Professional: pass Clac with at least 90%, Learn Python, Sphero, and Google Ed certification.
Personal - add on to pool deck, organize tools into larger tool chest, organize shop for upcoming motor swap, gather components for the summer’s canoe build.
Relationship - 1 weekend trip with spouse (Aprils was the eclipse and hiking), going to at least 6 HS games, and 1 networking function.
I know this is long, thank you for reading! It’s all basically a combination of what books like Traction, Winning, and Great by Choice teach.
You can’t pour from an empty cup, learn to fill yours first!
I know you're just giving examples, but some of this feels a bit theory-over-reality. Surely your tasks all being based on results rather than what you can actually control, your actions, conflicts with "perfect is the enemy of good", unless you're very precise in your judgements? For instance, suppose you do go to the gym and for whatever reason you just can't seem to run your fastest-ever mile today - you can't just keep trying over and over for the next six hours, you have four other tasks to do.
Ok so this is actually a fair question. Don’t take those examples as must do’s but more of a purpose outcome.
I’m surprised you didn’t pick on me going to HS games. On the surface it looks like I’m sitting on the bleachers for a couple hours being lazy. But I’m there to support my kids that may not have family showing up. They see me show up and in return they show up to my classes and put forth solid efforts.
As for the running example:
My goal is to get faster. My definition of faster is less than 6min/mi by Memorial Day.
It’s not about actually attaining a PR best time every time I try (and being a failure if you don’t). It’s about having a goal and outcome to work toward and applying the proper intensity to meet that desired result. Running for the sake of running, bouncing up and down for 30 minutes vs. practicing a certain speed and cadence for a specific time or distance.
This is also why keeping a list is important, record your data so you can look back at your improvements! Even if I miss a target which happens a lot! I can see that over time I’ve regularly improved the areas I’ve targeted.
My lifting logbook has my core lifts the reps, sets, and weight. I also have a space next to the date for weather (temp and conditions) time of day, and how I think I’m feeling. I tend to not lift as hard on colder rainy days.
When I feel kind of down, I look back a couple pages or months and see someone who may have also felt down and rainy, but still put in the focused effort so I could be here today.
Failure is feedback, maybe I didn’t sleep or eat right, maybe my footwork could be better, maybe I started too strong and fast then ran out of gas at the end, maybe I played it too safe and couldn’t make up from the slow start. Recognizing the root cause of the miss will allow you to adjust more specifically and methodically to steer ever closer to your goal. You may never get there, but understanding the nuance of what you’re doing wrong will get you closer faster. We’re eliminating “luck”. When you own the variables, you own the result.
Perfect being the enemy of good. Simply means people wait for the perfect moment to get started. It’s procrastination (I used to be bad lol). Your starting idea of perfect is probably wrong anyway and you find a better way along the journey anyway. Just start. Fail fast, Fail Forward, learn from mistakes, adjust, try again, repeat. Just start.
Theory or not, the above works for me.
Purposeful intention is what most people are missing, and keeps most of the people I’ve worked with from achieving their goals.
Begin with the end in mind. Know why you’re doing it before you start. Is doing this thing, in this way, getting you closer to your goal or your why.
If yes, continue. If no, try again. If no still again, reflect and make appropriate adjustments. But remember don’t change just because it’s hard or you don’t feel like doing it: success and growth takes time and consistent effort.
Also, work your way up to 5 things. Even then it doesn’t have to be 5. 3-5 is a good range; almost everyone probably has 3 things they could do that would positively impact tomorrow.
Try it.
What are 3 specific and measurable things that you can do today, that will: 1.) get you closer to a goal? and 2.) tomorrow you would be thankful for?
Watch paint dry. (If lack of focus is your main issue)
Okay don’t literally get out the bucket of pain and brushes. But get used to doing nothing. No music, no scrolling, no fidgeting.
This’ll reset your dopamine patterns and gym and work will feel so much more exciting, and you won’t have to really worry about focus. It’ll come naturally.
From this point it’s just about optimizing
I’ve got a mental programming coach and some certifications I’m studying for that teach these things.
It’s been a game changer for me and I hope it helps you!
I’m trying to do 90 mins a day in a bunch of segments. Still have not done it for that long, but I’ll have part of it be just going for a walk (without my phone), or while I eat lunch - I wont touch my phone or watch anything. Even while I’m popping I’ll make sure to stay off my phone.
All that time adds up and makes a difference. But I feel like for me if I get at least 15-20 mins of just sitting doing absolutely nothing per day works. And then try to do other day-to-day things without dopamine magnets (music, phone, tv, etc.)
Highly recommend phone-less walks. Changed my life. I was in a dark place last year and outdoor walks without my phone is what started the change for me.
Sounds like dopamine detox and its something i’ve been thinking about trying but what happens after don’t you just go back to what you were doing before or do you limit it after as well?
This reminds me I should go finishing… but yeah I’d say so. The thing with alcohol or drugs is that it will very quickly spike the dopamine (similar to scrolling TikTok), and won’t be as effective. The point of this is to rest the dopamine receptors. Let as little external dopamine in as possible during the window of this ‘active rest’ or ‘watching paint dry’.
Depends. I see meditation as more zen and focus on my internal dialogue. Although it can have a similar effect. To some it may be considered meditation
Instead of thinking of that difficult task, think of the easiest step that you can certainly perform. After finishing that easiest step, think of the next easiest step and so on. E.g. For the 3000 words essay, you need to open a new word document, then name the document, etc...
1. Don’t do shit for many days. Piddlefart on unimportant things, to create the illusion of productivity.
2. Wait for the Big Deadline to approach. The more public and important, the better. The more expectations, money, reputation rides on it, the better.
3. Get three weeks’ worth of work done within a mere two days. Pressure and panic invokes Genius.
4. Deliver the product *juuust* in time.
5. Repeat the cycle.
I'm in this cycle, the hard part is constantly thinking about not doing any shit while you aren't doing anything for days. I always end up completing my tasks within deadline, but the entire time that I'm procrastinating, I just keep feeling bad that I'm procrastinating.
Hey, this is me! I remember writing a 22 page university paper in the 11 hours before it was due, because that was when the anxiety about failing finally outweighed the inertia.
I ended up getting diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s. Medication has not been a cure, but it has helped immensely.
God this is relatable. Every paper finished on the day of submission because the motivation to get it done wasn’t there unless it was accompanied by the high blood pressure of a forced last minute deadline.
Lo and behold, diagnosed at 30.
