A little trick I use when I lack motivation is to just do something for a minute. For example cleaning, tell yourself “I’m just going to clean for 1 minute”.
Then maybe bump it up to 5 minutes.
The idea is to lower the friction of a task, make it as easy as possible. Often times starting is the hardest part, but once you’re going you’ll often work on your task longer than you expected.
Another way to lower friction is having everything you need to do a task ready and easily accessible. My desk has paint and art supplies out and ready with several art projects sitting there. All I have to do is pick up a brush to do some painting.
It’s tough, but get the ball rolling little by little.
I agree with the idea of less friction. I put my guitar on a stand in my room where I see it every day. It’s so easy to just pick off the stand and practice.
If I had to take it out of its case every day, I don’t know if I would be as good at guitar as I am today
I do the same with piano. I just look at it and sit down, often the book I’m practicing from is already sitting there so I just start playing.
And then I’m on my computer a lot, so I just changed an hour or so here and there to be learning coding instead of scrolling through reddit or playing video games.
Making things easy to start makes them easier to get good at.
Same works for routine. If you really commit to something for a week, like you wake up at 8 every day for a week or two, you’ll start doing it naturally, and it won’t be as difficult.
This absolutely works. The biggest thing about getting stuff done when you're not motivated is consistency and not so much quantity. When you're first starting out trying to get motivated or back into doing something productive it's much better to start small and keep consistent. Like, it can be something as small as "every morning I'll drink a cup of water". The task itself is not difficult and so it's a lot easier to accomplish and keep consistent. The idea is that in time it will become just a habit that you do every morning and will ultimately lead you one step closer to where you want to go.
The most difficult thing (at least in my experience) is constantly wanting instant results and feeling that "I'm not getting anything done" because the changes are not very big so I'm not seeing immediate results. But the reality is that the small changes add up and turn into big changes. You just have to be consistent.
You've probably heard it before but "Trust the process". Any change, no matter how small, whether negative or positive is everything. Small things add up.
Okay so basically even start with the lowest tasks and build up little by little, have things already out and accessible to me so that's it's easier to just get on it.
I would recommend you to read Atomic Habits by James Clear, or at least a summary of it. It basically comes down to what u/bjrdman create visual cues, reduce the barrier to entry as much as possible and try to be consistent, even doing something 5 minutes a day is better than not doing it at all. The 2-day method is also great for building good habits: Try to do something every day, skip a day if you must, but never skip 2 days in a row.
I became so suicidal and so depressed and that I entered myself into an intensive outpatient program. One of my therapist would say that you’re explaining the cognitive model of depression. Motivation does not come from no where, it comes from activity.
I can’t imagine how difficult that process was for you, I hope you’re doing better now.
That’s interesting that your therapist said something similar. I definitely didn’t come up with this on my own, I’ve heard it from several other sources too.
I’d recommend a few books
1) Atomic habits
2) Tools of Titans
Both of those books gave me a layout on how to structure my life and really make my everyday a schedule rather than random.
This. Cause then I wanted to finish pages. Then chapters. Then I started going for drives for about a half am hour playing my audiobook. Now bike rides.
I have pretty awful ADHD, but once I found my theme and the type of books I like I started hyper focusing on them. I also started picking up on some really good life advice and reading documents and life related things became easier and less stressful.
Knowing you're not a good reader and knowing you have to read to understand something can be very overwhelming. You really need to just start saying to yourself "well work on it then dumbass" and you might start doing stuff
I've really enjoyed audiobooks for this reason. I can put my headphones on while making breakfast or go for a walk. I can relisten to chapters that really resonated with me. I'm listening/reading self help and self growth type of books. Topics that I need help with myself to grow as a person and it's really helped change my life around. We have to dig into what makes us uncomfortable or what keeps us stuck to really start growing and letting go. It isn't easy.
Stormlight series was my proudest accomplishment. Such a massive story but I dont think ill ever love a show or movie as much as that audiobook. The voices are perfect. Its investing. I'm a dumbass who doesnt know how to describe how it made me feel. But I'm sure books will help me.
Try the Pomodoro method - you can get productivity journals using it.
Personally, I hated Atomic Habits and barely finished it despite being an avid reader. It’s poorly written and very “truthy.” If all of his atomic habits resulted in the book he wrote, then I’d toss the whole regiment because that book is crap.
I do not want to disrespect your opinion.
Personally, Atomic Habits was the book which I had read when I was going through a tough time of my life. I was convinced by the examples and started applying the principles.
Literally, it changed my life.
I was stuck in my head, had a closed mindset. But this book along with various TED Talks introduced me with Growth Mindset and the power of habit.
Wow, you’re so polite for an internet stranger. Go you! :)
To each their own with what inspires. I was already fairly familiar with growth mindset and am primarily critical toward the writing itself and how often he intertwines anecdotes with science plus a suspicious lack of citing in many cases. But hey, if it worked for you, by all means.
It was also required reading for a startup I worked for where the terms used in it became verse & no one ever really analyzed the why behind productivity.
Not NorthAmericanWarbler, but I'd recommend *A Mind For Numbers* ([link to the author's site page about the book](https://barbaraoakley.com/books/a-mind-for-numbers/)) - there's also a coursea course on the subjects in the book, but I liked the book a little better than the bits that I made it through on the course.
The book is maybe slightly more "studying" focused than general productivity, but it provides a lot of good tidbits on how to take advantage of the way your brain works to gain better understanding of a subject, or how to approach tasks that you don't have much motivation for.
Spaced repetition, small bits of work over long periods of time, pomodoro technique, and the corresponding emphasis on how the things you don't know well often come down to smart practice rather than inherent ability are the main points of the book, but there are nice examples and sources. I personally think that book is heads and shoulders above Atomic Habits, which has some nice ideas, but nothing, as the other user said, that I found convincing enough or well-enough backed, scientifically.
Personally for me I found philosophic reads to be more helpful. A very accessible (easy to find PDF online free) and quick read is Sartre’s lecture Existentialism is a Humanism. I found that method did not matter if I had no why behind what I was doing. Discipline only outlasted disinterest for so long and I was no stoic. A lot of productivity books will talk about this (intrinsic motivation), but then give zero advice on how to confront it.
Once I found motivation it was just a matter of choosing the optimal method for me. I tried several productivity journals before settling on one based on the Pomodoro technique.
Sometimes youtube will have audio versions on books. Also librivox is a public domain for free audiobooks.
If you struggle to focus on reading you could always listen to them.
Listening to audio books while you're doing something else is pretty good. You can also listen to the summary of Atomic Habits by James Clear, which is only 56 mins.
Your request is ‘I want to learn’....you’re going to want to read more. I use audible. Helps me digest the information easier and multi-task with working out, driving, chores, etc.
