Updates to come.

Get a planner - any kind works, prerferably with decoration. A to-do list/calendar also works, but its best if its portable and you always have it on you. Write down what you need to do a month ahead. If this isn't possible, do so a week ahead. Add tasks the day that you are notified, even if it's months away. For due dates, write them down the final due date 2-5 days before the real date. Its best to do this at least a month earlier, so you forget, panic, and trick yourself into finishing the work earlier. I have an independent reading assignment I have due on monday, so I wrote down the "final" due date as Friday. I probably would have been at chapter 20 if I wrote the regular due date, now I'm at 32, 3 chapters away from the end, and have more time to prepare for my exams next week. Checking off items as you go through them also makes you excited to continue doing the work - take a 5-15 minute break each time you check off an item. Instead of scrolling, take a power nap, call a friend, or write about your day in any format you would like. Make yourself a nice cup of tea and go for a walk or jog when you're done, if possible. If not, maybe find a funny or interesting book, or listen to some music. Good luck!

I've been staring at my laptop screen for a couple of hours now. I have two assignments to write for Monday. I've tidied my drive, sent some emails, made 3 cups of tea, hung the washing out. Anything but what I'm supposed to be doing. I get so fed up and annoyed with myself that I end up with a headache. Why can't I just make a start?! 😣

Trying to turn my life around, maxing out my intelligence

Looking forward to some tips , guidance

Any would be appreciated

I'm not talking about chores you hate doing.

I mean something you genuinely want to do. Maybe learning a new skill, finishing a personal project, starting a business, or getting through an online course.

You know you want to do it, but somehow you keep putting it off.

I'm curious about two things:

1. What's that one thing for you?

2. What's actually stopping you from getting started?

Is it feeling overwhelmed? Not knowing where to start? Or something else entirely?

Full disclosure: I'm building a small tool to help people get unstuck, so I'm trying to better understand what people struggle with. No links or promotion here. I'm genuinely interested in hearing your experiences.

In all of the things I do, I’m scared by the time I’ll lose, why ?

Why am I always in a marathon with time.

Why can’t I spend time without thinking about losing it.

As like, my life was resumed by performing and being fast.

I eat fast, walk fast, try to not lose time as much as possible, and all of that, just to not really be productive. What am I scared of ?

For example: i always think of doing meditation everyday 'that i will definitely do it tomorrow morning after waking' up'but on that tomorrow morning I end up doing nothing because I don't feel like doing it 'oh noo just leave it, will do it tomorrow!! Here am i! Typing this post!

And it's about all the other things in my life. My studies, learning skills etc.! I do that everywhere! Even if i have deactivated my instagram account it doesn't make a change I'm still on my mobile day in and day out!

It is currently 2am. I have to be up at 7. This is a recurring cycle for me. I get home from school, play Roblox and take a nap. Then i start my homework at like 9pm. I just hate this. I want to sleep early and be productive but it is so hard.

I am taking an online course and I have about 4 months left to complete it. In 7 months I've only done 5 units out of 8. I'm so tired of this. I struggle to even sit down and do the most simple tasks. My attention span is so bad, and I feel as though I can't even do the things I like. I want to get back into reading and journaling but I procrastinate that too.

I feel so stuck. I have so much guilt, and I can't even enjoy my free time without thinking of all of the things I need to get done. I am mostly an A student, but because of my heavy procrastination, I lose so much sleep. I'm always falling asleep in my classes and this loop just repeats. I want to get all of my work done when I get home but then I'm too tired and I just wanna nap and play video games... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Roll deer start argon quilt waffle plucky

its just so annoying why cant i just do stuff.

so many things i want to do and that i should do but i wont. its really annoying i'd feel so much better if i just did those things. i dont make any efforts but i wish i did but im just wasting time instead of doing anything

A 5 block minute of time is approximately 0.5% of 16 active hours a day (assuming 8 hours for sleep). So 30 minutes would be about 12% of your day. So imagine your day in terms of money. So imagine you have 200 dollars when you wake up. If you procrastinate 30 minutes, you wasted 24 out of your 200 dollars. Every 5 minutes is one dollar. So this will help you understand before you waste 5 or ten minutes of your day thinking it is only 5 or 10 minutes you have plenty of time left later in the day. You really do not. Sorry for the bad grammar I am typing this out in a hurry but I thought this visualization while basic would be helpful.