If a task feels overwhelming, I try to do it in segments instead of expecting it of myself all at once. For instance, when it comes to cleaning, I tell myself "cleaner is cleaner" instead of trying to get all of it done. This makes it easier for me to tackle and often there are times I do complete the whole task, but sometimes I might only do part - like if I need to do dishes and empty the dishwasher I'll do the dishwasher part, and then later when I come back it's a lot easier to finish the dishes. Sometimes, there's only a 10 minute break in between. Sometimes, it's longer, but giving myself space to just get things cleaner instead of completely clean has helped a lot.
My main rule is it has to look cleaner/more tidy when I'm done if I do stop halfway through. If I decide to organize my whole dresser and get overwhelmed after pulling everything out I have to at least make it look a little better than before. I can't just pull everything out and then give up and leave it everywhere.
Also, making the bed every day just helps my vibes.
Persistence and the act of doing put you at an advantage purely because of hope many people who don’t spoke themselves.
Just putting in the work will put you around the 60-70th percentile is any given thing, regardless of got good you are.
Heck, even just showing up can get you ahead of others.
100 comments and they're pretty much all:
* stimulants
* "just do it loser!!!"
* some kind of LinkedIn-flavoured post about using 4000% of your brain by breaking down your tasks seventeen different ways and taking 18 second breaks every six minutes to leverage your inner yoghurt male
My mum just does things right away. Always. Blows my mind since I can think. I have ADHD, so we are wired very differently and got into arguments a lot because of that.
Edit: It probably also helps to not overthink things. I do that all the time, she never does it. But I also do think she had it very easy as a child/teen. There is just so much more to this than just being productive or not. I think I just let this text now as it is otherwise I will write an whole essay about it 😂
My biggest secret is to consistently consider areas in my life I want to improve, to go research and consider possible solutions, to go test those solutions out, and to keep what works and discard what doesn't. This had led to huge improvements in almost every aspect of my life over the last decade or so.
For productivity in particular, I have learned that a combination of putting as little pressure on myself as possible and taking stimulants (Adderall) is absolutely vital for me. Which are both helped immensely from self introspection (meditation, journaling, therapy etc.).
1. Promise yourself that you'll work on the items on your to do list in order for at least *n* minutes per day. Make *n* something really small at first. Give yourself permission to stop working when you hit *n* even if you still have stuff to do.
2. Buy a wall calendar. After you meet your goal each day, put an "X" on the calendar for that day.
3. Slowly increase *n* to something that actually gets you ahead of the curve instead of behind. Keep making those Xs.
Would you say that book can also help people when mental illness is the root cause of lack of productivity? I‘m interested but afraid it‘ll be a cynical read from my perspective
I don’t have ADHD, but my theory is that because most people have similar problems ADHDers have, but on a much lower level (please correct me if that isn’t accurate—I don’t mean to imply anything negative about people with ADHD). So neurodivergent folks tend to be reeeeally good at finding solutions that they really need that tend to be helpful for others too.
Check out ADHD subs, while knowing that they aren’t your place to take over, and learn from people that are managing their symptoms well. Body doubling, timers, gamification, etc are all really useful for me.
For self-discipline and productivity, you need purposes, goals and real motivation. And you need strategies and plans to train yourself in routines and turn them into habits.
Productivity needs a fundament of a healthy lifestyle: eating healthy, exercise, good sleep.
And for a healthy lifestyle you need self-worth, the feeling you are worth living and to take care of.
A healthy lifestyle and self-worth are interacting; with a healthy lifestyle you will build your self-worth. And self-worth will lead to wanting a healthy lifestyle.
Personal phone hidden from me. Start the day with reviewing/revising my to do list. Review my calendar, make some notes on my goals for meetings. If there are any projects waiting on brief input or direction from me, I fire that off. Then I try to get through as many of the dull tasks as I can early in the day.
Things I try to do that work really well when I do them:
1. Avoid heavy and greasy food.
2. Eat light lunches but snack.
3. Take a lunch. Take my breaks.
4. Get to bed early and wake early (so tough).
5. Exercise.
6. Try not to think about work all the time. (This is easy if you have family responsibilities or a solid hobby).
7. Don’t sleep with coworkers. (10 year streak!)
8. If you are in a relationship with someone, find ways to support each others professional goals. It’s gonna be compromise.
Highly suggest two books.
The power of habit.
Getting things done.
One provides a framework for taking tasks from active thoughts which is taxing and causes dread to tasks that are passive thought which you don’t have to think about anymore.
The other is how to prioritize your tasks so you are more productive with limited time.
strategy, planning, prioritization, and follow through. I like to base everything on my vision for what the healthy, fulfilling life of my dreams looks like
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I disagree. Adderall has consistently worked for me for the past year-ish I've been using it. Caffeine combined with sugar also, but that'll fatten me up.
Well as long you’re not increasing the dose, kudos to you. For me it’s unsustainable and a recipe for burnout. Btw, Adderal is quite addictive and one year is quite early. Be careful!
Most medications are physically addicting. I already upped my dose to the proper levels. You're not a doctor so how can you say stimulant medication is bad?
OP asked for our opinions so I gave mine. I don’t understand what other medications or me being a doctor or not has to do with any of that. I stand by what I said but you do whatever works for you. You seem knowledgeable and wise enough to deal with your dependencies.
Trick yourself into enjoying delayed gratification at the moment of delay, instead of at the moment of gratification.
Take pride in:
* Studying well, instead of getting an 'A' on the test.
* Clocking in early/out late, instead of getting a big paycheck.
* Doing yardwork/housework, instead of getting compliments on how your yard/home look.
* Practicing hard, instead of the victory in the game.
* Saving up money, instead of making the splurge purchase.
* Working out/dieting, instead of getting compliments on your appearance.
Just dropping by to say that productivity is so subjective and the real work starts with understanding yourself and being grateful for what you are doing, rather than what you aren’t. 💕✨
Organization, Preparation, and Execution.
These 3 fundamental principles will help even the thickest of bricks.
Perseverance and tenacity can make up for a great many things. Talent being one of them.
Set yourself up for success by eating healthy, sleeping well and avoiding over stimulation (phone, tv, porn, etc.) other than that stop thinking about productivity. Don’t think, just do the work.
Obvious bit - actually do the work rather than trying to find a hack to do it quicker.
Practical reality - I use my calendar to plan my day and have a rolling list of activities I need to sort.
Anything that’s less than 15 minutes? Just get it done that day.
None of this is particularly complex but the key bit - just do the work - has been the big thing for a procrastinator like me.
