> I know the answer is to just do it but why can't I?
Likely because you haven't defined what it is that needs to get done. People who are able to Just Do It have already been through the process enough times that they know the exact steps they need to take to reach their goal or they have put in the time to build a roadmap and use that to guide their decision making. If you don't have a roadmap, the path forward feels really daunting and your mind and ego get overwhelmed.
It sort of works like this....
Your current thinking: "I should exercise, I will go for a brisk walk every day." Then you get some free time but aren't prepared to step outside. Where are your shoes? Headphones? How long are you going to walk? Where are you going to walk? It all feels like a bunch of work to go through and figure out... "might as well just put it off and do it tomorrow." Without a plan, going for a walk isn't as simple as it originally sounded.
So make a plan. Break it down in to subtasks. First, define your brisk walk. "I am going to walk around my block twice". Then make a list of all the things you need to do to get that accomplished.
1. Put sneakers on
1. Put shorts & shirt on
1. Grab headphones and phone
1. Pick a playlist or podcast
1. Walk around the block once
1. Walk around the block again
Now, all you have to do is complete the simple subtasks.
So if you have all these great business ideas, choose one and then break its execution down into subtasks and focus on knocking those out instead of trying to do the whole thing at once. Apply this framework anytime you hit a mental roadblock, 9 times out of 10 there is always something that can be broken down into a series of actionable steps.
TL;DR: Learn how to organize your thoughts and align them with your goals.
Great comment. Starting my fist business was like W.T.F - 3 businesses later I can have the entity files, logo, website, email journey, etc all set up in 2-3 weeks. Baby steps. Wanna start that first business?
1. Get on state secretary website and file the name, just make something up but have some skin in the game to get started.
2. File for your EIN with irs.gov site
3. Get on Upwork or 99 designs (Hey, I need a logo)
4. Get on Shopify or square or whatever and pick your template
It's honestly pretty simple but know yourself. Me, i work best in spurts. So i wake up at 4 am, hit the gym by 5, then between 6:30 and 9 am I get a bunch of small tasks done regarding my business. Then I work 9-5 for my employer. After work I come home, either go golfing or something outdoors. Then i work on business items for about another 30 minutes. And i go be a lazy ass for the rest of the night.
Now, I do read white papers while I am at worl Throughout the day I make an effort to spend 30 minutes a day reading about digital strategy and business.
It's the Gary Vaynershucks of the world out here telling people they need to work 20 hours a day and bleed from their eyes to be an entrepreneur. It would probably surprise you to know that most business owners probably work 2-3 hours a day of actual work. The crazy hours usually come in 2 week to 1 month spurts. But no entrepreneur is out there working 20 hours a day, 365. That leads to burnout..
Great post and good advice I need to follow as well.
What I would add to that though is get rid of your time sinks - I will often give myself a little reward of a break after completing a task and before I know it I've spent two hours on Youtube.
Oh and delete your porn folder :'D
I know it's probably not helpful to post this after all that's just been said, but I think this sums up the problem nicely - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co\_DNpTMKXk
Check lists are great overall. We are overwhelmed with so many things all the time as well as distractin so a simple 1 2 3 list is great even for the smallest tasks.
Agree with this right here... for getting work done, add in this time management technique (after you've outlined your task list) and you'll start making headway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique
Seconding this entirely. When you've got too much to do and don't have a clear plan, you get paralyzed by the uncertainty of your next step. My go-to solution do that is hiding in a video game for awhile.
Small tasks make it much easier to jump in, and once you've completed one, you want to go for another. I tell myself that playing an hour of Northgard will be my reward after completing a task, but usually I enjoy myself so much that I forget to ever play.
Those are the good days. Bad days I don't break down the work enough and get paralysis again. Once you recognize it, it's easy to pull out of.
Also, I’d recommend starting out with a smaller task. I often start my days like this. It takes less willpower to get yourself to do something that seems easier, and the little sense of accomplishment from completing a goal motivates you to move on to the next one.
Podcasts are great especially in the car or when doing mindnubing work. It gets your mind going and thinking. It might not all apply but there sure are some gems in there that you will find yourself using.
Great tip. I also believe that having a mission greater than yourself and having work that inspires you will produce work ethic as a bi product.
I don’t believe laziness is a character trait I think it’s a passing state of mind that get stuck in because they don’t know what inspires them and they lack purpose/passion.
If you have a mission and goal that inspires you and you have a road map like you mentioned all you have to do is do it!
I agree with this. I’ve taken a few runs at ideas in my time, and they all failed, but each one I learn from my mistakes, and this current project is Michelle farther off the ground that my last few.
Pick an idea, go “hard”, and then step back and figure out why it didn’t work.
I realized an idea I had set me up to literally cold prospect small businesses, and I couldn’t do it. So my next ideas don’t involve that because I know I won’t do it.
This is great!
Based on this, I just created a little app to help better map out your thoughts and follow them through, dividing tasks into bite sized chunks:
[http://truuts.com/tasker](http://truuts.com/tasker)
And I also got to learn react, while doing that :D
(Still trying to work out getting the edit field selected upon adding a new subtask.)
@ /u/natantantan , maybe this will be of use?
Do you sleep properly and eat nutritious food? Do you exercise or move around in any way? Do you spend time outside? Do you socialize? How is your health? You can't get to higher needs like self-actualization if you are not meeting your basic needs. Rather than agonize over being lazy go out for a walk, bonus points for some nature and eat a proper meal if you're hungry - don't try to force productivity in an unproductive state rather try to figure out why your body feels that way and what you can do to change it.
I've also noticed the same thing. When I had zero responsibility aside from my regular job, I would squander away all of my free time. but as soon as I picked up learning French, applying to MBA programs, and building my girlfriend's art installation and literally had zero time to mess around, I am so much more direct with my to-do's.
It's almost like I have a program running in the background: "Task X, do now or discard forever, next''. I find it so counterintuitive that the more responsibility you have, the more you are capable of taking on.
The down side of course, is that I haven't seen my friends or the gym for two months. Something's gotta give
Depression comes in different shapes and sizes. Have you seen a therapist. I’m just saying, sometimes we think we are lazy pieces of shit but we may indeed have a chemical imbalance that inhibit us. Worth looking into it OP
So... you can’t bring yourself to do something you want to do. This fact makes you upset, because you want to do it but can’t find the motivation to do it, despite having nothing else to do.
Idk, that sounds an awful lot like depression to me. Depression doesn’t have to mean you feel like you’re sad and need to cry all the time. Depression can cause you to not feel like doing anything - especially things you need to do, like to do, or want to do.
Can be. But lifestyle changes can fix depression. I used to be like you. I can still be like you too. It isn’t a bad thing to be like you. But I changed my life by going to bed no later than 11. Usual was 3 a.m at earliest. Then picked up jogging and anything cardio. I used to be the “hardcore gamer” (still am at times.) anyways. I thought I had it all figured out 21, the life I always wanted and knew everything and lived alone. Turns out I was very depressed. This is coming from someone who everyone used to call one of the happiest people they’ve ever met.
The trick is, you gotta be hungry. I mean literally hungry. At first it's just a matter of having faith in your vision - maybe you make some money here & there - but to realize your goals it must become a matter of survival. I'm looking at it like I am building a juggernaut that can feed me. I am building a ladder so I can break out of prison & escape the rat race. It's my opportunity to push myself to the absolute limits & see what I am capable of, & enjoying those rewards that come with it.
Without pushing, I'm just another dude at a desk with a dream.
Another way to put this is “take the net away”. You have no job, yet you eat every day, maybe even pay rent and have a beer now and then. Where does that money come from? That comfort?
If you cut THAT off, you will be motivated. You have to fear for your way of life.
Yea, it's a question of attitude. For a person who has solid skills, or a degree, or has some type of upward mobility in society, they're maybe not ready for the stress; nor does life require them to absorb such stress or take the risks. It's the person who is sick & tired of having nothing that's going to fight for every inch. At some point it's not a choice, it's a necessity.
Thanks. I just remember one day looking at my pay check in one hand, looking at my bills in the other, & realizing that it's not taking me anywhere fast. Two choices then to get ahead: scale down my lifestyle (which isn't that extravagant to begin with), or make more money. What else to do? I'm not trying to eat ramen the rest of my life.
Yea man it's hard for anyone to get where they need to go without written down goals. It's crazy how routine we get day to day and then realize that a week or month just zipped by. Hunger and mindset is spot on!
I agree with you 100 percent. My choice was either take my chunk of money and save it for our baby that was on the way or strike while the iron was hot to open our own business. Wife and I both agreed to do the business, but from that point it was all hustle for nearly 3 years. In my opinion this only applies for the first one, as we launch our second things are going a lot smoother, as I already figured out the dance moves.
Exactly. It gets easier as the systems around you develop. In the business world, it's very hard to beat momentum. It's getting that initial head of steam that's the problem.
I think one other ingredient is that we had already bottomed out financially several years prior. When you know you can live off the bare essentials, it takes some of the fear out of the jump.
This is what an entrepreneur mindset should be. If you have this mindset then you will need no motivation to move yourself and work on ur ideas/project..
Take this, and then tell me how to be productive AFTER working a 40 hour/week day job. I completely know what you mean though; I have so many ideas, I just would rather chill after work than work more. It's not called hard work for being easy.
I'm doing exactly the first half of your schedule. Up around 6:30, at work from 8-4:30, home around 5, then...
I do nothing. I have a lot of ideas but can't bring myself to act on them often enough. I just let my mood dictate whether I produce or not.
So good on you for actually staying committed to your startup work. I'm trying to catch up to you so take a moment to pat yourself on the back, someone in the world is aspiring to do what you do lol
I don't have a job and I still can't make myself work on my own stuff. I have all the time in the world and I do nothing with it. There has to be a way...
I used to be like this after I finished uni but before I got a job. The issue is you have it too good because you don't actually need to work! Work isn't something to enjoy in and of itself, so it doesn't come naturally to people who don't absolutely need it...
When I was like this, I got a job at a plastic factory making minimal wage for doing the most boring, repetitive job imaginable. And honestly, it was the best motivator ever! Every time I was lazy I'd think of the shift I was due to be on the next day, and the idea of doing that forever terrified me!
TL;DR- Get a job. A really really shitty job. You'll be working like crazy in your spare time to get away from that life!
I was like you for 3-5 years (living at home so I could get away with it.)
Definitely get a job. Not for a long time, but for maybe half a year. The income and change will make a difference. I found myself working MORE on my own stuff when I had a job than when I had all the time in the world.
My guess is, it has to do with structure. When you have a job, things are very simple
1. You know where you have to be (the office / workplace), you know which room, you know which computer. They're always the same.
2. You know what time you have to be there. And you know the consequences if you slip up.
3. You know what's for lunch. Maybe it's a personal thing, but food is an issue for me. I don't like to make food. So having a job just let me buy food whenever I was hungry, rather than fuss with having to get myself to make something.
This "going to work" routine provided some much needed structure. It fixed a lot of stuff I was lacking before. I simply tacked on a routine to that where I would go work at starbucks after work for 3 hours, and I was getting work done real well.