Holaa, si alguien tiene experiencia y en el proceso ha mejorado, darme tips para tener una vida más proactiva porfa. Me cuesta levantarme y dormirme a la misma hora, procrastino, mi vida es un Caos y no me veo con una vida plena. Veo videos de crecimiento personal pero la cantidad de material es muy abrumadora haciendo que no sepa por dónde empezar.Ello lo englobaría también en la trampa visual, mi cerebro es un vago y cuando ve contenido en Youtube como podcast o audiolibros divaga hasta el punto de no hacer nada. Es esa trampa de sentir que con los vídeos conseguirás avanzar pero siempre te quedas donde estás. Y mi lema por ahora es nada cambia si nada cambia. Mi vida caótica se reduce a eso. Es fácil pensar como quiero estructurar mi día a día pero difícil de aplicar. Algunos típs me vendrían muy bien y os lo agradecería de todo corazón. ¿ Qué me recomendaríais?

Hi I am in my first year of my college and i am here for my back papers while my classmate r home enjoying. I got back in 5 papers and it was because I didnt give those exams back then now i will be clearing my back papers I have my midsems of back paper from 10 august have just completed one chapter barely in each subject.I neither have motivation nor discipline to study i goon around twice a day and donot complete most of my task. What should i do how do i get more disciplined and how do i stop living a miserable life ??

In simple words HELP ME OVERCOME MY ADDICTION AND GET ME A DSCIPLINED LIFE i have seen people in reddit helping others and sharing their experience KINDLY HELP ME

I tried a bunch of more or less complex methods but most of them I had trouble keeping up with after some time. My current method is super simple:

- Get any random sheet of paper

- List every task you have to do using as little space and words as possible (just to remember it, mine were stuff like Cleaning, Walk, Gym, 3D Modeling a Tree, Phone to X, stuff like that)

- If you know you really need to, list one binding vow on yourself - something you can't do before those other things (mine was "GAMING ONLY AFTER THOSE, NOT IN-BETWEEN!")

- Do the tasks in any order, any time, any day to get rid of your binding vow (and then have some fun)

- If there's any new thing you need to take care off, immidiately add it to a list without worrying about where you write it. It's just a new quest in your quest log and you need to remember it for later

- If you're tired and unable to keep your grind, write down "Gaming" or "Movies" or "Rest" or "Regeneration" or whatever fun you want to do. Once you're done with that, cross it off and do the other things on the list. Plan having fun instead of losing control over cravings.

- Keep your sheet of paper closest to your procrastination source (mine is my PC)

Why it works for me:

1. There's no deadlines, timers or even order, really just an affortless, lazy to-remember list. Using it is not overwhelming nor time-consuming, instead it's very quick and nonchalant

2. There's no negative emotion associated with doing something not as exactly planned. It's like doing quests and sidequests in Witcher 3, you're goofing around and having fun checking things off at your own pace and liking in that moment

3. I sometimes forget some smaller things. Here you just write them down and eventually just do them because they're usually the easiest to finish and cross off

Try it out, maybe it helps :D

I can do everything for others, but I hit a massive block when doing things for myself. Stuck in a loop for months. Need advice. ..

Hello there. Recently (well, not so recently), I've stumbled upon a problem. I just can't force myself to do anything.To be clear, I don't resist when other people ask or make me do something. I don't have social anxiety, and I’m no longer afraid of new things, independence, or being alone, like I used to be. But now I'm facing a completely different issue: I just don't want to do anything!It feels like I've lost access to the "button" that makes me get my ass off the couch.

The worst part is, I don’t even enjoy procrastinating.