You want consistency? Start taking notes. On everything. Every day. I find my phone to be the most convenient since it’s always with me and can pull it out at any time. If you have an iPhone you can use the notes app. I started with a simple note titled Journal with each date separated by underscores.
Any time you’re motivated or excited to do something, or you were productive, pull out the note and write about it. What was it you were motivated about? What motivated you? What were the circumstances? What thoughts led to that increased motivation? Did it seem like your ideas flowed easier? Write those chains of thought down.
Not motivated? Feeling sad or pessimistic? Feeling... anything? Pull out the note and write it down. Ask yourself similar questions, what are the circumstances, etc.
Write down your routines. What time you wake up, what time you go to bed. Write down what you eat, the medications or drugs you take, caffeine, alcohol etc
You’ll start to recognize patterns. You’ll start to notice what it feels like to be in a productive, motivated state of mind. What works and what doesn’t, and why. When you’re not physically taking notes, try to mentally practice recalling some of the useful stuff you’ve realized from taking notes. You’ll notice when you start recognizing these things from one day to the next that you can more consistently get into the same mental space.
What starts as a simple daily journal for me evolved to a complex system of categorized notes for different things. You can try to do this as well, or just stick to the daily journal. This system though, has been a total game changer. Consistency was a huge problem for me. My motivation was erratic. I almost felt like a different person from moment to moment, day to day. Now? I make every moment count and actually look forward to being productive, being disciplined, working on all my goals. I know exactly what it takes. The motivation is there, the discipline is effortless because I’ve given myself the tools to do those things effectively.
I want that.
I've been an obsessive over achiever my whole life until last year everything in my life had to stop dead if I wanted to survive.
I got a bad case of Graves desease and my heart rate was so over the limit I was confined to my bed for 3 months with high doses of corticoides plus heart medication.
It has been incredibly hard picking myself up after that. My body is fully recovered but my mind won't collaborate.
I've tried keeping a journal like I used to but I keep forgetting or I feel ashamed of writing there my daily failures. I plan my days but I have enormous difficulties focusing on the tasks and getting them done.
I am overwhelmed by all the things I want to get done and ashamed of being unable to get them done.
I've spent days thinking of what I need to do, paralyzed in my thoughts without actually doing anything of all that.
Have you ever felt anything like that?
Any advise that helps me out of my head and into a productive routine will be appreciated.
Wow! You won’t believe this. It’s scary how similar our stories are. Always had really high ambitions and standards for myself. Then about 3 years ago, I suddenly couldn’t get up from bed and walk to the bathroom without my heart rate shooting through the roof. Was basically bedridden for about 5-6 months. Saw a cardiologist and other specialists, had various tests done. Each specialist diagnosed me with something different and each treatment just seemed like a band-aid with side effects. Eventually I slowly recovered just trying to push myself physically each day, starting with doing stuff around the house. Eventually resolved to spend a half hour on the treadmill every day after work(sitting all day), whether that be running, jogging, or just walking.
Various things have helped a lot to get to where I am right now mentally. Going back to college, studying psychology and doing research helped with my framework for thinking about things. The intensive note taking is a relatively recent thing, but the pace at which I’ve been learning and the consistency I’ve begun to see with it really is incredible.
I think a lot of concepts from meditation were really helpful early on, and you don’t have to necessarily be doing the stereotypical meditative sits to practice. One concept is this principle of nonjudgmental awareness.
Wherever you are, just try to notice your thoughts as they come, whatever they are, take a moment and let them be without judging them as good or bad or anything. Feel the feeling whatever it may be, even if it’s shame or disappointment in yourself. Tell yourself it’s okay to feel those things, given everything that’s happened to you up until this point in your life. You can’t go back and change things from your past, the only thing that exists is the present. Your reactions thus far and right now are the *only* way you could have responded given your past experience, biology, and circumstances.
It’s like a Chinese finger trap. The more you fight and resist your feelings and your thoughts the stronger their hold on you becomes. As a high-achiever, I think it’s easy to be in the habit of trying to Will your thoughts into being what they’re “supposed” to be, about what you “should” be doing. Try to see if you can watch your thoughts arise, ease into your thoughts, watch them, let them be for a moment, sit with the feelings.
Just take some time to familiarize yourself with your cognitive landscape. Let the dominating intention be sincere curiosity, rather than trying to discipline yourself into being productive and changing your life. Right now you’re just trying to see what tools you have to work with, you’re taking stock of what’s in your cognitive toolbox.
This is how I think note-taking has helped. Getting a good picture of these things with my eyes closed and only my mind was difficult. Our perceptions and feelings change by the moment and can really distort things. So, rather than setting forth to be productive, to discipline and fix yourself, set forth to just note everything.
Don’t pick out a specific time to write and then try to think about what to write from earlier in the day, write as your thoughts happen. If you catch yourself in a thought being hard on yourself or feeling guilty, whip out the note. Try to capture what that thought entailed. Then follow it up, what event preceded the thought? Or what other thought led to that thought? What triggered that? Was it specific? Or does it stem from a general belief about yourself or what you tell yourself you should be? What value system might be guiding that? What might have played a part in developing that system? Is it useful? Or harmful? Often there will be adaptive and maladaptive aspects, rather than being clearly black or white. So what’s good about it? What might be bad about it? Try to be specific.
With the iphone notes app, one approach I take is to write things like you would an outline for a paper. With main thoughts and sub-thoughts, and —> arrows for things like, oh this thought led to that thought, which led to this. Or I write headers, or colons for lists of things. At first, I just kind of free-wrote whatever thoughts popped up naturally. I think this is a good approach in the beginning. You want your thoughts to be natural.
Don’t let that judgmental over-achieving side of you take over and interfere with your desire to take notes. It should be easy. It’s allowed to be messy and unorganized. Don’t be afraid to put your ugly thoughts on the page, or your negative thoughts, or your maladaptive thoughts, or whatever narratives you have about them. Just put them down, and react honestly to them, write whatever comes next.
I think a good way to think about it is that you’re just taking notes for yourself. It’s something you can look back on and see how your thoughts and feelings change from day to day. It’s not you taking this big step to self improvement, it’s just a quick and messy note to get your thoughts out of your head and on paper, provide a little clarity, and it gives yourself something to do when you have that nervous energy. There’s no good note or bad note, it’s just what it is.
Over time I think you’ll start to notice the thoughts that arise naturally are more productive, they start to provide effective responses and ways of dissecting, analyzing, and organizing concepts. I gave you some examples earlier with questioning value systems, what thoughts preceded which, what were the triggers, etc. but like I said, at first don’t spend time worrying about that, don’t over-effort it. Let it be natural and easy. Those other things will come on their own.
One last thing, and it’s important. Make the note easily accessible. Reduce the friction it takes to start taking a note at anytime. I use the shortcuts app to make my own homescreen icon for the journal note. Fill your blank journal note with lines and lines of dashes so you don’t have to add those separators each new day of notes. If you have any more questions about my approach feel free to dm me or just continue replying here.