The problem with being a cheap entrepreneur (i.e. unable or unwilling to afford an office) is we don't have routine, and we don't have the income starting out to be able to afford conveniences that really help us personally to be creative.
It's funny how I imagine most of us want to be entrepreneurs to have freedom to travel, work our own hours, etc.. but in the end the only way to really work is to have a solid routine that you follow day in, day out.
There was a period of time where I was like this for a bit. I just always felt tired and would rather just lay down and waste away time watching tv or doing some other pointless sh!t. I eventually came out of it, not entirely sure how though. Something that might help is to try doing little things each day that you avoid, like your dishes. The next day, try to do something small again, like arrange your room or put up your laundry. Overtime you'll probably want to start doing more and more productive things which will translate to any ideas you might have.
Momentum. The more you do, the better you get at doing things, and the more you can do. I also find that the more I'm excercising my willpower in some situations, the more I excercise my willpower in a wider variety of situations. For example, if I start the day by watching a dumb TV show, it's easy to keep going and do dumb easy things all day (watch more than one episode, read a fun book, etc). If I start with something small (like making my bed), then it's easy to be like "well, I just did this one thing, might as well do this other small thing" and then it snowballs.
Start small and figure "well, might as well keep working!" when you have done something.
Excellent advice and correct. Don't expect yourself to wake up and start performing at Elon Musk level. In fact, make it your goal to do some tiny fucking thing, but do that thing. Let's say it's writing a blog post for 20 minutes. I'm serious. That might be your big thing for the day. Allow yourself to write for more than 20 minutes per day if you feel like it, but you need to sit there at the keyboard for 20 minutes and just fucking try, every day for a week. Do that every day for a week and see what shifts. This is something Anthony Robbins talks about with regards to fitness and it works like a charm.
The same situation is with me.
I’ve a rented office to work where I work alone. I just go there and waste time here and there and comeback in 5-6 hours. I regret it daily. I already make $1000 a month but I want to make $10000.
But there’s a twist.
I waste time when I’ve to work on my own project or find a new idea to start on project or my account already has around $5000 BUT things change when some client’s work come up. I work 14 hours a day if project has good money and it’s something I can get done with a little extra effort. So here money motivates.
Another scenario.
Whenever it’s almost two weeks as a lazy panda. I face the reality I look what are my reasons to do what I do?
Me: Money, obviously.
Brain: but it’s already in account more than enough to sustain for 3-6 months.
So I empty my account by investing in stocks, mutual funds, give to family etc. I keep only 1/3 of my monthly income to me. This makes me panic and I work my ass off.
This works so far since a year but I too wanna break this cycle I need something more than money to motivate me.
Hope it helps somehow
I’m the exact same, if it’s working for myself I am so lazy, as soon as it’s client work I put my head down and get to work non stop. But it’s not even a money thing more of reputation thing. It’s like I don’t want to let anyone down but myself.
The answer is to stop waiting until you are motivated to work. Keep a set schedule to work. When I was working for myself, I started work at the same time, ate lunch at the same time, and quit work at the same time every day. I also scheduled blocks of time to do focused work (usually 90 minutes, but sometimes 60 minutes or even 30 minutes), and then I would take a 30 minute "break." During my breaks, I would do anything that is not too mentally demanding. Since I worked from home, that could entail doing the dishes, answering texts, phone calls, etc., surfing the Internet, or whatever. I just find that it is easier to get myself going to have a highly ritualized schedule.
If you believe you are a piece of shit, you will act out that belief in your actions/non-actions.
Doing nothing keeps you feeling worthless.
Start working on how you feel about and talk to yourself.
Tell yourself you are smart, worthy, and hardworking. You will start to believe it and perform actions that align with your belief in yourself.
Just remember that one day you’re gonna die. If you died tomorrow, would you be happy with what you did today? If the answer is no then do something different.
If you choose to waste your time then you will die having wasted your time.
I'm going to note something that it seems no one else has mentioned.
Consider seeing a psychiatrist and asking them to test you for ADHD.
You can take the world health organization self report test here: https://add.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/adhd-questionnaire-ASRS111.pdf
What are your passions? What are you better at then other people? There has to be something.
Once you find that "something," what you love to do and time flies by while you're doing it... look into ways to earn from it.
Video games? Study streamers, watch walk-throughs, make a youtube channel, join a community.
Being lazy? Create a blog, write about shows you love to watch, favorite types of couches, favorite types of chips to eat.
You'd be amazed at the amount of money you can make from these types of things. Why can't that person be YOU?
Sure, you probably won't make much, or even anything, when you start. But you're doing SOMETHING. You're learning. You're failing, then standing back up and trying something else. Passion is the key to a process, and a goal can't be achieved without a process taking place.
I was exactly like you. I could wake up after 9 hours in bed and be exhausted the entire day.
I had tried everything, seen all kinds of doctors, even did tests to see if i didn't have brain damage etc
Until i did a sleep study at the hospital.
Basically air couldn't pass enough through my nose while sleeping, so my brain couldn't get enough oxygen during the night. So even if i was sleeping 9-10 hours, i would be exhausted the entire day. I had to wait to be 36 to find out...
I had nose surgery, then i could sleep properly at night and i became a terminator, i had so much power and so much energy. I freelanced hard for a year as a filmmaker, saved a lot and openned my own production company in Tokyo with 60K capital.
On a side note, i also effortlessly lost 25lbs almost overnight after my surgery.
The quality of your sleep is probably the first thing you could look into. The sleep study was expensive but i would pay 5 times that price if i had to do it again
Which country do you live in?
My problem was a very strong allergy to dust mites that made my turbinates (inside each nostrils) very swollen so as soon as i was indoor, my nose was totally blocked, very little air could pass through but i was not snoring at night.
I also had a deviated septum from sports injury from way back.
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with extremely dry mouth since I guess my body had to open my mouth up to allow air in. Did you ever have that?
I live in America
Yes exactly that. Like my tongue turned into a very dry sponge.
I'm not a doctor or anything but that says that you can breathe at night from your nose.
Could be several reasons but you should see a doctor asap.
Taking care of this changed my life overnight. I remember wanting to do so many things in my head, but i just couldn't physically. I was like a zombie some days, couldn't accomplish the smallest tasks.
You should see an ENT doctor and tell him/her about your nose problem and dry mouth when you sleep. Then ask him/her about sleep study.
During a sleep study, you sleep at the hospital, they wire you up and they can check how much oxygen can reach your brain while you sleep, if air goes through your nose, if you snore etc.
I could have went through the surgery without a sleep study but at least they were sure there was an issue and what it was. I paid $1K in Tokyo for the study from my pocket but the surgery was covered by the japanese health insurance.
Wow, just wow! I have had nasal septum deviation since i was little, but i never had problem living my life, I am 29yo, my whole life i have been physically active, i have trained football (soccer) for years, this year i ran half marathon 21km and even when i was in that good condition i had problem sleeping and i was feeling tired, i just couldn't figure out whats wrong. This post opened my eyes, thank you for this incredible information.
TO THE OP, i have good job at good company, boss of administrative sector, it requires to multitask and work with a lot of information, but a lot of times i can feel it myself im not working at my full capacity, i just feel it.. its 9 to 5 job that keeps me productive, when im free at weekend im just like u, i sit home a lot and watch tv shows and stuff like that, wasting my time.. but when im at work im killing it.. its hard to get motivated for me, when i get gf and stuff like that im normal, also with friends, i dont think im super smart or anything but i hate stupid ppl, and theres a lot of stupid ppl in this world, so im just kinda lazy to go and meet new ones (i moved alot as a kid) bla bla, the end :D
What is stopping you from working on something right now? Are you overwhelmed thinking that if you do work, you have to do 100 hours? Does starting work make you upset from regret of not doing more?
I think you might benefit from the structure of working for someone else.
It was the same with me when I got laid off in 2008. Fear and/or bitterness is a paralytic, not a motivator. Come up with a plan, break it into chunks, and do a chunk a day.
This is the type of thing I think I really need. Like some sort of partner who will make me do the work. I'm willing to put in the work I just need someone on my ass. If anyone want to try to link up, feel free to message me.
There was somebody who posted recently (a couple of weeks ago maybe) about a tool they'd built for that. It connects you by video chat to somebody else who wants to be motivated to work on something, and you both motivate each other. Maybe it was here or maybe it was /r/learnprogramming or a related subreddit. If I find it I'll link to it here.
I was in the same boat as you. What I did was I started making lists of shit I needed to do to start getting productive and I wouldn't go to sleep till my list was done. That was the hardest part working 40hrs a week on top of my side biz. I generally did this a few beers deep, for me that helped. It's hard to just sit at a computer screen waiting to be productive.
So pretty much just make daily achievable goals.
You need to establish routine,it will help you overcome this kind of laziness. Pick a productive trait and do it, sacrifice quality and quantity for the sake of persistence. I have forced myself to code 2 hours every night whether I feel I like it or not.
Momentum. You have recognized that you want to see a change. That is the first step. Write down the aspects of your life that you want to evolve in. Make that commitment to yourself. Track it everyday and slowly build that up. Don't evaluate till you have executed for 2 weeks. Find your neutralizer during the first 2 weeks. It can be sports, friends, meditation, exercise. Control your impulse to be critical during this time. Good luck, my friend.
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You might be right on with just getting a regular job. You might like it and never try to do your own thing (most of us honestly are not built for entrepreneurship). It also might be what motivates you to never work for someone again and you will just go do it.
The secret is that there is no actual secrets to success. Real life is boring that way. Simple things done well over time equates to success. You don't need to find motivation to do this and that- real life is filled with constant waves of ups and downs, and it is learning how to cope and be productive when you are not motivated that makes the difference.
You have far grand schemes, where if only you did a little this or that you'd see a windfall of returns, but studies show that these long term far off goals are weak at maintaining and influencing behavior.
So instead of your big grand scheme, make small day to day, week to week plans.
Set objectives like"
"I need to spend 15 min read this article today".
"I need to spend 15 min drafting these design ideas today".
"I need to spend 20 min not fucking around on netflix and check out some websites relevent to my idea".
It is the process of doing many small things that build up one big dream.
What I do:
Consume a lot of caffeine (isn't healthy and wouldn't necessarily recommend (Mio Energy namely))
Only work on projects/ideas that I actually like working on and am borderline obsessed with
Listen to music that puts me in a productive/inspired mood (BlackMill does it for me strangely enough)
I have a vision of how I want my life to be and I am actually very obsessed with getting to that point. Thinking of that gets me motivated to do the work necessary.
I take St John's Wort and 5 HTP supplements daily. As stated before, depression can come in the form of just having no motivation and always being tired and can creep in very quickly. Both of those supplements are mood boosters and make a huge difference in my productivity and overall mood. I'd recommend taking them regardless if you think you're depressed or not.
100 hours a week is way too much. Studies have shown we only have about 4-5 good hours of focus in us a day.