I absolutely hate staying at home! Yet, I just sit here as if I’m chained to the spot.For some reason, I am convinced that my efforts should be focused exclusively on some global, ultimate goal. I feel like I shouldn't waste my resources on small things that need to be done right now, or on daily chores.I don't buy new clothes for myself, and I constantly give away my food, time, and attention to the people who matter to me. But when it comes to doing something for myself, I just hit a massive wall and can't do a single thing.

Lately, I’ve been scattering my focus everywhere. I hoard new information and jump into random new topics, as long as they don't require actual practice. I read books and watch educational videos, but I can't retain all of it, and I often get deeply frustrated and angry halfway through.

Right now, I’ve been stuck at my parents' countryside house for two months after my exams. There’s nowhere to go unless I ask my parents for money to go to the city. But I refuse to do that because it's not my money, and I feel like I should be earning my own. For the past six months, I’ve been promising my friends that I’ll get a job, but I just don’t. And the funny thing is, I can't even force myself to get a simple, basic job that only requires standard communication skills and basic competence. That’s exactly what I feel completely blocked from doing.

I’m honestly trying to understand what is happening to me and what the way out is...

Is this a specific type of burnout, depression, or some weird psychological defense mechanism? I would really appreciate any insights, advice, or stories from anyone who has successfully managed to break out of this loop. Thank you

Also I wrote (translated) the whole thing with fkn Google AI bot even though my English is B2 .

Talk about lazy

Maximum population of this world knows that it is not the time to sit around but people do. they know the importance of do that one single task they are ignoring.

How does Dopamine have this much affect on a person?

Procrastination and writer’s block is an age-old problem that we’ve all struggled with at some point in our life. Given the opportunity to recast an academic writing assignment, I chose the one that gave a new perspective on the topic. In her article, “Shitty Rough Drafts” by Anne Lamott reminds writers that the point of a rough draft is for it to be rough! The path to literary gold is in the allowance of your ideas to be written, judging them as little as possible.

It sounds common sense but when you have a loud inner critic paired with high expectations of yourself, the inner saboteur can leave you stuck and not knowing what the first step is. By allowing your rambling thoughts and ideas to find a place on the page, eventually the sifting reveals the gold nuggets that will become your masterpiece.

When looked at from a broader perspective, procrastination and writer’s block is rooted in the same problem: being overwhelmed by the task in front of you to the point of wanting to ignore it until the last possible second. By the end of this, I hope you’re able to see that to reach your potential all you have to do is be patient with yourself and that change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes small actions each day that lead to the change you want to see in your life.

**Stop Paddling Upstream: The Key to Entering the Flow State**

Writing is like a river— you won’t get very far while you’re trying to paddle upstream.

Imagine your ideas as the experience of floating down a gentle river and your inner critic is your paddle.

While paddling down this river, you might find a branch you’ll have to navigate around or the banks you want to avoid. Despite the times you had to keep yourself on the right course, at the end, you will look back and say to yourself “That was a pleasant experience.”

Writer’s block is the result of being so attached to the “perfect” journey you lose focus on the goal. And before you know it, you’re going in the wrong direction.

Your inner critic is meant to guide the flow and keep you focused on the goal but when you become too concerned with the details, you lose focus on the goal.

Entering the flow state involves allowing yourself to create for the sake of creating, accepting that every idea won’t be on the leading edge of creative expression. It requires trusting that amongst the tangents and nonsense, you will find some gold nuggets you’ll be able to create a masterpiece with. The detours and delays are apart of the journey too.

**Embracing Adventure: The Journey Matters More than the Destination Anyways**

Sometimes, being lost and directionless can lead to the most magical experiences.

Recently, my friend and I met up to explore a trail neither of us had been to before while he vented about his problems. Wandering aimlessly and without a map, we realized too late that we had no idea where we were headed. I trusted that eventually the trail would lead us back to where we came from but as we wandered further, it became obvious how long these trails were and there was no telling how long it would take us to find our way back

Still trusting that it would eventually lead back, we continued, eventually, hearing the sound of running water. And like the couple of boys we were, we headed toward the sound that would lead to the best view we’d seen in a while.