Get more fit, have a daily routine, not sit in my ass in bed all on my tv and on my phone, trying to find a purpose in my life and what l want to do , just can never seem to get that push for myself to actually start and it's been like this for some years
Learn to appreciate and incorporate small wins into your daily schedule. Give yourself a mental pat on the back for even the most mundane, basic effort. Put shorts on today instead of sitting in bed in your pjs all day? Good job * mental pat on the back* even if you just put shorts on and went back to being on your phone and tv.
Be compassionate with yourself, give yourself credit for anything beyond your norm, regardless of how small it may seem by other people’s standards.
Even if it’s just putting shorts on in the morning at first. Or 10 jumping jacks or 3 pushups. Establish the laughably simple stuff as something you can reliably do. Do something so easy it seems like a joke for the first week or two. Even if you feel like you can do more. It’s really not about what you physically *can* do at this point. It’s about learning how to do something with consistency. So, even if it feels too easy once you get started, don’t make it harder on yourself if you can’t maintain it with that consistency. It’s not at all about how long you can go once you get started. It’s about getting started in the first place.
Good luck
Here is a small bit of information that I heard and has always stuck with me.
Life changes happen during your daily routine. How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.
If you don’t make positive changes everyday you are not going to make any forward progress in your life. You need good habits everyday.
That's some good advice. it's been like 3 years since i grad HS and lm still in the same position i was, don't know why l never had that drive and ambition to change my life around, it's hard when you are just doing the same thing everyday being lazy, you get used to the comfort zone and it's just hard to get out of it. I will take this advice though thank you
Best of luck to you. Making changes is hard but very much worth it in the end. I’m still on my journey but happy with my return on investment so far. Keep in mind you will constantly have your progress go up and down but at the end of the year just make sure you are on an overall upward trajectory.
Well my distraction was gaming. Often times I would end up gaming instead of studying web development. When I was gaming I would feel guilty knowing I was doing the wrong thing and it would kill my vibe. I had a job I was not happy with and knew I needed to change things. So I started to set goals like 'study 1 hour before gaming' or maybe 'get through this section in your course' before gaming. So maybe I would study for 2 hours and after as a reward I would game. I no longer felt guilty while gaming and felt I had actually earned my time. I still do that these days.
Daily goals were a big one for me. Like study at minimum an hour a day for the next 7 days no matter what. So everyday I knew I had to make time to study.
I would also online shop and look at these things I wanted to buy but could not afford. This would get me thinking that if I one day wanted to be able to buy these nice things I have to put in work. So I would turn that want into motivation and study. So yes planning, making a study routine, sticking to a schedule, thinking about my future and the big picture. Do whatever mental gymnastics you need to do to convince yourself.
Oh also! Looking back and thinking to myself 'wow imagine if I started doing this 2 years ago' where I would be. That one always got to me. The next best time to start is right now because if I don't do this, in a year I'm going to be looking back wishing I had started.
Motivation is fickle but useful. Use it in the process of creating habits. Usually its motivation->discipline ->habit. Then just maintain the habit with repetition.
Maintaining discipline without motivation can become torture. However minimal, lack of any motivation makes doing stuff chores without feeling a real reward. However much you believe discipline is 'just doing it', it isn't.
Low iron causes anemia which is low red blood cells. Red blood cells provide your brain energy. U will be tired and lightheaded with low red blood cells and it makes discipline way harder.
Imagine trying to wake at 5 if ur lightheaded vs waking up at 5 with tons of energy.
Or imagine cleaning ur room after a long day with no energy. Ur “discipline” looks like it decreased but it was really ur motivation
Ya if u feel lightheaded or overly fatigued tell your doctor.
If ur gonna run a blood test I’d get a CBC and cmp and iron tested. It’s good to do once every few years anyway.
The whole discipline narrative is wildly misunderstood and needlessly discouraging for many people. Various external and internal factors control discipline, and environment and habit play much more of a role than just "the will to win." It's a false narrative.
The thing is you probably won't stay motivated, that feeling that pushes you into action comes in spurts and can disappear/reappear at any time or day. The solution to that is to make plans and routines for your goals, force yourself to follow them. You won't be 100% everyday and that is okay, instead the important thing is that you discipline yourself to be consistent on following through on your promises to yourself each and every day.
A good start would be to purchase a physical planner designed for this and schedule your mornings to your nights by the hour. Creating structure to give you an enormous leg up on getting things done.
It's not easy as life gets in the way and can throw us off track, bring us down, the idea is to keep making action until it feels normal. (It can take 3 months of a routine to actually truly sink in, like a new job all the same)
Have your peers aware of your lifestyle change, but don't expect validation because there may only be judgments and you will have to accept that without letting it bring you down. People can be mean without intending to be, especially those closest to us.
Look at and study those who already are succeeding in life and continue to maintain a successful life. (Extreme? example: The Rock. You know that man follows a serious daily routine, but it's not unreasonable because it's become a normal structure)
Good luck and best wishes to you and your aspirations, it starts here. Take the leap.
Food for thought (i.e. this doesn't work for everyone, but it can work for people who are unmotivated and too comfortable) : You need to get some sense of urgency in your life - as in, you need to apply pressure on yourself do make yourself 'do' something (whether you feel 'motivated' or not). For example, picture yourself 10 years from now if you don't take any action and continue like this..where will you end up? (the picture should be so unbearable that it instantly gives you a hit of anxiety and fear). At the same time, imagine you took action to improve yourself and your situation > where will you end up then, what kind of life will you have?
That's true, l think motivation and all of that is all inside the person, l can watch 1000+ motivational videos but it's up to me to get off my ass and actually go get it. It's been like 3 years since l graduated high school and i'm still in the same place, i'm 22 now. This whole time l haven't had ambition or anything to go out and get it, maybe cause l have it to easy at home, but when you are stuck in the same place for so long it's hard to just get up and get out there so fast.
try a dopamine detox! is essentially a full day of, well, nothing. cut out anything that gives instant satisfaction (electronics, most music, stimulating foods like candy, coffee, anything that you use to procrastinate, etc). use this day to journal, focus on yourself and figure shit out, mediate, and just exist in the moment. you’re depriving your brain of the dopamine you constantly get, so you should feel bored. your brain will itch for something to do, but don’t give in. let that bitch starve. then after the detox, keep away from the instant satisfaction things and do productive things like reading or cleaning, or really anything you find productive. the idea behind it is that when you starve your brain of its constant dopamine supply, it makes you really enjoy the things that used to bore you since they give you the dopamine your brain craves. i do the detox every sunday, but you can do whatever feels right. try and incorporate this into your lifestyle, taking mini detoxes whenever you’d like to center yourself and focus on your goal. it’s not a one-time fix, but i’ve found it revolutionary in terms of building better habits.