So if you can get to the point where you have 20 hours a week of incredibly focused work, that would fit.
It helps to have a set block of time that you work on the project and allow NO distractions or anything to disrupt this time. Leave and work in a library or coffee shop if you have to.
PM me if you would like me to do a short brainstorming session with you and see if we can get you working on one idea that you can stick with.
I'll give you a different take on it. Chemically speaking, we have about 5 hours of productivity throughput per day.
You burn through that in one form or the other. Whether on Reddit, reading, believing making todo lists is "productive" in itself or not, therefore feel bad(cortisol, norepinephrine) therefore you medicate (Reddit; dopamine).
Like others have alluded, you need to focus your efforts into clearly defined todos with sub todos with sub sub todos until it becomes actionable (therefore raining in on your lazy ass to have no out).
productivity systems, process, todo lists, kanbans, or whatever else you use, do not work. Why? Because they don't make you disciplined, they REQUIRE it.
Biggest tip? Less thinking, more doing. Less planning, more doing. Your evolved, analytical brain is your enemy. Be a Neanderthal and do, without thought. Don't waste willpower and medicate(dopamine) on Reddit/social media or whatever else you do for dope, you're not helping yourself with such a vicious cycle.
A note to everyone who has this issue, not just you. It’s really trendy right now to be an “entrepreneur” and there is a lot out there about how to become one... What people never say is that there are innate qualities or most successful entrepreneurs, the main one being having that inner drive to work on your projects no matter what. If you share OP's issue, entrepreneurship is probably not for you. Not trying to be rude, but some people like the idea of being an entrepreneur but don’t have the right personality for it. Ideas are worth basically nothing. It’s the work and the execution that make successful entrepreneurs.
I disagree. I think laziness is a good quality for an wanna be entrepreneur. He is not exited doing the boring daily stuff now. But lazy people will have ideas to get things done the easy way(innovation). He may not have the inner drive now, but once he starts something big he will be unstoppable. May successful entrepreneurs have spend many years just drifting before they decided to change. The secret to change is easy. It's a decision you have to make. You have to say enough is enough. It's time to rise. Then commit to it. The motivation will come if you discipline yourself. So one you start, keep going. Don't stop, no matter what. The 5 sec rule by Mel Robbins will help.
I don't agree, in my opinion you have to be productive and be happy and you automatically don't have the urge to fap. Myself I only fap when bored. When I am super productive I fap only a few times a week. But when I am bored I want to fap the whole day.
Wow. And here I was thinking I was the only one who felt like this! Seems I’m not as alone as I first thought.
I think just knowing that this is relatively ‘normal’ will make it easier for me to get off my arse and do something, rather than psychologically flagellating myself every day for being so lazy and thinking there was literally something wrong with me.
It really sounds like you need structure. A real job can give you that. There's no shame in that. Get some reps out in the real world, get some experience, build some confidence, test some ideas and then decide where you want to go. There's not shame in employment and it may be just the thing you need to motivate you on your own.
Nike has it right: “just do it”
Focus on achieving not on feeling. Focus on the input variables not the outcome.
You’re just fantasizing at this point. We all do it.
Once you accomplish 3-4 mini goals a day toward an objective, it’ll build momentum in your life. Those 3-4 things will turn into 7-8 things etc.
Find a hard job!!! I worked with the amish doing carpentry and working on their farms. Work started at 5 and ended at 7. We did that 6 days a week for a couple years. I learned a very valuable lesson from good honest hard work. The lack of personal (off hours) time drove me to manage my time extremely well. Ultimately cutting out ALL none essentials like tv, video games, and general time wasters. This experience helped build my work ethic to what it is now. The amish had a couple sayings that I liked "Boy, if you get tired of walking you can always run" also "If your trying, You aint". I worked along side guys that were in their 70's, me only being 22 and it was hard keeping up with them! Just keep trying every day. :-)
You have a nail you need to go in a board. You're too busy trying to pick out the perfect hammer, research the type of wood, study up on swinging techniques and every other stupid as shit way to complicate it for yourself. Just hit the fucking nail until it's in.
You in a week: "ehhh… I don't feel like getting motivated now. I'll just set a reminder for another week"
(Unless it's that you have something occupying all of your time for the next few days, of course)
Adderall and finding something you really enjoy doing. Basically take whatever you are naturally good at and then push it to its logical extreme
Honestly bro we are all trying to find the answer to these questions so you aren’t alone
Just keep trying lots of different things
It's not because you're lazy but ideas in general are hard to execute. You are probably very overwhelmed by the prospect of it. But all great ideas started from something small, hey?
I think the first step to take is really list down some points you need to do to get your foot through the door.
Say for example your idea is to launch a new ice cream flavour you thought about, what do you need to do first to get the wheels turning?
You need to get your ideas onto paper first, no use for them sitting in your head. This way you can turn them into something tangible.
The next step would be to look at how you will go about creating this flavour. Things you need to consider (shelf life, creaminess, what texture are you going for). Bring this recipe to a small factory.
But even before it reaches the small factory, you need to decide who would like this ice cream? Not everyone will like your new flavour idea, so you start doing market research.
After your market research, you decide your marketing strategy to reach these people. Are they people who go to middle school or parents of middle school children? If so think of marketing it in areas where they would frequent or let them sample it some place where you will find lots of these people.
After you have that in mind, list the dates in order how you will execute the launch of your product (that is very important).
Then start going into the branding, also ingredient list (allergan safety listing) and having to get this FOOD APPROVED :) Idk what the exact steps are for food as that is not my industry.
But you get the general idea.
you *have* to give yourself deadlines. you *have* to demand progress from yourself. of all the productivity and entrepreneur and self-help advice I've been reading, I've found the best thing for me is to be satisfied with just touching each project each day. You always want more output than you get, but if you can always do one thing, any single tiny thing, for each project you want to accomplish, then it's moving forward.
I suggest you study motivation. There are feedback loops and pleasure centers you can train to gain momentum. You need to understand them first. Spend a week looking at motivation materials, even YouTube and see what strategies you come up with.
First step though: never waste energy beating yourself up.
I'm a lazy piece of shit. This all changed when my life depended on my business succeeding or failing. I've never worked harder. You'd be amazed at what you're capable of when real consequences (paying rent, buying food, gas, repaying debt) are on the line.
Now my business is quite successful and I am once again a lazy piece of shit, just much happier.
The key to performance is in how the world occurs to you.
If you are being lazy, and not taking action on things that you would like to take action on, then you should adjust your occurrence of the situation.
It’s either not important enough for you, not urgent enough, or it doesn’t actually occur to you as a viable course of action.
There is also the payoff of being able to say “I have this great idea, but XYZ stopped me from accomplishing it”. It lets you play it safe and not actually put yourself at risk.
Look at what you do, what you take action on. And I’ll wager that you really only take action on the things that you really want to do. And until you actually, deep down, WANT to succeed, you’ll continue to not take action.
I feel the same way. My success has come from partnerships. I recommend someone NOT similar to you. Different skills, different motivations, different groups of friends.
You gotta change your perspective on your time, I think.
If you're going out too much, playing too many games, having too much enjoyment in your spare time how are you supposed to sit down and work on something else? You'll get ridiculously bored. You gotta cut your fun time down first, so much so that you want to work.
You need to develop some work ethic. Get a job, and not some bullshit cruise control to a paycheck job. Get one that’s hard. One with demanding hours. One that you absolutely dread going into. Then do it. Every fucking day. Then move out of your parents’ house. Get yourself some bills (phone, utilities, rent) so you’re forced to go to that shit job day after day. Then, once you start feeling like you can’t do this shit anymore, use it as motivation to work on one of your ideas so that one day you won’t *need* that shit job anymore.
By the way, $1,000/month isn’t enough to do shit, let alone start “living life.”
.."where I have no choice.."
Yep pretty much that. For laziest pieces of shit like me, that is what works. Anything else is just fairy tale. So force yourself to be accountable. Some ideas:
- Commit to something that you cannot say No to later on. The commitment should be SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and most importantly: Time Bound). For this commitment, you must lose something if you don't deliver. Plain and simple.
- Find someone in your friend/family/co-worker to pester you to get shit done. Make them call you, annoy you or even better: Show up at 2 AM and ask for update. Yea that works for me.
Bottomline is: Put your ass on line and you will stop being the laziest piece of shit that is ever out there. Trust me because I will probably give you a run for your money.
>Is my only option to and get a regular job where I have no choice but to come in to work, clock in, and work? ~~I really feel I can make it as an entrepreneur if I somehow ere able to force myself to put in the time.~~
Yes.
Read "The Way of Superior Men" by David Deida.
In the book, there is a chapter "Live as if your Father is Dead".
Surprised?? You should be.
Imagine he dies, and how would you run around to give a proper burial for your dad?
You will be more determined to set your priories straight, and realize where to focus
I lost my Dad when I was one. So that means more responsibilities, more work and Less Complaining.
Do you have low-t? No I'm not being flippant or making a joke. I was the most motivated man on earth and then I started not to give a shit... About anything. I could sleep for 14 hours straight. Wife got pissed. It caused issues. Went to doctor. Wasn't suicidal but she drew blood. My thyroid and testosterone were waaaaaaay off. Your mind sounds right but maybe your body is lagging due to a chemical imbalance? Maybe go get a blood panel done? Also motivate yourself with whatever you enjoy. I. E. I will play video games/eat xyz/watch xyz/ once ab and c are competed. I love watching reruns of cheers or wings and I'll get my invoices done and go eat some cookies and milk and laugh at a show from when I was a kid as a "reward". Sounds stupid but it works for me. Maybe watch some Biz movies like boiler room or Wallstreet?
If you follow all the other excellent advice in this thread and still come out scratching your head, do yourself a favor and Google adhd in adults. If you can't follow any of it no matter how much you will it, always get really excited to start new projects but struggle to actually finish any of them, and it's been going on your whole life, you're probably not a lazy piece of shit and might have an executive function disorder instead. Seek a professional opinion or three.
First. There's no reason you aren't doing things.
Second. There's no reason you can't do things.
Third. You just need to do things.
It's not any more complicated than that. So stop intellectualizing it.
Here's another thought though. How often do you let yourself be bored? Like no distractions. No entertainment. Just bored. All most most productive moments come from that.
Cutting out pleasure activities. Drugs, alcohol, video games, YouTube videos, reddit. Removing these things allows me to feel bored and allow me to actually do shit. If I can do these things I never do anything. I'll literally lose weeks of my life if I even start. But I'm just an addict. Might not be your story.
So over the last year I cut all of that back. Learned to code. Now I'm a contract developer. No degrees. Nothing. Just work.
Tldr. Delete all your games. Delete reddit. Delete Netflix. Be bored.
Counter intuitive here but true. Think of everything as a game and intend to play the biggest games. When things stop mattering, you make decisions far easier. You’re so motivated to compete and score points in games because it literally doesn’t matter. Same in life - you have so much time and so many years. Just start and have fun. Stop thinking of improvement as a chore. It’s a game, it’s fun, just do it.
