How To Stop Procrastinating And Turn Pro. “The scariest moment is always just before you start. – Stephen King, On Writing The ‘Few Minutes’ Principle We all know there’s really only one way to beat procrastination, and that’s to suck it up and to get the hell on with it. But, like most of life’s challenges, being told just ‘what’ to do, is often as unhelpful as it is obvious. The shock of diving into our work and the resulting dissonance that arises between our imagined capabilities and reality, is what us procrastinators fear most. Are we as good as we think? And so, in the same way that we would rather bad news be broken to us gently, given the choice, we would also rather be gently awoken from our dreams of grandeur than hosed down with icy water. Luckily for you, I come bearing only good news: There is a highly effective principle to get you over this fear and it’s backed up with solid scientific research.
It’s not exactly ground breaking advice but perhaps that’s why having the evidence to back it up is so important. The 48 Laws of Power: Law 38: Think as you like, but behave like others. If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them.
They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness. People who flaunt their infatuation with a different culture are expressing a disdain and contempt for their own. They are using the outward appearance of the exotic to separate themselves from the common folk who unquestioningly follow the local customs and laws, and to express their sense of superiority. The Trick to your Uniqueness 1. The Truth 1. The Real Power 1. The Commonsense 1. Authority: Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you. The Contrarians | The Value of a Morning Alcove. Diana Nyad: Never, ever give up. To Stop Procrastinating, Look to Science of Mood Repair. 10 Motivational Kanye West Quotes (From His Zane Lowe Interview)
Note to Self. At the start of each year I like to pause and re-evaluate what I’m doing with my life. I generally keep my thoughts to myself. But I thought that if I stuck my musings online I might commit to actually making it happen for once! So, I guess, here is my manifesto for 2014. In no particular order, here is what really matters to me: Being busy on projects I am passionate about, and doing them to the best of my abilityWorking on a project which can lead on to another one at least as challenging and appealingFor the people I care about to be happyRelaxed time for myself. Time for campfire cooking, reading good books, watching good films, riding my bike, and sitting on a hill (guilt-free) to watch the sunsetKeeping extremely fit – mentally and physicallyGetting out into wilderness / places I have never beenEnough money to live comfortably onSetting an example to the people I care about What is important to me in my work?
What are my criteria for career success? I measure “success” by: Life WON’T WAIT: EMBRACE The Pain | The Ryan Potter Blog. Your emotions are holding you back. What little fuckers, right? Constantly conniving ways to keep you in place, never letting you do what you want to do. They don’t give a shit about your ambitions or your dreams. They have no concept of the ticking time bomb that is life as we know it. They want comfort.
They want to keep you stuck in the daily routine you’ve dug yourself in to. You cave in, of course; prolonging improvement until tomorrow, due to the overbearing draw of emotional satisfaction and comfort. And naturally, our brain rationalises our lack of action. We’ve been spoon-fed lies about how the world works since birth, so we tell ourselves it does us no harm. The ‘everything will turn out for the best‘ speeches we get from our mother. I can’t blame you for believing that bullshit. I thought it would be easy. But in the words of Biggie Smalls, “it was all a dream..” I was living a lie. Fuck that. I don’t want to run any more. I want the mystery. I want that. It’s like hitting the gym.
Psycho-cybernetics. Thoughts after reading. 15 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself. I was recently inspired to put together a list of tendencies that I have found in both the observation of myself and those around me. These tendencies, in my opinion, can make life a lot more complicated and difficult to go through than it needs to be. Read through the list, see how many apply to you and feel free to add any others that you may want to share through the comment section of the article. 1. Stop Running From Your Problems - You cannot run from something forever, and believe it or not the longer you run from something the more difficult it becomes to face. Challenges arise for a reason, and as difficult as many of them can be to both face and overcome they always give you the opportunity to become a stronger and more capable version of yourself. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
How to Beat Procrastination. This is Part 2. You won’t get Part 2 if you haven’t read Part 1 yet. Here’s Part 1. PDF: We made a fancy PDF of this post for printing and offline viewing. Buy it here. Pro-cras-ti-na-tion |prəˌkrastəˈnāSHən, prō-| nounthe action of ruining your own life for no apparent reason Let me start by saying that I’ve had just about enough of the irony of battling through crippling procrastination while trying to write posts on procrastination and how to beat it. A couple notes before we begin: I’m not a professional at any of this, just a lifelong procrastinator who thinks about this topic all the time. Alright, so last week we dove into the everyday inner struggle of the procrastinator to examine the underlying psychology going on. We know about the Instant Gratification Monkey (the part of your brain that makes you procrastinate) and his dominion over the Rational Decision Maker, but what’s really happening there? Planning A big list of icky, daunting tasks and undertakings.
Into this: Doing. Tangible Freedom | Redefining Freedom As You Know It. . How To Coach Yourself Through Life. Life coaches are somewhat of a controversial issue, with supporters crediting every aspect of their success to their coach, and doubters often being surprised that the concept even exists. But no matter how you feel about life coaches, there are certain steps you can take to keep yourself in check when you’re busy living your life.
In a way, you could coach yourself. Remove The Word Lazy From Your Vocabulary Or at the very least, never use it to describe yourself, ever. If you currently think that you are lazy, make it your mission to disprove yourself. Be Critical, But Don’t Stray This can be a very difficult balance to find. As with avoiding the word lazy, avoiding any other form of character attack is done of the same reason. Be Supportive, Within Reason One of the things that can often lead to inaction, is the inability to be supportive of oneself. One thing that can help is to stop comparing yourself to your “competition”. Always Prioritize Action Actions speak louder than words. The science behind concentration and improved focus - Sandglaz Blog. Life Hacks Productivity Isn’t it sweet when you lose yourself in the work you’re doing?
You get the rush of real productivity, not just ‘busy work’. You have a strong feeling of purpose and completely lose track of time. Whether you call it concentration, focus, flow, or even work-induced trance, you have to admit it’s really an exhilarating feeling. But the truth is that for most of us, the majority of time we spend working (just shy of 9 hours every day for the average American) this kind of concentration is out of reach, especially in the office.
Focusing on a task is a lot like focusing your vision. Losing focus is actually natural and desirable – it’s an evolutionary system meant to keep us safe. The thing is, once your focus is broken, it can take up to 25 minutes to return to the original task, according to Gloria Mark, professor at the University of California, Irvine. Multitasking has trained our brains to be unfocused. No one can magically become more focused. Meditate.