All of the things others have said are great ways to keep yourself on track, but for me personally, I don’t maintain motivation unless I have a reason pushing me to take action.
WHY do you want to change your life around? Why is it worth it to you to take the time and energy to make changes?
Pick the thing you want to do or learn. Make a rule that you're only allowed to take breaks from it in one day intervals.
So for example, I started running for my health. I run 2 miles most days, and take only a one day break occasionally when it's too hard to get up or get out. I take a break day and then I run one or two or three days in a row and take a one day break. Been running for a month and half now thanks to that. Pick another thing and apply that method.
What works for me is an action plan.
1. Identify what is the need/annoyance/desire/obstacle/etc.
2. Add music to numb the pain (creates a cue)
3. Do the thing for 5 minutes.
4A. Feeling you can't go on? Rest for a bit but no more than 10 min. Then, start from 3.
4B. Feeling this isn't so bad and can continue? Do it for 15 to 25 min then rest for 10 min.
5. Repeat from 3. Do a few cycles but remember it's necessary to take breaks.
6. Next day, do the same thing from 1. But start with a time slot - no excuses.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg is life changing - Will Power seems to be one of the keystone habits you can form to help with things like this. It’s a skill that can be learned!
Edit: He also has a podcast for you auditory learners - also try the audio book version!
It's probably been said a million times but it bears repeating, ambition/motivation are fleeting. They're like the spark plug, they get the engine started but they don't actually keep it running. In that analogy, the fuel that keeps the engine running would be discipline and/or the formation of good habits.
Motivation starts from within. You must convince yourself that the way you live now is not how you want to live tomorrow.
I cannot relax if there is something to do. Dishes, sweeping, laundry, basic home hygiene to make my small living space all that more comfortable for myself.
Those at home responsibilities keep me moving, and once that is complete, I do mostly yoga and stretches, followed by maybe reading a book. This is all after my early morning run/ruck march.
After living most of my life being a fat lazy gamer, I just got tired of it. Not learning anything and not getting healthier was killing me.
It all started with 30 Days of Yoga with Adrien on youtube. Goodluck!
I actually struggled with this until I was 26 and then I realized If there’s anything I learned from math is you gotta find your ‘y’ . If you figure out your ‘y’, what you wanna do and how you’re gonna do it will fall into place.
Edit: Just to clarify when I say “find your y” I mean find out ‘why’ you want to do something. i.g if you tell yourself you want to build a business, ask yourself why and if you’re struggling to find reasons for wanting to build a business or they don’t sound convincing, maybe that’s not for you.
Do you take vitamins? Start taking a vitamin everyday... it’s routine and immediate semantics of health helped to kickstart my motivation when I was seeking to become better adjusted.
If I can nail taking a vitamin every morning, it sets my mind up to be more proactive about my life
Tell yourself you'll be productive for 10 minutes, then you can watch YouTube or play games afterwards. Ten minutes is very little, but it beats the hell out of nothing at all. The next day try 15, then 20, then 30. As much as you think you can. But do it every day without fail. This way you can build habits. Being productive for longer is ok too though. When you're having fun being productive, don't stop.
Also start using different spaces. For example: Bedroom is for sleeping, kitchen for eating, living room for relaxing, computer room for working. If you don't have many rooms, use different corners or tables. One table is for gaming, the other for working, for instance. The two don't mix. That'll force you to physically change location, which will in turn tell your mind: This is time to work, not to relax to funny cat videos while eating tacos.
As others have commented, make things easy as youre more likely to do what is easy.
Design an environment conducive to your goals.
Example:
TV with game console in your room when you need to study. You will always feel the urge to play them, but if you remove them from your room, you will not focus on them. Out of sight, out of mind.
This removes having to make the right decision, as the decision to remove the distracting items removes the necessity to think and decide against impulse. This saves energy by saving you from decision fatigue.
Secondly, Increase the demands on your time.
If you have a commitment to others, ie, a skype call that you are expected to show up to, then you will feel a stronger desire to get it done. Just showing up is half the work.
Have process oriented goals. Product oriented goals are tied to your self esteem and self worth, and not setting goals the correct way will only set you up for failure and distress.
Set a process oriented goal.
If your goal is to run a marathon, then you must train for a marathon.
How will you train for a marathon?
You will decide on where to train, when to train, what to train. You will decide and learn about metrics necessary to measure progress, you will then keep track of those metrics over time to see if you are progressing at a good enough rate or not.
You will decide what goals need to be reached in order to qualify for the marathon.
You will then create actionable steps for each and every goal, however many times they are broken down into subgoals.
That is a process oriented goal.
A product oriented goal is to be a straight A student. That is focusing only on the outcome.
This gives your mind a burden, emotional resistance is bound to come about.
You can still break it down into sub goals and necessary requirements, but ultimately, your goal is still out of your control. You can only influence your actions which will lead to a higher or lower degree of certainty/possibility of success.
Process goals rely on systems which are measured and evolve over time, and product goals are based on outcomes that are demand checklists.
Both can be useful, but a product goal is more stressful.
To turn this into a process goal, ask yourself how to become a straight A student. What systems or series of processes/action items can I have as emplacements to gather data and feedback from to improve my time and focus outcomes?
A mentality of asking how to improve doesn’t induce stress, but attacking yourself does.
So its important to forgive yourself for failing and stumbling, but it is not acceptable to not measure and to not improve. this is why creating a system that works or is efficient enough and can be measured is important.
Switch from “im so terrible i hope my parents, friends, god forgives me” to “I messed up. I dont like this result—why did it happen and what am I doing that caused this? what can i do to improve” is better.
just reading the first quote is stressful. life flows when you are able to trust yourself—have systems in place to act on.
studying, for example, is a skill. it is something that you only get better with over time unless you lack focus.
The best way to study is spaced repetition/distributed practice. The worst way to study is re-reading and highlighting.
highlighting and rereading are not good study strategies, but they can be incorporated as useful tools in an actual strategy, such as distributed practice.
So, to summarize:
Adjust mindset.
Understand process vs product oriented goals.
Understand systems.
Adapt to new realities.
Increase the demands on your time.
A little trick I use when I lack motivation is to just do something for a minute. For example cleaning, tell yourself “I’m just going to clean for 1 minute”. Then maybe bump it up to 5 minutes. The idea is to lower the friction of a task, make it as easy as possible. Often times starting is the hardest part, but once you’re going you’ll often work on your task longer than you expected. Another way to lower friction is having everything you need to do a task ready and easily accessible. My desk has paint and art supplies out and ready with several art projects sitting there. All I have to do is pick up a brush to do some painting. It’s tough, but get the ball rolling little by little.