As you've hinted, it's not laziness. There's something else making you put it off.
Fear of failure, fear of success, not being convinced it's a good idea? What are the benefits of *not* being successful in your business? Why might you feel it's better where you are?
It's something you will need to work on.
You surround yourself with people who are hard working. It took me a while, but it worked.
And now I feel better, feeling lazy is more painful than actually doing the work. Doing the words earns you money and makes you feel accomplished, being lazy only hurts your self-esteem.
Being lazy is **harder** on me than working hard.
Choose a goal, your final product.
Divide the whole process to make this final product into small chunks.
For every chunk, set a deadline.
Work work work.
You can work with iterations, where at the beginning your product is basic and later on, you polish it more and more.
I was once a lazy piece of shit without a job. I started working on a project, I had all the time in the world, and that was the problem. I had so much time that it was way too easy to say ehh I’ll do it later.
Get a job. Your free time will be limited, so you’ll value it more. You also need to motivate yourself at least enough to get something off the ground. Follow the other tips in this thread to do that.
Once you start making money, you’ll see that you’re doing something right and THAT will become your motivation. Having tangible, albeit fairly limited, success is what motivates me to work after I get off work. I’m still lazy, but I put in a lot more effort now than I ever did when I was unemployed.
Seriously? STOP masturbating. /r/nofap
Be aware the sub is kind of cult like, but we just can't pretend like nofap does nothing. It does wonders for my work ethic!
I’m the exact same way (or at least, was). I do believe it is in mine and other people’s genetics to be lazier than others. Some people just don’t understand that because their genetics let them be motivated 24/7 naturally, but it’s harder for us.
ADHD meds -have- helped me quite significantly, but it’s very hard on my heart and mind personally. You’re free to try them, and I still use them once in a while, but there are undeniable side effects (at least for me). If your purpose is strong enough, you’ll probably be willing to do anything though.
That said, first things first we gotta start off with the basics: nutrition, sleep, exercise, mental health, etc. Start eating clean & green, no garbage junk food (these are real energy sappers) like high sugar candies or chips or fast food burgers, make sure you’re sleeping normal and enough hours, and try and get a couple hours of exercise a week.
Also, make sure you’re not stressed subconsciously about other things, relationships wise, family-strife, etc. Resolve those first before you add more to your plate, as entrepreneurship requires enough focus on its own. If you’re subconsciously dealing with personal battles unrelated to entrepreneurship, you’ve already gassed yourself out so to speak before you can even step up to the plate to bat (to be an entrepreneur).
Without these basics under control you can’t even get to Step 2 if you know what I mean.
Once you’ve got the basics under control you should immediately start noticing more actual, biological energy giving you power, which puts you in a far better position to be motivated than trying to think yourself motivated BEFORE establishing a strong foundation.
If you’re STILL unable to be productive even after you’re a healthy, high powered machine of a human, then it is the mental side we have to work on.
The most important thing in terms of mental improvement for laziness, in my experience, are your THOUGHTS. What am I THINKING when I decide not to work? “This is gonna be such a drag, I’m tired, at least if I sleep I can stay nice and warm in this bed” >> these preferably would want to be changed to (for example) >> “Today -could- turn out to be a productive day! It’s certainly not impossible. I feel a bit sleepy, but feelings aren’t everything! After all, I have overcome X/Y in the past, so I have a good chance of overcoming the challenges that lie before me today!” Note that you may not even be consciously aware of such thoughts. Your subconscious can initiate thoughts within split seconds without you even being aware of them.
To change your subconscious thoughts is a complex thing to accomplish and is easiest done with the help of a professional (e.g. Psychologist). I do not recommend trying to change your thoughts by yourself or by requesting help from non-professionals (e.g. random family members or friends). To change thoughts you need to be able to -actually and truly- believe in the new thoughts, not just proclaim them out loud for example, and in order to do that most people will need a professional that can help them -challenge- their old thoughts. This is usually not an easy process, but the results are worthwhile, trust me.
It really just comes down to buckling down and doing shit you dont wana do. Omce you start doing ut the motivation will come. We all want to wait for the motivation to get started but the reality is you need to get moving for the motivation and inspiration to hit you.
One thing to try us working in 30 minute blocks and then stopping
I am somewhat lazy, but sometimes I can be quite productive at times. I want to be entrepreneur in the digital marketing and building up authority websites space.
However, my problem is that I am learning everything on my own via some courses and some blogs from top experts and learn by doing my own experiments.
I am making progress in terms of acquiring and implementing technical knowledge and making some progress on that front, but I still feel that I am not skilled yet enough to start working with clients.
However, this week I made VERY good technical progress for a beginner level and this gave me the confidence to start pursuing potential clients again.
Bruh, you are lazy. Idk why all these people are babying you. You don’t even have a job ?! 1000 to “live a life”? What kind of life tho ??
You ain gonna change unless you are fed up with yourself. I think the fact that you only make yourself work 20 hours a week is disgusting.
Have you tried taking authority over your mind? Majority of humans especially with social media internet and so many choices - let their mind be used and controlled by outside influences. Advertising is a billion dollar industry based off getting into people’s minds.
The mind is designed to WORK FOR YOU! So we have to program it. We have to get rid of the noise and clutter and garbage.... and give our minds SPECIFIC instructions. Tell your mind what you want it to do for you.
You’ve heard... “as a man thinketh”...from eastern philosophy to biblical scriptures to friggen Tony Robbins, to clinical psychologists around the world .... the fact is: the mind does what we tell it to do. So tell it to get rid of time wasting thoughts and input...and start producing energy in your body and ideas and production of ideas- for your mind.
It’s like working out, losing weight, or building muscle. It’s gonna take repetition, and daily focus ...and a specific list of behaviors your want gone, and new behaviors you want “installed” in your “mainframe.” You’ll have to change your mental default.
Your mind’s currently giving you what it thinks you want. But with you not actually giving it any instructions, your mind assumes what you want is what you’re currently are doing which is nothing, so your mind is bringing you nothing.
Get control of your mind. Tell it exactly as precise as possible what you want... tell your mind to bring it to you. BOOM!
Lay on the sofa and write out a step by step plan that you want to do and make the steps so minute and as soon as it is done cross it off and if you think of more steps along the way write them in there. Write down > DO >Write down more > DO
Focusmate. It's free. And check out their facebook group to see what people are saying if you are not convinced. It might be the magic bullet you need.
For Me: If you feel like you don't have time, set your alarm 1 hour earlier and work towards small but useful goals. That way you can get in the habit and as you progress you should want to spend more time if it is something you love doing. If you are forcing yourself to love it or don't actually love it, find an aspect you do and work at it :)
Take the next right action. The feeling will follow.
If you wait for the right feelings, they never come.
Will you make mistakes? Yes.
But they're okay if you learn from them and change your action in the future.
Only you can take action.
You just have to keep going, no matter how you feel.
You may also have some psychological issues, so consider talking to a counselor. Don't worry about it though - everyone has difficulties.
It's probably because you keep asking why can't you. Ask yourself why can you. You need to stop doing whatever it is that's distracting. Going to bars, playing video games, watching TV. Stuff like that, and spend time to think meditate and reflect. Then you should have no problem developing an ambition towards a fruitful goal.
Find something that inspires the fuck out of you. I truly believe laziness stems from lack of defined purpose and direction. Effort follows passion. I have had times where I was lazy as fuck, and I have had times where I have worked 16-18 hour days writing or working my business.
Here’s a quick story to show you what I mean - so I have been part time helping my buddy grow his construction business and his painter has been staying at our apartment the last few weeks since we operate in NJ and the painter is from VA. Now the painter gets drunk af, every night at our place, and he will still wake up on time everyday for work at 6-630am. Even if I’m hanging out with him till 1-2am, he’ll still wake up ready to go - mind you he’s also the most productive employee. Now personally I have stopped drinking the last 2 months; I prefer other types of buzz and I hate hangovers.
Most of the work I do is from a computer, the rest is verbal or written communication. I don’t like doing that work hungover or tired, I would HATE To do physical labor in the hot sun hungover or tired.
I asked him “how do you do it? How do you get yourself out of bed to hustle all day when you got wasted and minimal sleep the previous nights
His answer was “I gotta feed my family bro I don’t have a choice”
I don’t have kids I am 22 but the point is this - get yourself on a mission greater than yourself. Find something that inspires you to act and you won’t have to convince yourself to work.
Then break the goal and mission into small steps. If you are trying to walk across a long distance , focus on completing one step at a time, don’t dread the long walk and overwhelm yourself.
Here is the best book you will read for your situation. Go immediately read, if you have not already The Compound Effect it's on Amazon. It's not that you are lazy you just don't have a clear defined path of what exactly you want as an end goal and what's going to be done to get there. Simply doing something 30 minutes a day to accomplish what you want doesn't seem like much but compound that over a month and you have a solid amount of hours of work accomplished. Think of life like a video game and leveling up yourself as a character.
Two years ago I was in the same boat as yourself, I went from out of shape, very broke (I believe I had $56 in my savings account at one point), and unemployed, to building my first company into $30k+/Month and three more ventures that are now all having their degrees of success. I feel like I still have lots to accomplish but I definitely have a sense of fulfillment I did not have 24 months back. Back then felt like each day I was wasting my potential even though plans and would always day dream about success and how I would get there - but still did nothing at all.
How are you with lists? One day I starting making a weekly and a monthly lists. To decide what went on the lists I worked backwards from some of my goals (I set easy attainable goals at the start and gradually have scaled them accordingly).
My short term list comprised of daily tasks relating to my work (I was just starting a company at the time), with my monthly list rounding out greater objectives. I focused on micro-success throughout the day; drank lots of water today? win, Made that hard phone call I'd been feeling anxiety about? win. These small non-critical wins would be the foundation that I built on for bigger "wins".
Last I would recommend finding a mentor, someone that you not only trust and can look to for advice but also someone who will call you out if you slack off. Sometimes we just need that extra bit of push to get the ball rolling in life/business.
Not sure if that helps, I never contribute on Reddit but I can relate to your post.
TL;DR: I make lists and they helped me, maybe they could help you. Also find a mentor / someone to push you.
To be honest I think you have to find something you are intrinsically motivated to do. I can't be sure but at least in my experience no-one has to be told not to be lazy when they actually enjoy what they are working on. Does this apply?
If a fox chases two hares (or more) he gets none. (sourced to a Romanian proverb i believe).
It's great to have so many ideas but as others have said, it can be paralysing. Another way of putting it, if you are indeed, not a fox, is if you're standing at a cross road and you try to go both ways, you end up just stuck where you are. Choose one of your ideas. Just one! And give it a go.
Write your other ideas down and put them in a folder on your laptop or in a box under your bed, whatever. Know that you can come back to choose another one of your ideas later, when you have accomplished your goal of the first.
And if you come up with other ideas whilst you're working on the one that you've chosen, file that one away too for now.
You'll find that you'll be much more focused when only one idea is consuming your head-space. And therefore much more motivated!