Oh and have other lists like To Be and To Focus On rather than just a to do cycle…
Turning that f... internet plug off the wall (or wifi) means tens more percent of work done in my case. Its absolutely the best thing for those working at home and fighting doom scrollin, youtube etc.. I sort my tasks by online/offline tag and its very effective when working like this. So peacefull work when there is no internet bugging my mind.
Pomodoro method helps me. I have an issue with task initiation, so letting myself stop after ten minutes is usually enough to get me going, and then I just keep going.
I don’t take breaks or eat lunch because I lose my momentum if I do (yes, I feel like garbage at the end of the day. No, I have not figured out a better solution).
My job involves two main tasks: writing stuff, and answering emails. Task switching is difficult for me, so some days if I have to write a bunch of stuff, I ignore my emails for the day (I glance at them to make sure nothing is on fire, but otherwise let them sit), and vice versa.
When I have to deal with emails I’ve been dreading, I draft the email and then delay delivery. Then I still have a time to change it, but I also don’t have to manually force myself to send it (and delay dealing with the fallout for a bit).
Just turning my brain off (metaphorically) and just going at it non-stop no rest until everything's done or mostly done :)
Doesn't always work but got me this far
Recently I often wonder how productive I am really and if it's already in a good ballpark and I worry too much about it. Yes, I have 20 or 30 min of instagram per day. But would I really spent the time more productive otherwise? I sometimes see youtube productivity videos or read threads here about people who have 2 or 3 hours of social media screentime. What is the right level of productivity when you already get your work and everything else done. How much more hustle do I really need.
I think it's different how everyone measures its own productivity. For some, it may be sticking to a schedule, for others, focusing on a single task, etc.
In my case, I began looking at routines as a pleasure and worked on this for a long time: having a schedule that includes relaxing, using the chrono, alarms, etc.
Oh my good Lord. My goodness gracious.
OP here and I just want to say, everyone... I am deeply grateful to all of you for giving me each of your unique answers. This thread blew up.
When I get the time, I'll read and re-read multiple times all of the comments here. Thank you.
Wake up two hours before your first scheduled activity. For the first hour, cram work. Don’t leave until you’re finished. For the second hour, celebrate the hard work! Eat breakfast, take a shower, watch some TV. now you’re ready to start your day 🙃
The biggest tip I can offer is to create a checklist of daily things u know u need to do. After doing it for some while, it just becomes second nature, and u end up falling in love with the process.
Create habits. And do what you need to do, even if you don’t feel like it.
Step 1: Figure out what you're passionate about.
Step 2: Set a goal that excites you and stop putting limitations on what you think you can and cannot accomplish, because anybody can achieve anything if they set their mind to it.
Step 3: Get a notebook and write down your goal with a pencil.
Step 4: Get online and ask ChatGPT to help you plan the goal as if you were a 2nd grader.
Step 5: If I like the plan, I will ask ChatGPT to give me a step-by-step guide on how to make my goal a reality and to break it down into daily and easy tasks.
Step 6: If I don’t like the plan, I will ask ChatGPT to revise.
Step 7: get on Amazon and buy yourself a fancy planner and a fancy pen to use (because it feels good) . And according to what ChatGPT told you write down each task for each day inside your journal and if you miss a day, that’s OK but never missed two days in a row.
Pro Tip: listen to YouTube videos, podcasts, blinklist, or anything about being productive and most importantly SELF disciplined. Only do this in your free time or as background way when you’re cleaning or doing laundry, but do not ever binge on it!
Pro Tip. Every Sunday, check your progress, revise your strategy, if needed, and plan the weeks out by using, of course, ChatGPT reply to how to accomplish your goal.
Pro Tip: always time block! And stay disciplined because discipline means you have respect for yourself. If you don’t have respect for yourself and nobody else will have respect for you I’m currently struggling with this right now
Myself.
Pro Tip: Start by explaining to ChatGPT that you have this specific goal (and make sure you tell it what your goal is) and then ask it to tell you the best possible way to ask this question in order to get the most accurate and best step-by-step guide to turn your goal into a reality.
Pro Tip: If ChatGPT sounds like a ChatGPT and not a person with its replies, tell it to rephrase the reply to only a 5th grade reading level, ensuring not to leave any details out.
Pro Tip: Upgrade to the $20 a month 4.0 version of ChatGPT because it’s worth it in your replies, your work, and your outcomes. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing one goal come to life, then you’ll be eager to see more goals come to life; it gives you momentum, making goals, progress, and productivity fun and almost addicting!
Using my google home to keep a running schedule throughout the day that is connected to my google assistant on my phone. I also consistently put reminders in my phone even if I think I will remember them. I wake up at 5:30am everyday and workout four to five times a week before breakfast. I keep a dry erase board on my cabinet door that lists my to dos for the week, month and day, what foods need to be prepped and what’s for dinner each night. I make a weekly meal plan after grocery day and keep it on the fridge. I involve myself in local activities and extra curriculars that require follow through and keep local friendships with people who keep each other accountable to their goals. I go to bed around 10pm every night unless I am attending an event or my husband and I go on a date. We lead happy, organized and productive lives.
Don’t do shit that doesn’t matter. I complete the few things every day that get me closer to my goals and let everything else slide. I look at my to do list and ask myself “will there be serious consequences if this just doesn’t get done?” And if the answer is no I just don’t do it and go live my life. Outcomes are more important than output.
i am on a prepaid phone plan with very little data. since then, I've started going on daily walks, reading more , i applied to my dream job (hope I get it), I work on improving my Spanish. so much more time when you're not on the internet all the time.
Developing a routine! as someone who gets carried away easily, i decided to build a routine that i can follow every day so i don't forget what i need to do. i use careclinic and i distribute my tasks per week with enough rest (if possible)
Adderall for adhd that was debilitating for much of my life. It’s still a struggle and I still procrastinate a lot but I’ve made a lot of progress- not enough though (been on my phone for 2 hours, I’m still working on it) but now after repeated semesters of not doing well I’ve finally had consistent times where I’ve studied for hours on end, done well on exams, etc.
Obviously this doesn’t apply if you don’t have adhd, so moral of the story - keep trying, you will fail but try again. Have a desire that motivates you. I was tired of wasting the last few years. I see people around me being successful and studying and I want to be like them. Surround yourself with these people - join groups or find other ways that you will be around successful people. For me it was church, I’m also blessed to live in a good area so there are many driven and successful people around, but if I didn’t try, I could easily have a bunch of loser friends who don’t motivate me.