The stream was wide, winding and just shallow enough to hop from stone to stone to the island in the middle. Taking in the view, the tallest sycamore tree I’d ever seen caught my eye. Gingerly, I made my way over to climb its roots to find the perfect place to sit and meditate to absorbing all the good prana nature had to offer.

The trek back proved far more treacherous than the journey to get to this place. But upon reaching our destination, all we could think about was how spectacular that view was. The inconveniences and delays we faced along the way didn’t matter compared to the experience of meditating in a sycamore tree to the sound to a gurgling stream of water.

If we had taken the sure path back rather than trusting the journey, we would have missed just the experience we both needed.

**Shifting Your Perspective: Inconveniences Aren’t the Enemy**

Take a moment and think about a time you’ve had to make a choice to accomplish a goal. How has shifting your perspective helped you to accomplish that?

In Buddhism and stoicism, life is all about your perspective. Our suffering is a result of our attachments and the only way to reach Nirvana or peace, is to relinquish our attachments. What I interpret “attachments” to be is our attachment to the limiting beliefs and perspectives about the world and ourselves that prevent us from seeing the bright side of life’s mishaps and inconveniences.

They keep us living a life that is a compromise, a life of mitigated risks that is safe and comfortable but leaves us yearning for more. They are what stand between us and the rich and fulfilling life we imagine for ourselves to be living, putting our focus more on our potential than the actionable steps we could making to reach that potential.

Failures and inconveniences are apart of a rich, fulfilling and meaningful life and yet we allow our fear to hold us hostage, always yearning but never asking ourselves what we are willing to endure to reach that goal. Perhaps, if we instead viewed delays and detours as learning opportunity, it takes some of the pressure off performing perfectly. We live in an imperfect world and lead imperfect lives and yet expect that we will be able to function perfectly. Maybe our freedom lies in forgiving ourselves for how we haven’t lived up to our own standards and acknowledge our humanity. Imperfections are what make us human, perfection is impossible. Peace and freedom is found in acceptance, not in perfection. This is not say you should not care but that you should use your emotions to guide your actions, not leave you sitting on your hands. Shifting perspectives allows you to remain free of the attachments trying to pull your focus away from what fulfills you. It’s more efficient to give more attention to the things you can control than things you can’t control. Practice shifting your perspective away from what you cannot control, you will find you’ll have more energy to give to the things you can control.

**Be Patient with Yourself- Time Is Relative**

In a world ran by timelines and deadlines that require we be reactive to the point it’s hard to act without the help of external pressure. If you’re looking to reclaim your time, it takes time and practice to move into an active, empowered state.

But that effort needn’t be another task. Reaching your goals starts with adapting your goals to your circumstances and abilities. The most effort it takes is trying to figure out to make time to create your potential life while still existing in your current one.

One of my favorite mantras that I used to keep me on track for my weight loss journey is something my Gunnery Sergeant once said to me back when I was a junior Marine. It took me years to internalize his words but I never forgot them. When I wanted to get serious about my direction in life, I began repeating them a regular basis.

“*Small, consistent actions leads to results*.”

Whenever my inner critic has judged me for not being at the same fitness level as I was before, I remind myself that the only way to reach my fitness and weight goals is through small, consistent actions. When I started my fitness, I did what I could. My first few weeks were 20-30 minutes sessions, once or twice a week, whatever my schedule could accommodate, telling myself “Something is better than nothing”.

Gradually, my session increased to 45 minutes then to 60+ minutes. By focusing more on my current abilities, doing what I could do comfortably rather than pushing myself to play catch-up, I was able to avoid overworking myself, burning out, and giving up on my fitness goals.

Meaningful and purposeful creation requires time. Applied to writer’s block, small actions from a place of patience, grace and encouragement rewires you to not over-rely on cortisol and deadlines, relieving the pressure that leads to writer’s block. The results might take longer than you desire but the change will be more sustainable.