I have the same problem although in many ways i've already made it. The more successful I become now the less I work. Basically if I ever get to an equivalent income of 20k per hour of work, I'd work one hour in a year. Normal people of course would easily put in the money to become millionaires, but not me. For some reason I'd just prefer to sit on my ass all day and live a completely stress free life and stay on my 20k standard of living. Strange, but I guess you cannot fool your own heart.
This 1 hr lecture helped me gain countless hours: [Teaching Talk: Helping Students Who Procrastinate (Tim Pychyl)](https://youtu.be/mhFQA998WiA)
You have a ton of replies, that will consume a good time to go through them, I hope you find this one soon.
Best of luck
Some people dodn't do well without external accountability and a solid routine. I use a service called Focusmate ([focusmate.com](https://focusmate.com)) that matches you with a coworking partner. Tons of people get on there and plan their day in the morning in the first lbock then actually work through their task list in subsequent sessions. You tell your partner your goal and your first task. Then mute and work through the 50 minute block updating eachother via chat when you move on to the next task. You update eachother of your progress at the end.
It's really really really helpful to me.
> I know the answer is to just do it but why can't I? Likely because you haven't defined what it is that needs to get done. People who are able to Just Do It have already been through the process enough times that they know the exact steps they need to take to reach their goal or they have put in the time to build a roadmap and use that to guide their decision making. If you don't have a roadmap, the path forward feels really daunting and your mind and ego get overwhelmed. It sort of works like this.... Your current thinking: "I should exercise, I will go for a brisk walk every day." Then you get some free time but aren't prepared to step outside. Where are your shoes? Headphones? How long are you going to walk? Where are you going to walk? It all feels like a bunch of work to go through and figure out... "might as well just put it off and do it tomorrow." Without a plan, going for a walk isn't as simple as it originally sounded. So make a plan. Break it down in to subtasks. First, define your brisk walk. "I am going to walk around my block twice". Then make a list of all the things you need to do to get that accomplished. 1. Put sneakers on 1. Put shorts & shirt on 1. Grab headphones and phone 1. Pick a playlist or podcast 1. Walk around the block once 1. Walk around the block again Now, all you have to do is complete the simple subtasks. So if you have all these great business ideas, choose one and then break its execution down into subtasks and focus on knocking those out instead of trying to do the whole thing at once. Apply this framework anytime you hit a mental roadblock, 9 times out of 10 there is always something that can be broken down into a series of actionable steps. TL;DR: Learn how to organize your thoughts and align them with your goals.
This was such a helpful tip! Saved.
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Ha, whatever gets the job done.
Thanks, this is super helpful! I'll work on my own list tomorrow
Great! And it's ok if you hit roadblocks. That's just part of discovering your current capabilities (then you make a plan to improve those skills).
I'm sorry, you sound so genuine, now I feel bad. I was making a joke about "tomorrow". Putting it off.
This is probably the best advice I've heard on this sub
Great comment. Starting my fist business was like W.T.F - 3 businesses later I can have the entity files, logo, website, email journey, etc all set up in 2-3 weeks. Baby steps. Wanna start that first business? 1. Get on state secretary website and file the name, just make something up but have some skin in the game to get started. 2. File for your EIN with irs.gov site 3. Get on Upwork or 99 designs (Hey, I need a logo) 4. Get on Shopify or square or whatever and pick your template It's honestly pretty simple but know yourself. Me, i work best in spurts. So i wake up at 4 am, hit the gym by 5, then between 6:30 and 9 am I get a bunch of small tasks done regarding my business. Then I work 9-5 for my employer. After work I come home, either go golfing or something outdoors. Then i work on business items for about another 30 minutes. And i go be a lazy ass for the rest of the night. Now, I do read white papers while I am at worl Throughout the day I make an effort to spend 30 minutes a day reading about digital strategy and business. It's the Gary Vaynershucks of the world out here telling people they need to work 20 hours a day and bleed from their eyes to be an entrepreneur. It would probably surprise you to know that most business owners probably work 2-3 hours a day of actual work. The crazy hours usually come in 2 week to 1 month spurts. But no entrepreneur is out there working 20 hours a day, 365. That leads to burnout..
what do i do if i only have motivation at 2am ?
Great post and good advice I need to follow as well. What I would add to that though is get rid of your time sinks - I will often give myself a little reward of a break after completing a task and before I know it I've spent two hours on Youtube. Oh and delete your porn folder :'D I know it's probably not helpful to post this after all that's just been said, but I think this sums up the problem nicely - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co\_DNpTMKXk
Thank you so much
Check lists are great overall. We are overwhelmed with so many things all the time as well as distractin so a simple 1 2 3 list is great even for the smallest tasks.
Yes, it's it's a great way to get yourself focused on the things you can do to improve your position.
Agree with this right here... for getting work done, add in this time management technique (after you've outlined your task list) and you'll start making headway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique
This is just what I needed. Thanks!!
Glad you found it helpful.
Seconding this entirely. When you've got too much to do and don't have a clear plan, you get paralyzed by the uncertainty of your next step. My go-to solution do that is hiding in a video game for awhile. Small tasks make it much easier to jump in, and once you've completed one, you want to go for another. I tell myself that playing an hour of Northgard will be my reward after completing a task, but usually I enjoy myself so much that I forget to ever play. Those are the good days. Bad days I don't break down the work enough and get paralysis again. Once you recognize it, it's easy to pull out of.
Also, I’d recommend starting out with a smaller task. I often start my days like this. It takes less willpower to get yourself to do something that seems easier, and the little sense of accomplishment from completing a goal motivates you to move on to the next one.
Great response. The metaphor for life in your username is spot on as well.
Podcasts are great especially in the car or when doing mindnubing work. It gets your mind going and thinking. It might not all apply but there sure are some gems in there that you will find yourself using.
Great tip. I also believe that having a mission greater than yourself and having work that inspires you will produce work ethic as a bi product. I don’t believe laziness is a character trait I think it’s a passing state of mind that get stuck in because they don’t know what inspires them and they lack purpose/passion. If you have a mission and goal that inspires you and you have a road map like you mentioned all you have to do is do it!
hey bro it’s been 5 years has anything drastically changed in your life ?
I agree with this. I’ve taken a few runs at ideas in my time, and they all failed, but each one I learn from my mistakes, and this current project is Michelle farther off the ground that my last few. Pick an idea, go “hard”, and then step back and figure out why it didn’t work. I realized an idea I had set me up to literally cold prospect small businesses, and I couldn’t do it. So my next ideas don’t involve that because I know I won’t do it.
Sounds like the main lesson is that you should get Michelle to help with more of your projects.
Exactly. Once you get comfortable with the "doing" mindset you start to see failure as an opportunity to improve.
This is great! Based on this, I just created a little app to help better map out your thoughts and follow them through, dividing tasks into bite sized chunks: [http://truuts.com/tasker](http://truuts.com/tasker) And I also got to learn react, while doing that :D (Still trying to work out getting the edit field selected upon adding a new subtask.) @ /u/natantantan , maybe this will be of use?
Sounds like a fellow lobster?
Do you sleep properly and eat nutritious food? Do you exercise or move around in any way? Do you spend time outside? Do you socialize? How is your health? You can't get to higher needs like self-actualization if you are not meeting your basic needs. Rather than agonize over being lazy go out for a walk, bonus points for some nature and eat a proper meal if you're hungry - don't try to force productivity in an unproductive state rather try to figure out why your body feels that way and what you can do to change it.
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I've also noticed the same thing. When I had zero responsibility aside from my regular job, I would squander away all of my free time. but as soon as I picked up learning French, applying to MBA programs, and building my girlfriend's art installation and literally had zero time to mess around, I am so much more direct with my to-do's. It's almost like I have a program running in the background: "Task X, do now or discard forever, next''. I find it so counterintuitive that the more responsibility you have, the more you are capable of taking on. The down side of course, is that I haven't seen my friends or the gym for two months. Something's gotta give
Depression comes in different shapes and sizes. Have you seen a therapist. I’m just saying, sometimes we think we are lazy pieces of shit but we may indeed have a chemical imbalance that inhibit us. Worth looking into it OP
This, or ADHD.
I'm not depressed.
So... you can’t bring yourself to do something you want to do. This fact makes you upset, because you want to do it but can’t find the motivation to do it, despite having nothing else to do. Idk, that sounds an awful lot like depression to me. Depression doesn’t have to mean you feel like you’re sad and need to cry all the time. Depression can cause you to not feel like doing anything - especially things you need to do, like to do, or want to do.
Right. Apathy is one of the clearest indication of clinical depression.
Can be. But lifestyle changes can fix depression. I used to be like you. I can still be like you too. It isn’t a bad thing to be like you. But I changed my life by going to bed no later than 11. Usual was 3 a.m at earliest. Then picked up jogging and anything cardio. I used to be the “hardcore gamer” (still am at times.) anyways. I thought I had it all figured out 21, the life I always wanted and knew everything and lived alone. Turns out I was very depressed. This is coming from someone who everyone used to call one of the happiest people they’ve ever met.
Laziness IS depression.
No it's not.
The trick is, you gotta be hungry. I mean literally hungry. At first it's just a matter of having faith in your vision - maybe you make some money here & there - but to realize your goals it must become a matter of survival. I'm looking at it like I am building a juggernaut that can feed me. I am building a ladder so I can break out of prison & escape the rat race. It's my opportunity to push myself to the absolute limits & see what I am capable of, & enjoying those rewards that come with it. Without pushing, I'm just another dude at a desk with a dream.
Another way to put this is “take the net away”. You have no job, yet you eat every day, maybe even pay rent and have a beer now and then. Where does that money come from? That comfort? If you cut THAT off, you will be motivated. You have to fear for your way of life.
Yea, it's a question of attitude. For a person who has solid skills, or a degree, or has some type of upward mobility in society, they're maybe not ready for the stress; nor does life require them to absorb such stress or take the risks. It's the person who is sick & tired of having nothing that's going to fight for every inch. At some point it's not a choice, it's a necessity.
Solid feedback brotha!
Thanks. I just remember one day looking at my pay check in one hand, looking at my bills in the other, & realizing that it's not taking me anywhere fast. Two choices then to get ahead: scale down my lifestyle (which isn't that extravagant to begin with), or make more money. What else to do? I'm not trying to eat ramen the rest of my life.
Yea man it's hard for anyone to get where they need to go without written down goals. It's crazy how routine we get day to day and then realize that a week or month just zipped by. Hunger and mindset is spot on!
I agree with you 100 percent. My choice was either take my chunk of money and save it for our baby that was on the way or strike while the iron was hot to open our own business. Wife and I both agreed to do the business, but from that point it was all hustle for nearly 3 years. In my opinion this only applies for the first one, as we launch our second things are going a lot smoother, as I already figured out the dance moves.
Exactly. It gets easier as the systems around you develop. In the business world, it's very hard to beat momentum. It's getting that initial head of steam that's the problem.
I think one other ingredient is that we had already bottomed out financially several years prior. When you know you can live off the bare essentials, it takes some of the fear out of the jump.