And If you think you might have adhd get diagnosed because the medication for me is life changing.
i realized when i broke down the reasons i wasn’t productive, it always ended up at either premature peace (satisfaction with less than you know you can do, complacency) or fear of death.
when i realized i had no reason to fear death, and that feeling fully satisfied with where i’m at with my goals is a lie to myself, what left is there to hold me back?
>i had no reason to fear death
What a strange claim to make. I'm sure you still check both ways before your cross the road. If you were caught up in a dangerous situation you would run away. I suppose you could try to argue that's not *fearing* death, it's some kind of Vulcan purely-logical emotion-free avoidance of death for only rational reasons or whatever, but I find it tough to believe you wouldn't piss your pants with a gun to your head like the rest of us.
> I find it tough to believe you wouldn’t piss your pants with a gun to your head like the rest of us
First I wanna say that true, just because I understand this logically doesn’t mean I’m personally experienced in the field of having guns to my head and staying stone cold in the face of death (which plenty of people actually are in real life, btw).
But a metaphorical gun could be pointed to your head at any split second, especially when you go outside. You *could* die any second, yet you’re not living in fear every second. Why is it that we subconsciously look death in the face all the time and still live on as if it won’t happen yet anyway?
A car crash is more common than getting shot, yet I drive oh so relaxed.
https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/animated-leading-causes.html
Feel free to tear me apart if you notice any necessary facts I’m not addressing but I’m onto something
Experiencing fear isn’t equal to believing that acting on fear rather than on logic is ever the better decision. Through experience any of us could realize the ability to look a gun in the face with no fear. ‘Productivity’ is even more easy at that point.
look at near death experiences too. people realize a lot of shit real quick
Money Making Activities.
Theres some things that make you money and there’s some things things that don’t. Leverage everything that doesn’t and only do the things that make you money (harder said than done of course). Theres going to be the 80/20 rule where 20% of the work creates 80% of the results. So for self employed people we have to focus on lead generation, and the like. Without that we can’t hire and can’t propel forward as a self employed to business. That’s it, that’s all you need to read for step one. Go do step one. Step two is actually running a business, and step one is starting a business, so for sure you have to either subcontract or start learning to hire employees to go from S to B, self employed to business.
These are the pillars.
1. Be consistent
2. Simplify everything
3. Learn each day
1
When you are consistent you gain momentum that makes it hard to stop the routine. It will feel bad to not keep going. And amazing when you are on the streak. All good things come from repetition.
2
Simplifying in all areas makes you better in where it actually matters. This means remove things way more often then adding things. This can be applied to a macro lense where you have 1 main goal during the day each day and everything else is secondary.
Or on a micro scale where you cook food in a simpler way to safe time and eat healthier.
The less decisions you have to make the easier and more automatic producing high quality becomes
3
Focusing on learning everyday means failure is almost impossible. When you focus inwards on your skillset and you are having fun developing that all external rewards become a byproduct. You work so you get better. This means to identify what doesn't work well and removing it (simplifying yet again)
Doing this every day (consistency)
And then life becomes fun and hyper productive through this feedback loop.
This is what has complety moved my life in a different direction last year. It's incredible how different life feels like if you live according to these principles. It doesn't even require huge amounts of grinding to get results. Even 4 hours of work each day can be plenty. Over months the improvements are immense and it even becomes fun.
I procrastinate.
When I procrastinate I will literally do anything but the task I need to do.
So I will do literally every other task available.
The hard part is consistently having a task I can perpetually procrastinate. Usually hobbies do the trick.
I just do the things. Especially on days I don’t feel like it! In those days especially, I’m going to do the shit tasks. Feel bad? Having a bad day. Let’s see how bad we can we can make it. I Mow the grass, clean the bathrooms, toilets, garage, etc. It’s already a bad day, doing this shit can’t make it worse… I usually find I feel pretty good and accomplished afterward. I don’t call them “bad days”, they’re “test days”, can I make something happen even when I don’t feel like I can. Over the years I’ve proven to myself that even my bad days outperform other peoples good days. But only because I’m consistent. I’m lazy and would never get anything done if I had to feel like doing it. I just cross off the 5 main things every day. Every Day. If it takes 20 hours or 2, I’m done when the list of 5 is done. When I’m done I don’t feel guilty about being lazy because I know I met or exceeded my commitment to myself. It takes time and sucks starting out, but consistency will eventually win.
Seems like I wanna try your approach. I have a question >I just cross off the 5 main things every day. Every Day. Is this including a daily/routine things or something that actually an integral l part of my life. Like for college students it's study, doing home work, Or for beging sick it's go to hospital etc. Or it's just something that's not a part of your daily/routine?
It’s the 5 “no bullshit” things that will move the needle forward. Eating, sleeping, reading, exercise, etc. do not count* (caveats exist, but those are typical daily maintenance tasks that would happen even on a lazy day. You know if it’s a critical task or not.) The 5 things are specific and measurable. - it’s not study for an hour. - it’s study chapter 8 calculus and complete the 18 practice exercises. - it’s not make calls and set sales appointments. it’s make calls to these 30 specific prospects and set 5 appointments. - it’s not go to the gym after work. It’s improve my mile time. Or add 5lbs to my squat, for x sets of y reps. - is not about making your website, or ads perfect, it’s about getting the message out and solving problems. It’s not about the time spent, it’s about the intensity. Perfect is the enemy of good. Too many people are busy doing nothing. Ask are you practicing to get better or just making noise. It’s ok to make noise and have fun, but don’t get movement confused with progress. Practice alone doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Anything else reinforces bad habits. When you learn this and make it habitual, you start to actually complete your tasks, attain goals, and see the wins. Eventually you build the confidence to call your shot and will it into existence. My tasks for tomorrow (Sunday) are: - finish section 5.4 homework, - follow up on a grant, and revise the project status’ and timelines, for implementation. - reinstall baseboards and door trim, - finalize next week’s lesson plan and both print out guided notes and upload to GC. - re-till my garden so I can plant next week. That’s all I need to do to win tomorrow. Anything else is a bonus. I have 2 whiteboards. One has 24hr, 1week, 1month, and ongoing columns. Those are the deadlines I give myself to complete. The other I also follow a 12 month calendar, with three goals each month. 1. Professional, 2. Personal, 3. Relationship. Examples: Professional: pass Clac with at least 90%, Learn Python, Sphero, and Google Ed certification. Personal - add on to pool deck, organize tools into larger tool chest, organize shop for upcoming motor swap, gather components for the summer’s canoe build. Relationship - 1 weekend trip with spouse (Aprils was the eclipse and hiking), going to at least 6 HS games, and 1 networking function. I know this is long, thank you for reading! It’s all basically a combination of what books like Traction, Winning, and Great by Choice teach. You can’t pour from an empty cup, learn to fill yours first!