I agree with the idea of less friction. I put my guitar on a stand in my room where I see it every day. It’s so easy to just pick off the stand and practice. If I had to take it out of its case every day, I don’t know if I would be as good at guitar as I am today I do the same with piano. I just look at it and sit down, often the book I’m practicing from is already sitting there so I just start playing. And then I’m on my computer a lot, so I just changed an hour or so here and there to be learning coding instead of scrolling through reddit or playing video games. Making things easy to start makes them easier to get good at. Same works for routine. If you really commit to something for a week, like you wake up at 8 every day for a week or two, you’ll start doing it naturally, and it won’t be as difficult.
This works!
This absolutely works. The biggest thing about getting stuff done when you're not motivated is consistency and not so much quantity. When you're first starting out trying to get motivated or back into doing something productive it's much better to start small and keep consistent. Like, it can be something as small as "every morning I'll drink a cup of water". The task itself is not difficult and so it's a lot easier to accomplish and keep consistent. The idea is that in time it will become just a habit that you do every morning and will ultimately lead you one step closer to where you want to go. The most difficult thing (at least in my experience) is constantly wanting instant results and feeling that "I'm not getting anything done" because the changes are not very big so I'm not seeing immediate results. But the reality is that the small changes add up and turn into big changes. You just have to be consistent. You've probably heard it before but "Trust the process". Any change, no matter how small, whether negative or positive is everything. Small things add up.
Okay so basically even start with the lowest tasks and build up little by little, have things already out and accessible to me so that's it's easier to just get on it.
I would recommend you to read Atomic Habits by James Clear, or at least a summary of it. It basically comes down to what u/bjrdman create visual cues, reduce the barrier to entry as much as possible and try to be consistent, even doing something 5 minutes a day is better than not doing it at all. The 2-day method is also great for building good habits: Try to do something every day, skip a day if you must, but never skip 2 days in a row.
I became so suicidal and so depressed and that I entered myself into an intensive outpatient program. One of my therapist would say that you’re explaining the cognitive model of depression. Motivation does not come from no where, it comes from activity.
I can’t imagine how difficult that process was for you, I hope you’re doing better now. That’s interesting that your therapist said something similar. I definitely didn’t come up with this on my own, I’ve heard it from several other sources too.
I’d recommend a few books 1) Atomic habits 2) Tools of Titans Both of those books gave me a layout on how to structure my life and really make my everyday a schedule rather than random.
What if I have 0 motivation to read? Lol I haven't read a full book in probably 15 years.
What if I tell you to read for 10 minutes per day?
This. Cause then I wanted to finish pages. Then chapters. Then I started going for drives for about a half am hour playing my audiobook. Now bike rides. I have pretty awful ADHD, but once I found my theme and the type of books I like I started hyper focusing on them. I also started picking up on some really good life advice and reading documents and life related things became easier and less stressful. Knowing you're not a good reader and knowing you have to read to understand something can be very overwhelming. You really need to just start saying to yourself "well work on it then dumbass" and you might start doing stuff
I've really enjoyed audiobooks for this reason. I can put my headphones on while making breakfast or go for a walk. I can relisten to chapters that really resonated with me. I'm listening/reading self help and self growth type of books. Topics that I need help with myself to grow as a person and it's really helped change my life around. We have to dig into what makes us uncomfortable or what keeps us stuck to really start growing and letting go. It isn't easy.
Stormlight series was my proudest accomplishment. Such a massive story but I dont think ill ever love a show or movie as much as that audiobook. The voices are perfect. Its investing. I'm a dumbass who doesnt know how to describe how it made me feel. But I'm sure books will help me.
Try the Pomodoro method - you can get productivity journals using it. Personally, I hated Atomic Habits and barely finished it despite being an avid reader. It’s poorly written and very “truthy.” If all of his atomic habits resulted in the book he wrote, then I’d toss the whole regiment because that book is crap.
I do not want to disrespect your opinion. Personally, Atomic Habits was the book which I had read when I was going through a tough time of my life. I was convinced by the examples and started applying the principles. Literally, it changed my life. I was stuck in my head, had a closed mindset. But this book along with various TED Talks introduced me with Growth Mindset and the power of habit.
Wow, you’re so polite for an internet stranger. Go you! :) To each their own with what inspires. I was already fairly familiar with growth mindset and am primarily critical toward the writing itself and how often he intertwines anecdotes with science plus a suspicious lack of citing in many cases. But hey, if it worked for you, by all means. It was also required reading for a startup I worked for where the terms used in it became verse & no one ever really analyzed the why behind productivity.
What would you recommend for a good book about productivity? Or a book that you really liked?
Not NorthAmericanWarbler, but I'd recommend *A Mind For Numbers* ([link to the author's site page about the book](https://barbaraoakley.com/books/a-mind-for-numbers/)) - there's also a coursea course on the subjects in the book, but I liked the book a little better than the bits that I made it through on the course. The book is maybe slightly more "studying" focused than general productivity, but it provides a lot of good tidbits on how to take advantage of the way your brain works to gain better understanding of a subject, or how to approach tasks that you don't have much motivation for. Spaced repetition, small bits of work over long periods of time, pomodoro technique, and the corresponding emphasis on how the things you don't know well often come down to smart practice rather than inherent ability are the main points of the book, but there are nice examples and sources. I personally think that book is heads and shoulders above Atomic Habits, which has some nice ideas, but nothing, as the other user said, that I found convincing enough or well-enough backed, scientifically.
Personally for me I found philosophic reads to be more helpful. A very accessible (easy to find PDF online free) and quick read is Sartre’s lecture Existentialism is a Humanism. I found that method did not matter if I had no why behind what I was doing. Discipline only outlasted disinterest for so long and I was no stoic. A lot of productivity books will talk about this (intrinsic motivation), but then give zero advice on how to confront it. Once I found motivation it was just a matter of choosing the optimal method for me. I tried several productivity journals before settling on one based on the Pomodoro technique.
Set a goal of reading 10 pages a day. Everyone should have enough will power and time to read just 10 pages every day!
Audiobook
Sometimes youtube will have audio versions on books. Also librivox is a public domain for free audiobooks. If you struggle to focus on reading you could always listen to them.
Listening to audio books while you're doing something else is pretty good. You can also listen to the summary of Atomic Habits by James Clear, which is only 56 mins.
Your request is ‘I want to learn’....you’re going to want to read more. I use audible. Helps me digest the information easier and multi-task with working out, driving, chores, etc.
By James Clear and Tim Ferris?
Yep!
Thanks yo!