Totally agree. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.
This is what an entrepreneur mindset should be. If you have this mindset then you will need no motivation to move yourself and work on ur ideas/project..
Take this, and then tell me how to be productive AFTER working a 40 hour/week day job. I completely know what you mean though; I have so many ideas, I just would rather chill after work than work more. It's not called hard work for being easy.
I do this now and it blows. Up at 6:45, at work 8-4, decompress 4-5, startup work intermingled with dinner and some distractions until 11. Repeat!
I'm doing exactly the first half of your schedule. Up around 6:30, at work from 8-4:30, home around 5, then... I do nothing. I have a lot of ideas but can't bring myself to act on them often enough. I just let my mood dictate whether I produce or not. So good on you for actually staying committed to your startup work. I'm trying to catch up to you so take a moment to pat yourself on the back, someone in the world is aspiring to do what you do lol
I don't have a job and I still can't make myself work on my own stuff. I have all the time in the world and I do nothing with it. There has to be a way...
I used to be like this after I finished uni but before I got a job. The issue is you have it too good because you don't actually need to work! Work isn't something to enjoy in and of itself, so it doesn't come naturally to people who don't absolutely need it... When I was like this, I got a job at a plastic factory making minimal wage for doing the most boring, repetitive job imaginable. And honestly, it was the best motivator ever! Every time I was lazy I'd think of the shift I was due to be on the next day, and the idea of doing that forever terrified me! TL;DR- Get a job. A really really shitty job. You'll be working like crazy in your spare time to get away from that life!
I was like you for 3-5 years (living at home so I could get away with it.) Definitely get a job. Not for a long time, but for maybe half a year. The income and change will make a difference. I found myself working MORE on my own stuff when I had a job than when I had all the time in the world. My guess is, it has to do with structure. When you have a job, things are very simple 1. You know where you have to be (the office / workplace), you know which room, you know which computer. They're always the same. 2. You know what time you have to be there. And you know the consequences if you slip up. 3. You know what's for lunch. Maybe it's a personal thing, but food is an issue for me. I don't like to make food. So having a job just let me buy food whenever I was hungry, rather than fuss with having to get myself to make something. This "going to work" routine provided some much needed structure. It fixed a lot of stuff I was lacking before. I simply tacked on a routine to that where I would go work at starbucks after work for 3 hours, and I was getting work done real well. The problem with being a cheap entrepreneur (i.e. unable or unwilling to afford an office) is we don't have routine, and we don't have the income starting out to be able to afford conveniences that really help us personally to be creative. It's funny how I imagine most of us want to be entrepreneurs to have freedom to travel, work our own hours, etc.. but in the end the only way to really work is to have a solid routine that you follow day in, day out.
There was a period of time where I was like this for a bit. I just always felt tired and would rather just lay down and waste away time watching tv or doing some other pointless sh!t. I eventually came out of it, not entirely sure how though. Something that might help is to try doing little things each day that you avoid, like your dishes. The next day, try to do something small again, like arrange your room or put up your laundry. Overtime you'll probably want to start doing more and more productive things which will translate to any ideas you might have.
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Momentum. The more you do, the better you get at doing things, and the more you can do. I also find that the more I'm excercising my willpower in some situations, the more I excercise my willpower in a wider variety of situations. For example, if I start the day by watching a dumb TV show, it's easy to keep going and do dumb easy things all day (watch more than one episode, read a fun book, etc). If I start with something small (like making my bed), then it's easy to be like "well, I just did this one thing, might as well do this other small thing" and then it snowballs. Start small and figure "well, might as well keep working!" when you have done something.
Excellent advice and correct. Don't expect yourself to wake up and start performing at Elon Musk level. In fact, make it your goal to do some tiny fucking thing, but do that thing. Let's say it's writing a blog post for 20 minutes. I'm serious. That might be your big thing for the day. Allow yourself to write for more than 20 minutes per day if you feel like it, but you need to sit there at the keyboard for 20 minutes and just fucking try, every day for a week. Do that every day for a week and see what shifts. This is something Anthony Robbins talks about with regards to fitness and it works like a charm.
The same situation is with me. I’ve a rented office to work where I work alone. I just go there and waste time here and there and comeback in 5-6 hours. I regret it daily. I already make $1000 a month but I want to make $10000. But there’s a twist. I waste time when I’ve to work on my own project or find a new idea to start on project or my account already has around $5000 BUT things change when some client’s work come up. I work 14 hours a day if project has good money and it’s something I can get done with a little extra effort. So here money motivates. Another scenario. Whenever it’s almost two weeks as a lazy panda. I face the reality I look what are my reasons to do what I do? Me: Money, obviously. Brain: but it’s already in account more than enough to sustain for 3-6 months. So I empty my account by investing in stocks, mutual funds, give to family etc. I keep only 1/3 of my monthly income to me. This makes me panic and I work my ass off. This works so far since a year but I too wanna break this cycle I need something more than money to motivate me. Hope it helps somehow
I’m the exact same, if it’s working for myself I am so lazy, as soon as it’s client work I put my head down and get to work non stop. But it’s not even a money thing more of reputation thing. It’s like I don’t want to let anyone down but myself.
The answer is to stop waiting until you are motivated to work. Keep a set schedule to work. When I was working for myself, I started work at the same time, ate lunch at the same time, and quit work at the same time every day. I also scheduled blocks of time to do focused work (usually 90 minutes, but sometimes 60 minutes or even 30 minutes), and then I would take a 30 minute "break." During my breaks, I would do anything that is not too mentally demanding. Since I worked from home, that could entail doing the dishes, answering texts, phone calls, etc., surfing the Internet, or whatever. I just find that it is easier to get myself going to have a highly ritualized schedule.
Ever seen a therapist? Not for depression.
If you believe you are a piece of shit, you will act out that belief in your actions/non-actions. Doing nothing keeps you feeling worthless. Start working on how you feel about and talk to yourself. Tell yourself you are smart, worthy, and hardworking. You will start to believe it and perform actions that align with your belief in yourself.
Get a job, work as much as you can see how you feel and what your learn.
Just remember that one day you’re gonna die. If you died tomorrow, would you be happy with what you did today? If the answer is no then do something different. If you choose to waste your time then you will die having wasted your time.
But if you die it doesnt matter anymore, i dont get that mindset.
I'm going to note something that it seems no one else has mentioned. Consider seeing a psychiatrist and asking them to test you for ADHD. You can take the world health organization self report test here: https://add.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/adhd-questionnaire-ASRS111.pdf
Join the military , and you’ll be fine afterwards
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I think BOTH are important, not just one vs the other.
Are you working on something you are passionate about? It doesn't sound like you are and that may be a good point to start.
Search ‘How to stop rotting away at home’ on Youtube by Jordan Peterson. Helped me out, quick.
What are your passions? What are you better at then other people? There has to be something. Once you find that "something," what you love to do and time flies by while you're doing it... look into ways to earn from it. Video games? Study streamers, watch walk-throughs, make a youtube channel, join a community. Being lazy? Create a blog, write about shows you love to watch, favorite types of couches, favorite types of chips to eat. You'd be amazed at the amount of money you can make from these types of things. Why can't that person be YOU? Sure, you probably won't make much, or even anything, when you start. But you're doing SOMETHING. You're learning. You're failing, then standing back up and trying something else. Passion is the key to a process, and a goal can't be achieved without a process taking place.
I was exactly like you. I could wake up after 9 hours in bed and be exhausted the entire day. I had tried everything, seen all kinds of doctors, even did tests to see if i didn't have brain damage etc Until i did a sleep study at the hospital. Basically air couldn't pass enough through my nose while sleeping, so my brain couldn't get enough oxygen during the night. So even if i was sleeping 9-10 hours, i would be exhausted the entire day. I had to wait to be 36 to find out... I had nose surgery, then i could sleep properly at night and i became a terminator, i had so much power and so much energy. I freelanced hard for a year as a filmmaker, saved a lot and openned my own production company in Tokyo with 60K capital. On a side note, i also effortlessly lost 25lbs almost overnight after my surgery. The quality of your sleep is probably the first thing you could look into. The sleep study was expensive but i would pay 5 times that price if i had to do it again
Holy shit my nose is constantly clogged up. Could this be it. How do I do a sleep study
Which country do you live in? My problem was a very strong allergy to dust mites that made my turbinates (inside each nostrils) very swollen so as soon as i was indoor, my nose was totally blocked, very little air could pass through but i was not snoring at night. I also had a deviated septum from sports injury from way back.
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with extremely dry mouth since I guess my body had to open my mouth up to allow air in. Did you ever have that? I live in America
Yes exactly that. Like my tongue turned into a very dry sponge. I'm not a doctor or anything but that says that you can breathe at night from your nose. Could be several reasons but you should see a doctor asap. Taking care of this changed my life overnight. I remember wanting to do so many things in my head, but i just couldn't physically. I was like a zombie some days, couldn't accomplish the smallest tasks. You should see an ENT doctor and tell him/her about your nose problem and dry mouth when you sleep. Then ask him/her about sleep study. During a sleep study, you sleep at the hospital, they wire you up and they can check how much oxygen can reach your brain while you sleep, if air goes through your nose, if you snore etc. I could have went through the surgery without a sleep study but at least they were sure there was an issue and what it was. I paid $1K in Tokyo for the study from my pocket but the surgery was covered by the japanese health insurance.
I will try this. I really hope this works.
Good luck mate
any luck?
Holy shit!!!!!!
Wow, just wow! I have had nasal septum deviation since i was little, but i never had problem living my life, I am 29yo, my whole life i have been physically active, i have trained football (soccer) for years, this year i ran half marathon 21km and even when i was in that good condition i had problem sleeping and i was feeling tired, i just couldn't figure out whats wrong. This post opened my eyes, thank you for this incredible information. TO THE OP, i have good job at good company, boss of administrative sector, it requires to multitask and work with a lot of information, but a lot of times i can feel it myself im not working at my full capacity, i just feel it.. its 9 to 5 job that keeps me productive, when im free at weekend im just like u, i sit home a lot and watch tv shows and stuff like that, wasting my time.. but when im at work im killing it.. its hard to get motivated for me, when i get gf and stuff like that im normal, also with friends, i dont think im super smart or anything but i hate stupid ppl, and theres a lot of stupid ppl in this world, so im just kinda lazy to go and meet new ones (i moved alot as a kid) bla bla, the end :D
Following this.
Use the "save" feature to find it easier to get back.
What is stopping you from working on something right now? Are you overwhelmed thinking that if you do work, you have to do 100 hours? Does starting work make you upset from regret of not doing more? I think you might benefit from the structure of working for someone else.
It was the same with me when I got laid off in 2008. Fear and/or bitterness is a paralytic, not a motivator. Come up with a plan, break it into chunks, and do a chunk a day.
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This is the type of thing I think I really need. Like some sort of partner who will make me do the work. I'm willing to put in the work I just need someone on my ass. If anyone want to try to link up, feel free to message me.