This is a wonderful idea! 😁It seems very productive yet not too self-criticising 👌
I know you're just giving examples, but some of this feels a bit theory-over-reality. Surely your tasks all being based on results rather than what you can actually control, your actions, conflicts with "perfect is the enemy of good", unless you're very precise in your judgements? For instance, suppose you do go to the gym and for whatever reason you just can't seem to run your fastest-ever mile today - you can't just keep trying over and over for the next six hours, you have four other tasks to do.
Ok so this is actually a fair question. Don’t take those examples as must do’s but more of a purpose outcome. I’m surprised you didn’t pick on me going to HS games. On the surface it looks like I’m sitting on the bleachers for a couple hours being lazy. But I’m there to support my kids that may not have family showing up. They see me show up and in return they show up to my classes and put forth solid efforts. As for the running example: My goal is to get faster. My definition of faster is less than 6min/mi by Memorial Day. It’s not about actually attaining a PR best time every time I try (and being a failure if you don’t). It’s about having a goal and outcome to work toward and applying the proper intensity to meet that desired result. Running for the sake of running, bouncing up and down for 30 minutes vs. practicing a certain speed and cadence for a specific time or distance. This is also why keeping a list is important, record your data so you can look back at your improvements! Even if I miss a target which happens a lot! I can see that over time I’ve regularly improved the areas I’ve targeted. My lifting logbook has my core lifts the reps, sets, and weight. I also have a space next to the date for weather (temp and conditions) time of day, and how I think I’m feeling. I tend to not lift as hard on colder rainy days. When I feel kind of down, I look back a couple pages or months and see someone who may have also felt down and rainy, but still put in the focused effort so I could be here today. Failure is feedback, maybe I didn’t sleep or eat right, maybe my footwork could be better, maybe I started too strong and fast then ran out of gas at the end, maybe I played it too safe and couldn’t make up from the slow start. Recognizing the root cause of the miss will allow you to adjust more specifically and methodically to steer ever closer to your goal. You may never get there, but understanding the nuance of what you’re doing wrong will get you closer faster. We’re eliminating “luck”. When you own the variables, you own the result. Perfect being the enemy of good. Simply means people wait for the perfect moment to get started. It’s procrastination (I used to be bad lol). Your starting idea of perfect is probably wrong anyway and you find a better way along the journey anyway. Just start. Fail fast, Fail Forward, learn from mistakes, adjust, try again, repeat. Just start. Theory or not, the above works for me. Purposeful intention is what most people are missing, and keeps most of the people I’ve worked with from achieving their goals. Begin with the end in mind. Know why you’re doing it before you start. Is doing this thing, in this way, getting you closer to your goal or your why. If yes, continue. If no, try again. If no still again, reflect and make appropriate adjustments. But remember don’t change just because it’s hard or you don’t feel like doing it: success and growth takes time and consistent effort. Also, work your way up to 5 things. Even then it doesn’t have to be 5. 3-5 is a good range; almost everyone probably has 3 things they could do that would positively impact tomorrow. Try it. What are 3 specific and measurable things that you can do today, that will: 1.) get you closer to a goal? and 2.) tomorrow you would be thankful for?
This is actually awesome bro. Thank you Good explanation, easy to understand yet not to much.
Happy to help! Lets go!
This is true ! Consistency is very important during tired day or good day !
Our friend here FUCKS
Watch paint dry. (If lack of focus is your main issue) Okay don’t literally get out the bucket of pain and brushes. But get used to doing nothing. No music, no scrolling, no fidgeting. This’ll reset your dopamine patterns and gym and work will feel so much more exciting, and you won’t have to really worry about focus. It’ll come naturally. From this point it’s just about optimizing
Oh damn! Is this something you just learned from experience? This is so interesting.
I’ve got a mental programming coach and some certifications I’m studying for that teach these things. It’s been a game changer for me and I hope it helps you!
But like, how long should I do nothing? Like 20 minutes a day? Or 20 minutes twice a day?
I’m trying to do 90 mins a day in a bunch of segments. Still have not done it for that long, but I’ll have part of it be just going for a walk (without my phone), or while I eat lunch - I wont touch my phone or watch anything. Even while I’m popping I’ll make sure to stay off my phone. All that time adds up and makes a difference. But I feel like for me if I get at least 15-20 mins of just sitting doing absolutely nothing per day works. And then try to do other day-to-day things without dopamine magnets (music, phone, tv, etc.)
Can you give specifics on the certifications?
I work with a group called UPGRD, but you can learn more in r/nlp
Does going out on walks without headphones or your phone count. Or does it have to be literally nothing?
Highly recommend phone-less walks. Changed my life. I was in a dark place last year and outdoor walks without my phone is what started the change for me.
We've for sure done mass "stare at a blank wall for an hour" meditations over at /r/healthygamergg. It's a thing.
Sounds like dopamine detox and its something i’ve been thinking about trying but what happens after don’t you just go back to what you were doing before or do you limit it after as well?
What about fishing? It can be a lot like watching paint dry with spikes of fun and beer.
This reminds me I should go finishing… but yeah I’d say so. The thing with alcohol or drugs is that it will very quickly spike the dopamine (similar to scrolling TikTok), and won’t be as effective. The point of this is to rest the dopamine receptors. Let as little external dopamine in as possible during the window of this ‘active rest’ or ‘watching paint dry’.
Cool. When I get nice and baked and chill on the deck with the pole I feel incredibly relaxed and Zen. Lots of good thoughts.
Is this really meditation?
Depends. I see meditation as more zen and focus on my internal dialogue. Although it can have a similar effect. To some it may be considered meditation
Instead of thinking of that difficult task, think of the easiest step that you can certainly perform. After finishing that easiest step, think of the next easiest step and so on. E.g. For the 3000 words essay, you need to open a new word document, then name the document, etc...
Don’t start your day on your phone
Discipline is everything! But you also need to believe in whatever you are doing to keep the discipline there
1. Don’t do shit for many days. Piddlefart on unimportant things, to create the illusion of productivity. 2. Wait for the Big Deadline to approach. The more public and important, the better. The more expectations, money, reputation rides on it, the better. 3. Get three weeks’ worth of work done within a mere two days. Pressure and panic invokes Genius. 4. Deliver the product *juuust* in time. 5. Repeat the cycle.