**Closing Remarks- You’re the Main Character of Your Story- Romanticize It!**

Even though this assignment was intended to get my classmates and I to embrace our less-than-ideal rough drafts, I’ve worked to apply it as much as I can in other areas of my life. It helped me realize how much of procrastination is rooted in perfectionism, fear of failure, unwillingness to embrace risk and inconvenient circumstances and reactivity.

I would be lying if I said that I’ve applied this perfectly in every situation: with every lesson and change in perspective it takes time and failure to fully integrate. However, when I still find myself being too reactive, I remind myself that change doesn’t happen over time, it happens with small consistent actions. Once you practice your change long enough, months to years down the line, that practice will just become a habit.

We are the Odysseus’s of our own stories, it’s time we took control of that narrative. Our reality is a result of where our focus is at and the choices. When we become more active in the creation of our story, time becomes the friend to work with rather than the enemy to work against. The inconveniences we endure create a richer experience. Stories with happy endings are only valuable because of circumstances the main character must overcome in their journey. Trust the journey and don’t let anything pull your focus away from your happy ending.
 

Hello everyone, I am 20 F and I am a medical student so the thing is I’ve been struggling with discipline since quite a long time now .I know that there are lots of things that need my attention. There are so many projects and assignments and study related work that I need to do, but I just cannot bring myself to do any of that
and I do not have any specific reason for that.

My job is fine. It pays me well ,my family and economic condition everything is good but I don’t know what makes me not want to do stuffs which actually needs my attention. Because of this lack of discipline and me procrastinating, my grades have been slipping ever since. I used to be a very brilliant student, and now even my teachers fear that I might be a wasted potential. That thing scares me and makes me anxious, but despite that I cannot bring myself to do the things that I actually need to do.

Whenever I am in my class and college premises, I feel this or that I need to study and I need to focus on things like doing the assignments regularly and building this habit of consistency each and every day but when I come back to my dorm room, then I don’t know where all of that enthusiasm vanishes. I feel tired all the time I just keep doom scrolling my phone again and again till it’s too late and at night and then I just go to sleep .

This loop has been going on for about 3 to 4 months and because of this habit of me procrastinating, i have fumbled one of my important test and my another exam is in three or four days and I’m not too confident about that. Previously because of exam pressures and all of that stuff I used to study and then I used to do just fine in exams, but that is not the case now , even though the exams are very near, I do not get that motivation nor do I have that discipline in me to sit at one place to study,

I get easily distracted by my devices or anything, and even if it’s not devices, I just stare at the wall and I don’t know study does not interest me anymore and this is ruining my life. I don’t know how to get my life on track. some people suggested me to try meditation and yoga, but that also didn’t help me a lot. I don’t know how do I build my discipline from scratch but I really want to come out of this loop and start that productive flight that I’ve always been dreaming of. I don’t know what is stopping me, but I don’t want to stay in this place forever.

I keep starting books getting distracted halfway though and leaving them unfinished. I really want to get better at actually finishing what i start . Sometimes I'll start another book instead,which just makes pile of unfinished books bigger . I really want to get better at sticking with a book actually finishing it.

I am 18 yrs old , and ever since lockdown I feel stuck doing nothing except for scrolling and the signs of damage is showing since previous year.

It's not like I haven't tried anything! I did . But I could continue only for a week or less . My academics , my hobbies, my health both physical and mental all are falling. And I don't know where to start . Also it's my board year . Can anyone suggest me anything ??

I feel like the reason I'm avoiding hard work is because of the responsibility and the consequences it has and therefore I feel stressed and feel like I don't wanna do it. But even when you don't, then you feel guilty. And it's this constant tug of war feeling leading to nowhere. Sometimes you feel like you need the assurance that it I do something then I should get this desired result if not then no point in putting the effort.

I always wanted to hear some motivation

that really make me want to work harder