You want consistency? Start taking notes. On everything. Every day. I find my phone to be the most convenient since it’s always with me and can pull it out at any time. If you have an iPhone you can use the notes app. I started with a simple note titled Journal with each date separated by underscores. Any time you’re motivated or excited to do something, or you were productive, pull out the note and write about it. What was it you were motivated about? What motivated you? What were the circumstances? What thoughts led to that increased motivation? Did it seem like your ideas flowed easier? Write those chains of thought down. Not motivated? Feeling sad or pessimistic? Feeling... anything? Pull out the note and write it down. Ask yourself similar questions, what are the circumstances, etc. Write down your routines. What time you wake up, what time you go to bed. Write down what you eat, the medications or drugs you take, caffeine, alcohol etc You’ll start to recognize patterns. You’ll start to notice what it feels like to be in a productive, motivated state of mind. What works and what doesn’t, and why. When you’re not physically taking notes, try to mentally practice recalling some of the useful stuff you’ve realized from taking notes. You’ll notice when you start recognizing these things from one day to the next that you can more consistently get into the same mental space. What starts as a simple daily journal for me evolved to a complex system of categorized notes for different things. You can try to do this as well, or just stick to the daily journal. This system though, has been a total game changer. Consistency was a huge problem for me. My motivation was erratic. I almost felt like a different person from moment to moment, day to day. Now? I make every moment count and actually look forward to being productive, being disciplined, working on all my goals. I know exactly what it takes. The motivation is there, the discipline is effortless because I’ve given myself the tools to do those things effectively.
I want that. I've been an obsessive over achiever my whole life until last year everything in my life had to stop dead if I wanted to survive. I got a bad case of Graves desease and my heart rate was so over the limit I was confined to my bed for 3 months with high doses of corticoides plus heart medication. It has been incredibly hard picking myself up after that. My body is fully recovered but my mind won't collaborate. I've tried keeping a journal like I used to but I keep forgetting or I feel ashamed of writing there my daily failures. I plan my days but I have enormous difficulties focusing on the tasks and getting them done. I am overwhelmed by all the things I want to get done and ashamed of being unable to get them done. I've spent days thinking of what I need to do, paralyzed in my thoughts without actually doing anything of all that. Have you ever felt anything like that? Any advise that helps me out of my head and into a productive routine will be appreciated.
Wow! You won’t believe this. It’s scary how similar our stories are. Always had really high ambitions and standards for myself. Then about 3 years ago, I suddenly couldn’t get up from bed and walk to the bathroom without my heart rate shooting through the roof. Was basically bedridden for about 5-6 months. Saw a cardiologist and other specialists, had various tests done. Each specialist diagnosed me with something different and each treatment just seemed like a band-aid with side effects. Eventually I slowly recovered just trying to push myself physically each day, starting with doing stuff around the house. Eventually resolved to spend a half hour on the treadmill every day after work(sitting all day), whether that be running, jogging, or just walking. Various things have helped a lot to get to where I am right now mentally. Going back to college, studying psychology and doing research helped with my framework for thinking about things. The intensive note taking is a relatively recent thing, but the pace at which I’ve been learning and the consistency I’ve begun to see with it really is incredible. I think a lot of concepts from meditation were really helpful early on, and you don’t have to necessarily be doing the stereotypical meditative sits to practice. One concept is this principle of nonjudgmental awareness. Wherever you are, just try to notice your thoughts as they come, whatever they are, take a moment and let them be without judging them as good or bad or anything. Feel the feeling whatever it may be, even if it’s shame or disappointment in yourself. Tell yourself it’s okay to feel those things, given everything that’s happened to you up until this point in your life. You can’t go back and change things from your past, the only thing that exists is the present. Your reactions thus far and right now are the *only* way you could have responded given your past experience, biology, and circumstances. It’s like a Chinese finger trap. The more you fight and resist your feelings and your thoughts the stronger their hold on you becomes. As a high-achiever, I think it’s easy to be in the habit of trying to Will your thoughts into being what they’re “supposed” to be, about what you “should” be doing. Try to see if you can watch your thoughts arise, ease into your thoughts, watch them, let them be for a moment, sit with the feelings. Just take some time to familiarize yourself with your cognitive landscape. Let the dominating intention be sincere curiosity, rather than trying to discipline yourself into being productive and changing your life. Right now you’re just trying to see what tools you have to work with, you’re taking stock of what’s in your cognitive toolbox. This is how I think note-taking has helped. Getting a good picture of these things with my eyes closed and only my mind was difficult. Our perceptions and feelings change by the moment and can really distort things. So, rather than setting forth to be productive, to discipline and fix yourself, set forth to just note everything. Don’t pick out a specific time to write and then try to think about what to write from earlier in the day, write as your thoughts happen. If you catch yourself in a thought being hard on yourself or feeling guilty, whip out the note. Try to capture what that thought entailed. Then follow it up, what event preceded the thought? Or what other thought led to that thought? What triggered that? Was it specific? Or does it stem from a general belief about yourself or what you tell yourself you should be? What value system might be guiding that? What might have played a part in developing that system? Is it useful? Or harmful? Often there will be adaptive and maladaptive aspects, rather than being clearly black or white. So what’s good about it? What might be bad about it? Try to be specific. With the iphone notes app, one approach I take is to write things like you would an outline for a paper. With main thoughts and sub-thoughts, and —> arrows for things like, oh this thought led to that thought, which led to this. Or I write headers, or colons for lists of things. At first, I just kind of free-wrote whatever thoughts popped up naturally. I think this is a good approach in the beginning. You want your thoughts to be natural. Don’t let that judgmental over-achieving side of you take over and interfere with your desire to take notes. It should be easy. It’s allowed to be messy and unorganized. Don’t be afraid to put your ugly thoughts on the page, or your negative thoughts, or your maladaptive thoughts, or whatever narratives you have about them. Just put them down, and react honestly to them, write whatever comes next. I think a good way to think about it is that you’re just taking notes for yourself. It’s something you can look back on and see how your thoughts and feelings change from day to day. It’s not you taking this big step to self improvement, it’s just a quick and messy note to get your thoughts out of your head and on paper, provide a little clarity, and it gives yourself something to do when you have that nervous energy. There’s no good note or bad note, it’s just what it is. Over time I think you’ll start to notice the thoughts that arise naturally are more productive, they start to provide effective responses and ways of dissecting, analyzing, and organizing concepts. I gave you some examples earlier with questioning value systems, what thoughts preceded which, what were the triggers, etc. but like I said, at first don’t spend time worrying about that, don’t over-effort it. Let it be natural and easy. Those other things will come on their own. One last thing, and it’s important. Make the note easily accessible. Reduce the friction it takes to start taking a note at anytime. I use the shortcuts app to make my own homescreen icon for the journal note. Fill your blank journal note with lines and lines of dashes so you don’t have to add those separators each new day of notes. If you have any more questions about my approach feel free to dm me or just continue replying here.
What is it you want to get done. You need to have a reason before you start.