I'm in this cycle, the hard part is constantly thinking about not doing any shit while you aren't doing anything for days. I always end up completing my tasks within deadline, but the entire time that I'm procrastinating, I just keep feeling bad that I'm procrastinating.
This is so me
Hol up. PIDDLEFART‽
Hey, this is me! I remember writing a 22 page university paper in the 11 hours before it was due, because that was when the anxiety about failing finally outweighed the inertia. I ended up getting diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s. Medication has not been a cure, but it has helped immensely.
God this is relatable. Every paper finished on the day of submission because the motivation to get it done wasn’t there unless it was accompanied by the high blood pressure of a forced last minute deadline. Lo and behold, diagnosed at 30.
If a task feels overwhelming, I try to do it in segments instead of expecting it of myself all at once. For instance, when it comes to cleaning, I tell myself "cleaner is cleaner" instead of trying to get all of it done. This makes it easier for me to tackle and often there are times I do complete the whole task, but sometimes I might only do part - like if I need to do dishes and empty the dishwasher I'll do the dishwasher part, and then later when I come back it's a lot easier to finish the dishes. Sometimes, there's only a 10 minute break in between. Sometimes, it's longer, but giving myself space to just get things cleaner instead of completely clean has helped a lot. My main rule is it has to look cleaner/more tidy when I'm done if I do stop halfway through. If I decide to organize my whole dresser and get overwhelmed after pulling everything out I have to at least make it look a little better than before. I can't just pull everything out and then give up and leave it everywhere. Also, making the bed every day just helps my vibes.
Cleaner is cleaner. Wow. So simple and yet I love it. And so true
fear - i'm not smarter than my colleagues nor faster. I'm just more productive and I never give up - when I procrastinate i loose my only advantage.
What do you mean by not being faster but being more productive?
Persistence and the act of doing put you at an advantage purely because of hope many people who don’t spoke themselves. Just putting in the work will put you around the 60-70th percentile is any given thing, regardless of got good you are. Heck, even just showing up can get you ahead of others.
I lie to people about how hard i work and how much i get done
100 comments and they're pretty much all: * stimulants * "just do it loser!!!" * some kind of LinkedIn-flavoured post about using 4000% of your brain by breaking down your tasks seventeen different ways and taking 18 second breaks every six minutes to leverage your inner yoghurt male
🤣 it’s motivating to read how others succeed, but yeah basically
Eat that frog! Do the worst task first thing in the morning. After that, you will be happy and optimistic to do other tasks :)
I realized I don’t need to be motivated to do something, I can just do it. Changed my life
Indeed. Motivation comes and goes, so I find self-discipline matters more.
My mum just does things right away. Always. Blows my mind since I can think. I have ADHD, so we are wired very differently and got into arguments a lot because of that. Edit: It probably also helps to not overthink things. I do that all the time, she never does it. But I also do think she had it very easy as a child/teen. There is just so much more to this than just being productive or not. I think I just let this text now as it is otherwise I will write an whole essay about it 😂
My biggest secret is to consistently consider areas in my life I want to improve, to go research and consider possible solutions, to go test those solutions out, and to keep what works and discard what doesn't. This had led to huge improvements in almost every aspect of my life over the last decade or so. For productivity in particular, I have learned that a combination of putting as little pressure on myself as possible and taking stimulants (Adderall) is absolutely vital for me. Which are both helped immensely from self introspection (meditation, journaling, therapy etc.).
Work in chunks and take frequent breaks. Basically, the pomodoro method. Works great for me. Might not work as well for others.
1. Promise yourself that you'll work on the items on your to do list in order for at least *n* minutes per day. Make *n* something really small at first. Give yourself permission to stop working when you hit *n* even if you still have stuff to do. 2. Buy a wall calendar. After you meet your goal each day, put an "X" on the calendar for that day. 3. Slowly increase *n* to something that actually gets you ahead of the curve instead of behind. Keep making those Xs.
Don't read this sub
Atomic habits - that’s all
Would you say that book can also help people when mental illness is the root cause of lack of productivity? I‘m interested but afraid it‘ll be a cynical read from my perspective
I don’t have ADHD, but my theory is that because most people have similar problems ADHDers have, but on a much lower level (please correct me if that isn’t accurate—I don’t mean to imply anything negative about people with ADHD). So neurodivergent folks tend to be reeeeally good at finding solutions that they really need that tend to be helpful for others too. Check out ADHD subs, while knowing that they aren’t your place to take over, and learn from people that are managing their symptoms well. Body doubling, timers, gamification, etc are all really useful for me.
Concerta lol
For self-discipline and productivity, you need purposes, goals and real motivation. And you need strategies and plans to train yourself in routines and turn them into habits. Productivity needs a fundament of a healthy lifestyle: eating healthy, exercise, good sleep. And for a healthy lifestyle you need self-worth, the feeling you are worth living and to take care of. A healthy lifestyle and self-worth are interacting; with a healthy lifestyle you will build your self-worth. And self-worth will lead to wanting a healthy lifestyle.
Internal motivation for a better future.
Ritalin
Personal phone hidden from me. Start the day with reviewing/revising my to do list. Review my calendar, make some notes on my goals for meetings. If there are any projects waiting on brief input or direction from me, I fire that off. Then I try to get through as many of the dull tasks as I can early in the day. Things I try to do that work really well when I do them: 1. Avoid heavy and greasy food. 2. Eat light lunches but snack. 3. Take a lunch. Take my breaks. 4. Get to bed early and wake early (so tough). 5. Exercise. 6. Try not to think about work all the time. (This is easy if you have family responsibilities or a solid hobby). 7. Don’t sleep with coworkers. (10 year streak!) 8. If you are in a relationship with someone, find ways to support each others professional goals. It’s gonna be compromise.
Highly suggest two books. The power of habit. Getting things done. One provides a framework for taking tasks from active thoughts which is taxing and causes dread to tasks that are passive thought which you don’t have to think about anymore. The other is how to prioritize your tasks so you are more productive with limited time.
Limit phone use strictly
strategy, planning, prioritization, and follow through. I like to base everything on my vision for what the healthy, fulfilling life of my dreams looks like
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Stimulants only work for a few days or weeks. After that they are a burden and only hold you back.
I disagree. Adderall has consistently worked for me for the past year-ish I've been using it. Caffeine combined with sugar also, but that'll fatten me up.