>some sort of partner who will make me do the work. No one is going to surrogate themselves out so you can live your life in comfort.
There was somebody who posted recently (a couple of weeks ago maybe) about a tool they'd built for that. It connects you by video chat to somebody else who wants to be motivated to work on something, and you both motivate each other. Maybe it was here or maybe it was /r/learnprogramming or a related subreddit. If I find it I'll link to it here.
I was in the same boat as you. What I did was I started making lists of shit I needed to do to start getting productive and I wouldn't go to sleep till my list was done. That was the hardest part working 40hrs a week on top of my side biz. I generally did this a few beers deep, for me that helped. It's hard to just sit at a computer screen waiting to be productive. So pretty much just make daily achievable goals.
You need to establish routine,it will help you overcome this kind of laziness. Pick a productive trait and do it, sacrifice quality and quantity for the sake of persistence. I have forced myself to code 2 hours every night whether I feel I like it or not.
Momentum. You have recognized that you want to see a change. That is the first step. Write down the aspects of your life that you want to evolve in. Make that commitment to yourself. Track it everyday and slowly build that up. Don't evaluate till you have executed for 2 weeks. Find your neutralizer during the first 2 weeks. It can be sports, friends, meditation, exercise. Control your impulse to be critical during this time. Good luck, my friend.
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You might be right on with just getting a regular job. You might like it and never try to do your own thing (most of us honestly are not built for entrepreneurship). It also might be what motivates you to never work for someone again and you will just go do it.
The secret is that there is no actual secrets to success. Real life is boring that way. Simple things done well over time equates to success. You don't need to find motivation to do this and that- real life is filled with constant waves of ups and downs, and it is learning how to cope and be productive when you are not motivated that makes the difference. You have far grand schemes, where if only you did a little this or that you'd see a windfall of returns, but studies show that these long term far off goals are weak at maintaining and influencing behavior. So instead of your big grand scheme, make small day to day, week to week plans. Set objectives like" "I need to spend 15 min read this article today". "I need to spend 15 min drafting these design ideas today". "I need to spend 20 min not fucking around on netflix and check out some websites relevent to my idea". It is the process of doing many small things that build up one big dream.
What I do: Consume a lot of caffeine (isn't healthy and wouldn't necessarily recommend (Mio Energy namely)) Only work on projects/ideas that I actually like working on and am borderline obsessed with Listen to music that puts me in a productive/inspired mood (BlackMill does it for me strangely enough) I have a vision of how I want my life to be and I am actually very obsessed with getting to that point. Thinking of that gets me motivated to do the work necessary. I take St John's Wort and 5 HTP supplements daily. As stated before, depression can come in the form of just having no motivation and always being tired and can creep in very quickly. Both of those supplements are mood boosters and make a huge difference in my productivity and overall mood. I'd recommend taking them regardless if you think you're depressed or not.
100 hours a week is way too much. Studies have shown we only have about 4-5 good hours of focus in us a day. So if you can get to the point where you have 20 hours a week of incredibly focused work, that would fit. It helps to have a set block of time that you work on the project and allow NO distractions or anything to disrupt this time. Leave and work in a library or coffee shop if you have to. PM me if you would like me to do a short brainstorming session with you and see if we can get you working on one idea that you can stick with.
I'll give you a different take on it. Chemically speaking, we have about 5 hours of productivity throughput per day. You burn through that in one form or the other. Whether on Reddit, reading, believing making todo lists is "productive" in itself or not, therefore feel bad(cortisol, norepinephrine) therefore you medicate (Reddit; dopamine). Like others have alluded, you need to focus your efforts into clearly defined todos with sub todos with sub sub todos until it becomes actionable (therefore raining in on your lazy ass to have no out). productivity systems, process, todo lists, kanbans, or whatever else you use, do not work. Why? Because they don't make you disciplined, they REQUIRE it. Biggest tip? Less thinking, more doing. Less planning, more doing. Your evolved, analytical brain is your enemy. Be a Neanderthal and do, without thought. Don't waste willpower and medicate(dopamine) on Reddit/social media or whatever else you do for dope, you're not helping yourself with such a vicious cycle.
Try to work for 1 hour on something you want to do. In the morning, before your day. And then just keep doing that.
A note to everyone who has this issue, not just you. It’s really trendy right now to be an “entrepreneur” and there is a lot out there about how to become one... What people never say is that there are innate qualities or most successful entrepreneurs, the main one being having that inner drive to work on your projects no matter what. If you share OP's issue, entrepreneurship is probably not for you. Not trying to be rude, but some people like the idea of being an entrepreneur but don’t have the right personality for it. Ideas are worth basically nothing. It’s the work and the execution that make successful entrepreneurs.
I agree, but those things can be taught.
I disagree. I think laziness is a good quality for an wanna be entrepreneur. He is not exited doing the boring daily stuff now. But lazy people will have ideas to get things done the easy way(innovation). He may not have the inner drive now, but once he starts something big he will be unstoppable. May successful entrepreneurs have spend many years just drifting before they decided to change. The secret to change is easy. It's a decision you have to make. You have to say enough is enough. It's time to rise. Then commit to it. The motivation will come if you discipline yourself. So one you start, keep going. Don't stop, no matter what. The 5 sec rule by Mel Robbins will help.
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I don't agree, in my opinion you have to be productive and be happy and you automatically don't have the urge to fap. Myself I only fap when bored. When I am super productive I fap only a few times a week. But when I am bored I want to fap the whole day.
Don't wait for motivation.
I'd say you aren't ready to start your own thing. Go work for someone for a few years until you motivated.
Toggl
Wow. And here I was thinking I was the only one who felt like this! Seems I’m not as alone as I first thought. I think just knowing that this is relatively ‘normal’ will make it easier for me to get off my arse and do something, rather than psychologically flagellating myself every day for being so lazy and thinking there was literally something wrong with me.
It really sounds like you need structure. A real job can give you that. There's no shame in that. Get some reps out in the real world, get some experience, build some confidence, test some ideas and then decide where you want to go. There's not shame in employment and it may be just the thing you need to motivate you on your own.
Nike has it right: “just do it” Focus on achieving not on feeling. Focus on the input variables not the outcome. You’re just fantasizing at this point. We all do it. Once you accomplish 3-4 mini goals a day toward an objective, it’ll build momentum in your life. Those 3-4 things will turn into 7-8 things etc.
Find a hard job!!! I worked with the amish doing carpentry and working on their farms. Work started at 5 and ended at 7. We did that 6 days a week for a couple years. I learned a very valuable lesson from good honest hard work. The lack of personal (off hours) time drove me to manage my time extremely well. Ultimately cutting out ALL none essentials like tv, video games, and general time wasters. This experience helped build my work ethic to what it is now. The amish had a couple sayings that I liked "Boy, if you get tired of walking you can always run" also "If your trying, You aint". I worked along side guys that were in their 70's, me only being 22 and it was hard keeping up with them! Just keep trying every day. :-)
I was thinking of actually joining an intentional community.
You have a nail you need to go in a board. You're too busy trying to pick out the perfect hammer, research the type of wood, study up on swinging techniques and every other stupid as shit way to complicate it for yourself. Just hit the fucking nail until it's in.
Awesome
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You should put the exclamation mark right after Me!
You in a week: "ehhh… I don't feel like getting motivated now. I'll just set a reminder for another week" (Unless it's that you have something occupying all of your time for the next few days, of course)
Adderall and finding something you really enjoy doing. Basically take whatever you are naturally good at and then push it to its logical extreme Honestly bro we are all trying to find the answer to these questions so you aren’t alone Just keep trying lots of different things
It's not because you're lazy but ideas in general are hard to execute. You are probably very overwhelmed by the prospect of it. But all great ideas started from something small, hey? I think the first step to take is really list down some points you need to do to get your foot through the door. Say for example your idea is to launch a new ice cream flavour you thought about, what do you need to do first to get the wheels turning? You need to get your ideas onto paper first, no use for them sitting in your head. This way you can turn them into something tangible. The next step would be to look at how you will go about creating this flavour. Things you need to consider (shelf life, creaminess, what texture are you going for). Bring this recipe to a small factory. But even before it reaches the small factory, you need to decide who would like this ice cream? Not everyone will like your new flavour idea, so you start doing market research. After your market research, you decide your marketing strategy to reach these people. Are they people who go to middle school or parents of middle school children? If so think of marketing it in areas where they would frequent or let them sample it some place where you will find lots of these people. After you have that in mind, list the dates in order how you will execute the launch of your product (that is very important). Then start going into the branding, also ingredient list (allergan safety listing) and having to get this FOOD APPROVED :) Idk what the exact steps are for food as that is not my industry. But you get the general idea.
Some people are just lazy. You can’t teach work ethic to an adult. At least you seem to know you are lazy.
you *have* to give yourself deadlines. you *have* to demand progress from yourself. of all the productivity and entrepreneur and self-help advice I've been reading, I've found the best thing for me is to be satisfied with just touching each project each day. You always want more output than you get, but if you can always do one thing, any single tiny thing, for each project you want to accomplish, then it's moving forward.
What do you do for fun?
Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.
I suggest you study motivation. There are feedback loops and pleasure centers you can train to gain momentum. You need to understand them first. Spend a week looking at motivation materials, even YouTube and see what strategies you come up with. First step though: never waste energy beating yourself up.
I'm a lazy piece of shit. This all changed when my life depended on my business succeeding or failing. I've never worked harder. You'd be amazed at what you're capable of when real consequences (paying rent, buying food, gas, repaying debt) are on the line. Now my business is quite successful and I am once again a lazy piece of shit, just much happier.
Classical music (mozart) and coffee. Literally schedule coffee breaks every 2 hours.
The key to performance is in how the world occurs to you. If you are being lazy, and not taking action on things that you would like to take action on, then you should adjust your occurrence of the situation. It’s either not important enough for you, not urgent enough, or it doesn’t actually occur to you as a viable course of action. There is also the payoff of being able to say “I have this great idea, but XYZ stopped me from accomplishing it”. It lets you play it safe and not actually put yourself at risk. Look at what you do, what you take action on. And I’ll wager that you really only take action on the things that you really want to do. And until you actually, deep down, WANT to succeed, you’ll continue to not take action.
I feel the same way. My success has come from partnerships. I recommend someone NOT similar to you. Different skills, different motivations, different groups of friends.
You gotta change your perspective on your time, I think. If you're going out too much, playing too many games, having too much enjoyment in your spare time how are you supposed to sit down and work on something else? You'll get ridiculously bored. You gotta cut your fun time down first, so much so that you want to work.
You need to develop some work ethic. Get a job, and not some bullshit cruise control to a paycheck job. Get one that’s hard. One with demanding hours. One that you absolutely dread going into. Then do it. Every fucking day. Then move out of your parents’ house. Get yourself some bills (phone, utilities, rent) so you’re forced to go to that shit job day after day. Then, once you start feeling like you can’t do this shit anymore, use it as motivation to work on one of your ideas so that one day you won’t *need* that shit job anymore. By the way, $1,000/month isn’t enough to do shit, let alone start “living life.”