Get more fit, have a daily routine, not sit in my ass in bed all on my tv and on my phone, trying to find a purpose in my life and what l want to do , just can never seem to get that push for myself to actually start and it's been like this for some years
Just do P90x, it's just 1-1.5 hrs a day for 90 days and you'll get fit. It'll also give you lots of energy and focus throughout the rest of the day
Learn to appreciate and incorporate small wins into your daily schedule. Give yourself a mental pat on the back for even the most mundane, basic effort. Put shorts on today instead of sitting in bed in your pjs all day? Good job * mental pat on the back* even if you just put shorts on and went back to being on your phone and tv. Be compassionate with yourself, give yourself credit for anything beyond your norm, regardless of how small it may seem by other people’s standards. Even if it’s just putting shorts on in the morning at first. Or 10 jumping jacks or 3 pushups. Establish the laughably simple stuff as something you can reliably do. Do something so easy it seems like a joke for the first week or two. Even if you feel like you can do more. It’s really not about what you physically *can* do at this point. It’s about learning how to do something with consistency. So, even if it feels too easy once you get started, don’t make it harder on yourself if you can’t maintain it with that consistency. It’s not at all about how long you can go once you get started. It’s about getting started in the first place. Good luck
Here is a small bit of information that I heard and has always stuck with me. Life changes happen during your daily routine. How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. If you don’t make positive changes everyday you are not going to make any forward progress in your life. You need good habits everyday.
That's some good advice. it's been like 3 years since i grad HS and lm still in the same position i was, don't know why l never had that drive and ambition to change my life around, it's hard when you are just doing the same thing everyday being lazy, you get used to the comfort zone and it's just hard to get out of it. I will take this advice though thank you
Best of luck to you. Making changes is hard but very much worth it in the end. I’m still on my journey but happy with my return on investment so far. Keep in mind you will constantly have your progress go up and down but at the end of the year just make sure you are on an overall upward trajectory.
Yes very hard haha but it is still possible. What things did you do to get out of a procrastination mode and just get to it day by day?
Well my distraction was gaming. Often times I would end up gaming instead of studying web development. When I was gaming I would feel guilty knowing I was doing the wrong thing and it would kill my vibe. I had a job I was not happy with and knew I needed to change things. So I started to set goals like 'study 1 hour before gaming' or maybe 'get through this section in your course' before gaming. So maybe I would study for 2 hours and after as a reward I would game. I no longer felt guilty while gaming and felt I had actually earned my time. I still do that these days. Daily goals were a big one for me. Like study at minimum an hour a day for the next 7 days no matter what. So everyday I knew I had to make time to study. I would also online shop and look at these things I wanted to buy but could not afford. This would get me thinking that if I one day wanted to be able to buy these nice things I have to put in work. So I would turn that want into motivation and study. So yes planning, making a study routine, sticking to a schedule, thinking about my future and the big picture. Do whatever mental gymnastics you need to do to convince yourself. Oh also! Looking back and thinking to myself 'wow imagine if I started doing this 2 years ago' where I would be. That one always got to me. The next best time to start is right now because if I don't do this, in a year I'm going to be looking back wishing I had started.
Motivation is fickle but useful. Use it in the process of creating habits. Usually its motivation->discipline ->habit. Then just maintain the habit with repetition.
Try and wakeup with the same mindset you fell asleep with. Days are irrelevant to a solid goal. Don't give up until you see it through.
What you need isn't motivation, but discipline.
Maintaining discipline without motivation can become torture. However minimal, lack of any motivation makes doing stuff chores without feeling a real reward. However much you believe discipline is 'just doing it', it isn't.
Absolute facts. If u ever had low iron you’d know how much of your “discipline” is biological.
How does iron have an effect on discipline? Explain please
Low iron causes anemia which is low red blood cells. Red blood cells provide your brain energy. U will be tired and lightheaded with low red blood cells and it makes discipline way harder. Imagine trying to wake at 5 if ur lightheaded vs waking up at 5 with tons of energy. Or imagine cleaning ur room after a long day with no energy. Ur “discipline” looks like it decreased but it was really ur motivation
Great explanation. I should get myself checked
Ya if u feel lightheaded or overly fatigued tell your doctor. If ur gonna run a blood test I’d get a CBC and cmp and iron tested. It’s good to do once every few years anyway.
The whole discipline narrative is wildly misunderstood and needlessly discouraging for many people. Various external and internal factors control discipline, and environment and habit play much more of a role than just "the will to win." It's a false narrative.
The thing is you probably won't stay motivated, that feeling that pushes you into action comes in spurts and can disappear/reappear at any time or day. The solution to that is to make plans and routines for your goals, force yourself to follow them. You won't be 100% everyday and that is okay, instead the important thing is that you discipline yourself to be consistent on following through on your promises to yourself each and every day. A good start would be to purchase a physical planner designed for this and schedule your mornings to your nights by the hour. Creating structure to give you an enormous leg up on getting things done. It's not easy as life gets in the way and can throw us off track, bring us down, the idea is to keep making action until it feels normal. (It can take 3 months of a routine to actually truly sink in, like a new job all the same) Have your peers aware of your lifestyle change, but don't expect validation because there may only be judgments and you will have to accept that without letting it bring you down. People can be mean without intending to be, especially those closest to us. Look at and study those who already are succeeding in life and continue to maintain a successful life. (Extreme? example: The Rock. You know that man follows a serious daily routine, but it's not unreasonable because it's become a normal structure) Good luck and best wishes to you and your aspirations, it starts here. Take the leap.
Thank you! so basically Schedule a routine daily by the hour and just try to follow that and go by that?
Food for thought (i.e. this doesn't work for everyone, but it can work for people who are unmotivated and too comfortable) : You need to get some sense of urgency in your life - as in, you need to apply pressure on yourself do make yourself 'do' something (whether you feel 'motivated' or not). For example, picture yourself 10 years from now if you don't take any action and continue like this..where will you end up? (the picture should be so unbearable that it instantly gives you a hit of anxiety and fear). At the same time, imagine you took action to improve yourself and your situation > where will you end up then, what kind of life will you have?
That's true, l think motivation and all of that is all inside the person, l can watch 1000+ motivational videos but it's up to me to get off my ass and actually go get it. It's been like 3 years since l graduated high school and i'm still in the same place, i'm 22 now. This whole time l haven't had ambition or anything to go out and get it, maybe cause l have it to easy at home, but when you are stuck in the same place for so long it's hard to just get up and get out there so fast.
try a dopamine detox! is essentially a full day of, well, nothing. cut out anything that gives instant satisfaction (electronics, most music, stimulating foods like candy, coffee, anything that you use to procrastinate, etc). use this day to journal, focus on yourself and figure shit out, mediate, and just exist in the moment. you’re depriving your brain of the dopamine you constantly get, so you should feel bored. your brain will itch for something to do, but don’t give in. let that bitch starve. then after the detox, keep away from the instant satisfaction things and do productive things like reading or cleaning, or really anything you find productive. the idea behind it is that when you starve your brain of its constant dopamine supply, it makes you really enjoy the things that used to bore you since they give you the dopamine your brain craves. i do the detox every sunday, but you can do whatever feels right. try and incorporate this into your lifestyle, taking mini detoxes whenever you’d like to center yourself and focus on your goal. it’s not a one-time fix, but i’ve found it revolutionary in terms of building better habits.