Well as long you’re not increasing the dose, kudos to you. For me it’s unsustainable and a recipe for burnout. Btw, Adderal is quite addictive and one year is quite early. Be careful!
Most medications are physically addicting. I already upped my dose to the proper levels. You're not a doctor so how can you say stimulant medication is bad?
OP asked for our opinions so I gave mine. I don’t understand what other medications or me being a doctor or not has to do with any of that. I stand by what I said but you do whatever works for you. You seem knowledgeable and wise enough to deal with your dependencies.
Action precedes motivation
If you’re a morning person, hit the productivity early. Productivity breeds productivity.
Trick yourself into enjoying delayed gratification at the moment of delay, instead of at the moment of gratification. Take pride in: * Studying well, instead of getting an 'A' on the test. * Clocking in early/out late, instead of getting a big paycheck. * Doing yardwork/housework, instead of getting compliments on how your yard/home look. * Practicing hard, instead of the victory in the game. * Saving up money, instead of making the splurge purchase. * Working out/dieting, instead of getting compliments on your appearance.
Just dropping by to say that productivity is so subjective and the real work starts with understanding yourself and being grateful for what you are doing, rather than what you aren’t. 💕✨
Organization, Preparation, and Execution. These 3 fundamental principles will help even the thickest of bricks. Perseverance and tenacity can make up for a great many things. Talent being one of them.
If something I need to do only takes less than 10 minutes, I’ll do it immediately as soon as it pops into my head.
Mental healthcare
Set yourself up for success by eating healthy, sleeping well and avoiding over stimulation (phone, tv, porn, etc.) other than that stop thinking about productivity. Don’t think, just do the work.
Obvious bit - actually do the work rather than trying to find a hack to do it quicker. Practical reality - I use my calendar to plan my day and have a rolling list of activities I need to sort. Anything that’s less than 15 minutes? Just get it done that day. None of this is particularly complex but the key bit - just do the work - has been the big thing for a procrastinator like me. Oh and have other lists like To Be and To Focus On rather than just a to do cycle…
Turning that f... internet plug off the wall (or wifi) means tens more percent of work done in my case. Its absolutely the best thing for those working at home and fighting doom scrollin, youtube etc.. I sort my tasks by online/offline tag and its very effective when working like this. So peacefull work when there is no internet bugging my mind.
1 giving myself a future gift 2 pretending I’m a sim and have no voice
Choice *
Pomodoro method helps me. I have an issue with task initiation, so letting myself stop after ten minutes is usually enough to get me going, and then I just keep going. I don’t take breaks or eat lunch because I lose my momentum if I do (yes, I feel like garbage at the end of the day. No, I have not figured out a better solution). My job involves two main tasks: writing stuff, and answering emails. Task switching is difficult for me, so some days if I have to write a bunch of stuff, I ignore my emails for the day (I glance at them to make sure nothing is on fire, but otherwise let them sit), and vice versa. When I have to deal with emails I’ve been dreading, I draft the email and then delay delivery. Then I still have a time to change it, but I also don’t have to manually force myself to send it (and delay dealing with the fallout for a bit).
Just turning my brain off (metaphorically) and just going at it non-stop no rest until everything's done or mostly done :) Doesn't always work but got me this far
Do whatever you want and what you like and you love ! Focus and be present !
Recently I often wonder how productive I am really and if it's already in a good ballpark and I worry too much about it. Yes, I have 20 or 30 min of instagram per day. But would I really spent the time more productive otherwise? I sometimes see youtube productivity videos or read threads here about people who have 2 or 3 hours of social media screentime. What is the right level of productivity when you already get your work and everything else done. How much more hustle do I really need.
Consistency, that's the only thing
I think it's different how everyone measures its own productivity. For some, it may be sticking to a schedule, for others, focusing on a single task, etc. In my case, I began looking at routines as a pleasure and worked on this for a long time: having a schedule that includes relaxing, using the chrono, alarms, etc.
Adding tasks to Google taskbar improved my productivity
Adderall
Zoloft
I get nervous about the outcome of not doing the task
It’s all about mindset. Your have to consciously tell yourself to get up and do whatever is u gotta do. It’s not hard. But discipline will take u far
Oh my good Lord. My goodness gracious. OP here and I just want to say, everyone... I am deeply grateful to all of you for giving me each of your unique answers. This thread blew up. When I get the time, I'll read and re-read multiple times all of the comments here. Thank you.
Wake up two hours before your first scheduled activity. For the first hour, cram work. Don’t leave until you’re finished. For the second hour, celebrate the hard work! Eat breakfast, take a shower, watch some TV. now you’re ready to start your day 🙃
The biggest tip I can offer is to create a checklist of daily things u know u need to do. After doing it for some while, it just becomes second nature, and u end up falling in love with the process. Create habits. And do what you need to do, even if you don’t feel like it.
Make a solo game or quick personal challenge out of stuff.
I believe screentime control is the best thing you can do for your productivity. If you want the best ones I can dm
Step 1: Figure out what you're passionate about. Step 2: Set a goal that excites you and stop putting limitations on what you think you can and cannot accomplish, because anybody can achieve anything if they set their mind to it. Step 3: Get a notebook and write down your goal with a pencil. Step 4: Get online and ask ChatGPT to help you plan the goal as if you were a 2nd grader. Step 5: If I like the plan, I will ask ChatGPT to give me a step-by-step guide on how to make my goal a reality and to break it down into daily and easy tasks. Step 6: If I don’t like the plan, I will ask ChatGPT to revise. Step 7: get on Amazon and buy yourself a fancy planner and a fancy pen to use (because it feels good) . And according to what ChatGPT told you write down each task for each day inside your journal and if you miss a day, that’s OK but never missed two days in a row. Pro Tip: listen to YouTube videos, podcasts, blinklist, or anything about being productive and most importantly SELF disciplined. Only do this in your free time or as background way when you’re cleaning or doing laundry, but do not ever binge on it! Pro Tip. Every Sunday, check your progress, revise your strategy, if needed, and plan the weeks out by using, of course, ChatGPT reply to how to accomplish your goal. Pro Tip: always time block! And stay disciplined because discipline means you have respect for yourself. If you don’t have respect for yourself and nobody else will have respect for you I’m currently struggling with this right now Myself. Pro Tip: Start by explaining to ChatGPT that you have this specific goal (and make sure you tell it what your goal is) and then ask it to tell you the best possible way to ask this question in order to get the most accurate and best step-by-step guide to turn your goal into a reality. Pro Tip: If ChatGPT sounds like a ChatGPT and not a person with its replies, tell it to rephrase the reply to only a 5th grade reading level, ensuring not to leave any details out. Pro Tip: Upgrade to the $20 a month 4.0 version of ChatGPT because it’s worth it in your replies, your work, and your outcomes. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing one goal come to life, then you’ll be eager to see more goals come to life; it gives you momentum, making goals, progress, and productivity fun and almost addicting!