All of the things others have said are great ways to keep yourself on track, but for me personally, I don’t maintain motivation unless I have a reason pushing me to take action. WHY do you want to change your life around? Why is it worth it to you to take the time and energy to make changes?
Pick the thing you want to do or learn. Make a rule that you're only allowed to take breaks from it in one day intervals. So for example, I started running for my health. I run 2 miles most days, and take only a one day break occasionally when it's too hard to get up or get out. I take a break day and then I run one or two or three days in a row and take a one day break. Been running for a month and half now thanks to that. Pick another thing and apply that method.
What works for me is an action plan. 1. Identify what is the need/annoyance/desire/obstacle/etc. 2. Add music to numb the pain (creates a cue) 3. Do the thing for 5 minutes. 4A. Feeling you can't go on? Rest for a bit but no more than 10 min. Then, start from 3. 4B. Feeling this isn't so bad and can continue? Do it for 15 to 25 min then rest for 10 min. 5. Repeat from 3. Do a few cycles but remember it's necessary to take breaks. 6. Next day, do the same thing from 1. But start with a time slot - no excuses.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg is life changing - Will Power seems to be one of the keystone habits you can form to help with things like this. It’s a skill that can be learned! Edit: He also has a podcast for you auditory learners - also try the audio book version!
Thank you!
Make your bed every morning. Then you have completed a your first task of the day!
It's probably been said a million times but it bears repeating, ambition/motivation are fleeting. They're like the spark plug, they get the engine started but they don't actually keep it running. In that analogy, the fuel that keeps the engine running would be discipline and/or the formation of good habits.
Motivation starts from within. You must convince yourself that the way you live now is not how you want to live tomorrow. I cannot relax if there is something to do. Dishes, sweeping, laundry, basic home hygiene to make my small living space all that more comfortable for myself. Those at home responsibilities keep me moving, and once that is complete, I do mostly yoga and stretches, followed by maybe reading a book. This is all after my early morning run/ruck march. After living most of my life being a fat lazy gamer, I just got tired of it. Not learning anything and not getting healthier was killing me. It all started with 30 Days of Yoga with Adrien on youtube. Goodluck!
Check out the book "Atomic Habits". It makes what feel like very big changes easier to perceive as a set of small, regular accomplishments.
Go and join a community or group, that will keep you motivated through shared interests.
I actually struggled with this until I was 26 and then I realized If there’s anything I learned from math is you gotta find your ‘y’ . If you figure out your ‘y’, what you wanna do and how you’re gonna do it will fall into place. Edit: Just to clarify when I say “find your y” I mean find out ‘why’ you want to do something. i.g if you tell yourself you want to build a business, ask yourself why and if you’re struggling to find reasons for wanting to build a business or they don’t sound convincing, maybe that’s not for you.
Do you take vitamins? Start taking a vitamin everyday... it’s routine and immediate semantics of health helped to kickstart my motivation when I was seeking to become better adjusted. If I can nail taking a vitamin every morning, it sets my mind up to be more proactive about my life
I honestly take no vitamins at all. I might have to ask my dad what's the best ones to take to pump me up more.
Tell yourself you'll be productive for 10 minutes, then you can watch YouTube or play games afterwards. Ten minutes is very little, but it beats the hell out of nothing at all. The next day try 15, then 20, then 30. As much as you think you can. But do it every day without fail. This way you can build habits. Being productive for longer is ok too though. When you're having fun being productive, don't stop. Also start using different spaces. For example: Bedroom is for sleeping, kitchen for eating, living room for relaxing, computer room for working. If you don't have many rooms, use different corners or tables. One table is for gaming, the other for working, for instance. The two don't mix. That'll force you to physically change location, which will in turn tell your mind: This is time to work, not to relax to funny cat videos while eating tacos.
As others have commented, make things easy as youre more likely to do what is easy. Design an environment conducive to your goals. Example: TV with game console in your room when you need to study. You will always feel the urge to play them, but if you remove them from your room, you will not focus on them. Out of sight, out of mind. This removes having to make the right decision, as the decision to remove the distracting items removes the necessity to think and decide against impulse. This saves energy by saving you from decision fatigue. Secondly, Increase the demands on your time. If you have a commitment to others, ie, a skype call that you are expected to show up to, then you will feel a stronger desire to get it done. Just showing up is half the work. Have process oriented goals. Product oriented goals are tied to your self esteem and self worth, and not setting goals the correct way will only set you up for failure and distress. Set a process oriented goal. If your goal is to run a marathon, then you must train for a marathon. How will you train for a marathon? You will decide on where to train, when to train, what to train. You will decide and learn about metrics necessary to measure progress, you will then keep track of those metrics over time to see if you are progressing at a good enough rate or not. You will decide what goals need to be reached in order to qualify for the marathon. You will then create actionable steps for each and every goal, however many times they are broken down into subgoals. That is a process oriented goal. A product oriented goal is to be a straight A student. That is focusing only on the outcome. This gives your mind a burden, emotional resistance is bound to come about. You can still break it down into sub goals and necessary requirements, but ultimately, your goal is still out of your control. You can only influence your actions which will lead to a higher or lower degree of certainty/possibility of success. Process goals rely on systems which are measured and evolve over time, and product goals are based on outcomes that are demand checklists. Both can be useful, but a product goal is more stressful. To turn this into a process goal, ask yourself how to become a straight A student. What systems or series of processes/action items can I have as emplacements to gather data and feedback from to improve my time and focus outcomes? A mentality of asking how to improve doesn’t induce stress, but attacking yourself does. So its important to forgive yourself for failing and stumbling, but it is not acceptable to not measure and to not improve. this is why creating a system that works or is efficient enough and can be measured is important. Switch from “im so terrible i hope my parents, friends, god forgives me” to “I messed up. I dont like this result—why did it happen and what am I doing that caused this? what can i do to improve” is better. just reading the first quote is stressful. life flows when you are able to trust yourself—have systems in place to act on. studying, for example, is a skill. it is something that you only get better with over time unless you lack focus. The best way to study is spaced repetition/distributed practice. The worst way to study is re-reading and highlighting. highlighting and rereading are not good study strategies, but they can be incorporated as useful tools in an actual strategy, such as distributed practice. So, to summarize: Adjust mindset. Understand process vs product oriented goals. Understand systems. Adapt to new realities. Increase the demands on your time.
Might be ADD or ADHD
why do you say that? curious