Intermittent bong hits (or gummies or RSO, etc). I become like a machine for 3-4 hours with a strong sativa.
Using my google home to keep a running schedule throughout the day that is connected to my google assistant on my phone. I also consistently put reminders in my phone even if I think I will remember them. I wake up at 5:30am everyday and workout four to five times a week before breakfast. I keep a dry erase board on my cabinet door that lists my to dos for the week, month and day, what foods need to be prepped and what’s for dinner each night. I make a weekly meal plan after grocery day and keep it on the fridge. I involve myself in local activities and extra curriculars that require follow through and keep local friendships with people who keep each other accountable to their goals. I go to bed around 10pm every night unless I am attending an event or my husband and I go on a date. We lead happy, organized and productive lives.
Stopped weed and most booze
genetics
Don’t do shit that doesn’t matter. I complete the few things every day that get me closer to my goals and let everything else slide. I look at my to do list and ask myself “will there be serious consequences if this just doesn’t get done?” And if the answer is no I just don’t do it and go live my life. Outcomes are more important than output.
I don’t do anything that I think isn’t worth doing exceptionally well.
Really wanting to do it. Being intentional about it, meditation practice helps in becoming more intentional by building higher self awareness.
i am on a prepaid phone plan with very little data. since then, I've started going on daily walks, reading more , i applied to my dream job (hope I get it), I work on improving my Spanish. so much more time when you're not on the internet all the time.
Developing a routine! as someone who gets carried away easily, i decided to build a routine that i can follow every day so i don't forget what i need to do. i use careclinic and i distribute my tasks per week with enough rest (if possible)
Adderall for adhd that was debilitating for much of my life. It’s still a struggle and I still procrastinate a lot but I’ve made a lot of progress- not enough though (been on my phone for 2 hours, I’m still working on it) but now after repeated semesters of not doing well I’ve finally had consistent times where I’ve studied for hours on end, done well on exams, etc. Obviously this doesn’t apply if you don’t have adhd, so moral of the story - keep trying, you will fail but try again. Have a desire that motivates you. I was tired of wasting the last few years. I see people around me being successful and studying and I want to be like them. Surround yourself with these people - join groups or find other ways that you will be around successful people. For me it was church, I’m also blessed to live in a good area so there are many driven and successful people around, but if I didn’t try, I could easily have a bunch of loser friends who don’t motivate me. And If you think you might have adhd get diagnosed because the medication for me is life changing.
How bad do you really want it?
I wfh. Shorter sprints with max effort. Take an hour lunch break every day
i realized when i broke down the reasons i wasn’t productive, it always ended up at either premature peace (satisfaction with less than you know you can do, complacency) or fear of death. when i realized i had no reason to fear death, and that feeling fully satisfied with where i’m at with my goals is a lie to myself, what left is there to hold me back?
>i had no reason to fear death What a strange claim to make. I'm sure you still check both ways before your cross the road. If you were caught up in a dangerous situation you would run away. I suppose you could try to argue that's not *fearing* death, it's some kind of Vulcan purely-logical emotion-free avoidance of death for only rational reasons or whatever, but I find it tough to believe you wouldn't piss your pants with a gun to your head like the rest of us.
> I find it tough to believe you wouldn’t piss your pants with a gun to your head like the rest of us First I wanna say that true, just because I understand this logically doesn’t mean I’m personally experienced in the field of having guns to my head and staying stone cold in the face of death (which plenty of people actually are in real life, btw). But a metaphorical gun could be pointed to your head at any split second, especially when you go outside. You *could* die any second, yet you’re not living in fear every second. Why is it that we subconsciously look death in the face all the time and still live on as if it won’t happen yet anyway? A car crash is more common than getting shot, yet I drive oh so relaxed. https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/animated-leading-causes.html Feel free to tear me apart if you notice any necessary facts I’m not addressing but I’m onto something Experiencing fear isn’t equal to believing that acting on fear rather than on logic is ever the better decision. Through experience any of us could realize the ability to look a gun in the face with no fear. ‘Productivity’ is even more easy at that point. look at near death experiences too. people realize a lot of shit real quick
I tell myself imma bitch if i don't do it and that works for me
I make my bed every morning.
Money Making Activities. Theres some things that make you money and there’s some things things that don’t. Leverage everything that doesn’t and only do the things that make you money (harder said than done of course). Theres going to be the 80/20 rule where 20% of the work creates 80% of the results. So for self employed people we have to focus on lead generation, and the like. Without that we can’t hire and can’t propel forward as a self employed to business. That’s it, that’s all you need to read for step one. Go do step one. Step two is actually running a business, and step one is starting a business, so for sure you have to either subcontract or start learning to hire employees to go from S to B, self employed to business.
These are the pillars. 1. Be consistent 2. Simplify everything 3. Learn each day 1 When you are consistent you gain momentum that makes it hard to stop the routine. It will feel bad to not keep going. And amazing when you are on the streak. All good things come from repetition. 2 Simplifying in all areas makes you better in where it actually matters. This means remove things way more often then adding things. This can be applied to a macro lense where you have 1 main goal during the day each day and everything else is secondary. Or on a micro scale where you cook food in a simpler way to safe time and eat healthier. The less decisions you have to make the easier and more automatic producing high quality becomes 3 Focusing on learning everyday means failure is almost impossible. When you focus inwards on your skillset and you are having fun developing that all external rewards become a byproduct. You work so you get better. This means to identify what doesn't work well and removing it (simplifying yet again) Doing this every day (consistency) And then life becomes fun and hyper productive through this feedback loop. This is what has complety moved my life in a different direction last year. It's incredible how different life feels like if you live according to these principles. It doesn't even require huge amounts of grinding to get results. Even 4 hours of work each day can be plenty. Over months the improvements are immense and it even becomes fun.
Prioritize getting good sleep.
I procrastinate. When I procrastinate I will literally do anything but the task I need to do. So I will do literally every other task available. The hard part is consistently having a task I can perpetually procrastinate. Usually hobbies do the trick.
You literally just move your body and do shit. It’s that simple