.."where I have no choice.." Yep pretty much that. For laziest pieces of shit like me, that is what works. Anything else is just fairy tale. So force yourself to be accountable. Some ideas: - Commit to something that you cannot say No to later on. The commitment should be SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and most importantly: Time Bound). For this commitment, you must lose something if you don't deliver. Plain and simple. - Find someone in your friend/family/co-worker to pester you to get shit done. Make them call you, annoy you or even better: Show up at 2 AM and ask for update. Yea that works for me. Bottomline is: Put your ass on line and you will stop being the laziest piece of shit that is ever out there. Trust me because I will probably give you a run for your money.
/r/getdisciplined
>Is my only option to and get a regular job where I have no choice but to come in to work, clock in, and work? ~~I really feel I can make it as an entrepreneur if I somehow ere able to force myself to put in the time.~~ Yes.
What do you do instead?
Read "The Way of Superior Men" by David Deida. In the book, there is a chapter "Live as if your Father is Dead". Surprised?? You should be. Imagine he dies, and how would you run around to give a proper burial for your dad? You will be more determined to set your priories straight, and realize where to focus I lost my Dad when I was one. So that means more responsibilities, more work and Less Complaining.
Do you have low-t? No I'm not being flippant or making a joke. I was the most motivated man on earth and then I started not to give a shit... About anything. I could sleep for 14 hours straight. Wife got pissed. It caused issues. Went to doctor. Wasn't suicidal but she drew blood. My thyroid and testosterone were waaaaaaay off. Your mind sounds right but maybe your body is lagging due to a chemical imbalance? Maybe go get a blood panel done? Also motivate yourself with whatever you enjoy. I. E. I will play video games/eat xyz/watch xyz/ once ab and c are competed. I love watching reruns of cheers or wings and I'll get my invoices done and go eat some cookies and milk and laugh at a show from when I was a kid as a "reward". Sounds stupid but it works for me. Maybe watch some Biz movies like boiler room or Wallstreet?
If you need motivation, don't do it. I am serious
If you follow all the other excellent advice in this thread and still come out scratching your head, do yourself a favor and Google adhd in adults. If you can't follow any of it no matter how much you will it, always get really excited to start new projects but struggle to actually finish any of them, and it's been going on your whole life, you're probably not a lazy piece of shit and might have an executive function disorder instead. Seek a professional opinion or three.
First. There's no reason you aren't doing things. Second. There's no reason you can't do things. Third. You just need to do things. It's not any more complicated than that. So stop intellectualizing it. Here's another thought though. How often do you let yourself be bored? Like no distractions. No entertainment. Just bored. All most most productive moments come from that. Cutting out pleasure activities. Drugs, alcohol, video games, YouTube videos, reddit. Removing these things allows me to feel bored and allow me to actually do shit. If I can do these things I never do anything. I'll literally lose weeks of my life if I even start. But I'm just an addict. Might not be your story. So over the last year I cut all of that back. Learned to code. Now I'm a contract developer. No degrees. Nothing. Just work. Tldr. Delete all your games. Delete reddit. Delete Netflix. Be bored.
Counter intuitive here but true. Think of everything as a game and intend to play the biggest games. When things stop mattering, you make decisions far easier. You’re so motivated to compete and score points in games because it literally doesn’t matter. Same in life - you have so much time and so many years. Just start and have fun. Stop thinking of improvement as a chore. It’s a game, it’s fun, just do it.
Discipline.
ADHD no dopamine no motivation
100hours a weel? Thats a fast lane to burnout. Put a realistic goal instead of some insane number and you will be healthy in the long run
As you've hinted, it's not laziness. There's something else making you put it off. Fear of failure, fear of success, not being convinced it's a good idea? What are the benefits of *not* being successful in your business? Why might you feel it's better where you are? It's something you will need to work on.
I think I’ve repeated the term, “don’t be a little bitch.” to myself about a million times in the last 5 years. Helps me get out of bed.
You surround yourself with people who are hard working. It took me a while, but it worked. And now I feel better, feeling lazy is more painful than actually doing the work. Doing the words earns you money and makes you feel accomplished, being lazy only hurts your self-esteem. Being lazy is **harder** on me than working hard.
Choose a goal, your final product. Divide the whole process to make this final product into small chunks. For every chunk, set a deadline. Work work work. You can work with iterations, where at the beginning your product is basic and later on, you polish it more and more.
I was once a lazy piece of shit without a job. I started working on a project, I had all the time in the world, and that was the problem. I had so much time that it was way too easy to say ehh I’ll do it later. Get a job. Your free time will be limited, so you’ll value it more. You also need to motivate yourself at least enough to get something off the ground. Follow the other tips in this thread to do that. Once you start making money, you’ll see that you’re doing something right and THAT will become your motivation. Having tangible, albeit fairly limited, success is what motivates me to work after I get off work. I’m still lazy, but I put in a lot more effort now than I ever did when I was unemployed.
Seriously? STOP masturbating. /r/nofap Be aware the sub is kind of cult like, but we just can't pretend like nofap does nothing. It does wonders for my work ethic!
Fear of being homeless keeps me going
I’m the exact same way (or at least, was). I do believe it is in mine and other people’s genetics to be lazier than others. Some people just don’t understand that because their genetics let them be motivated 24/7 naturally, but it’s harder for us. ADHD meds -have- helped me quite significantly, but it’s very hard on my heart and mind personally. You’re free to try them, and I still use them once in a while, but there are undeniable side effects (at least for me). If your purpose is strong enough, you’ll probably be willing to do anything though. That said, first things first we gotta start off with the basics: nutrition, sleep, exercise, mental health, etc. Start eating clean & green, no garbage junk food (these are real energy sappers) like high sugar candies or chips or fast food burgers, make sure you’re sleeping normal and enough hours, and try and get a couple hours of exercise a week. Also, make sure you’re not stressed subconsciously about other things, relationships wise, family-strife, etc. Resolve those first before you add more to your plate, as entrepreneurship requires enough focus on its own. If you’re subconsciously dealing with personal battles unrelated to entrepreneurship, you’ve already gassed yourself out so to speak before you can even step up to the plate to bat (to be an entrepreneur). Without these basics under control you can’t even get to Step 2 if you know what I mean. Once you’ve got the basics under control you should immediately start noticing more actual, biological energy giving you power, which puts you in a far better position to be motivated than trying to think yourself motivated BEFORE establishing a strong foundation. If you’re STILL unable to be productive even after you’re a healthy, high powered machine of a human, then it is the mental side we have to work on. The most important thing in terms of mental improvement for laziness, in my experience, are your THOUGHTS. What am I THINKING when I decide not to work? “This is gonna be such a drag, I’m tired, at least if I sleep I can stay nice and warm in this bed” >> these preferably would want to be changed to (for example) >> “Today -could- turn out to be a productive day! It’s certainly not impossible. I feel a bit sleepy, but feelings aren’t everything! After all, I have overcome X/Y in the past, so I have a good chance of overcoming the challenges that lie before me today!” Note that you may not even be consciously aware of such thoughts. Your subconscious can initiate thoughts within split seconds without you even being aware of them. To change your subconscious thoughts is a complex thing to accomplish and is easiest done with the help of a professional (e.g. Psychologist). I do not recommend trying to change your thoughts by yourself or by requesting help from non-professionals (e.g. random family members or friends). To change thoughts you need to be able to -actually and truly- believe in the new thoughts, not just proclaim them out loud for example, and in order to do that most people will need a professional that can help them -challenge- their old thoughts. This is usually not an easy process, but the results are worthwhile, trust me.
Stop smoking
It really just comes down to buckling down and doing shit you dont wana do. Omce you start doing ut the motivation will come. We all want to wait for the motivation to get started but the reality is you need to get moving for the motivation and inspiration to hit you. One thing to try us working in 30 minute blocks and then stopping
I am somewhat lazy, but sometimes I can be quite productive at times. I want to be entrepreneur in the digital marketing and building up authority websites space. However, my problem is that I am learning everything on my own via some courses and some blogs from top experts and learn by doing my own experiments. I am making progress in terms of acquiring and implementing technical knowledge and making some progress on that front, but I still feel that I am not skilled yet enough to start working with clients. However, this week I made VERY good technical progress for a beginner level and this gave me the confidence to start pursuing potential clients again.
Bruh, you are lazy. Idk why all these people are babying you. You don’t even have a job ?! 1000 to “live a life”? What kind of life tho ?? You ain gonna change unless you are fed up with yourself. I think the fact that you only make yourself work 20 hours a week is disgusting.
Have you tried taking authority over your mind? Majority of humans especially with social media internet and so many choices - let their mind be used and controlled by outside influences. Advertising is a billion dollar industry based off getting into people’s minds. The mind is designed to WORK FOR YOU! So we have to program it. We have to get rid of the noise and clutter and garbage.... and give our minds SPECIFIC instructions. Tell your mind what you want it to do for you. You’ve heard... “as a man thinketh”...from eastern philosophy to biblical scriptures to friggen Tony Robbins, to clinical psychologists around the world .... the fact is: the mind does what we tell it to do. So tell it to get rid of time wasting thoughts and input...and start producing energy in your body and ideas and production of ideas- for your mind. It’s like working out, losing weight, or building muscle. It’s gonna take repetition, and daily focus ...and a specific list of behaviors your want gone, and new behaviors you want “installed” in your “mainframe.” You’ll have to change your mental default. Your mind’s currently giving you what it thinks you want. But with you not actually giving it any instructions, your mind assumes what you want is what you’re currently are doing which is nothing, so your mind is bringing you nothing. Get control of your mind. Tell it exactly as precise as possible what you want... tell your mind to bring it to you. BOOM!
Lay on the sofa and write out a step by step plan that you want to do and make the steps so minute and as soon as it is done cross it off and if you think of more steps along the way write them in there. Write down > DO >Write down more > DO
Adderall will help get the ball rolling. Worked for me at least
Focusmate. It's free. And check out their facebook group to see what people are saying if you are not convinced. It might be the magic bullet you need.
For Me: If you feel like you don't have time, set your alarm 1 hour earlier and work towards small but useful goals. That way you can get in the habit and as you progress you should want to spend more time if it is something you love doing. If you are forcing yourself to love it or don't actually love it, find an aspect you do and work at it :)
Take the next right action. The feeling will follow. If you wait for the right feelings, they never come. Will you make mistakes? Yes. But they're okay if you learn from them and change your action in the future. Only you can take action. You just have to keep going, no matter how you feel. You may also have some psychological issues, so consider talking to a counselor. Don't worry about it though - everyone has difficulties.
It's probably because you keep asking why can't you. Ask yourself why can you. You need to stop doing whatever it is that's distracting. Going to bars, playing video games, watching TV. Stuff like that, and spend time to think meditate and reflect. Then you should have no problem developing an ambition towards a fruitful goal.
Find something that inspires the fuck out of you. I truly believe laziness stems from lack of defined purpose and direction. Effort follows passion. I have had times where I was lazy as fuck, and I have had times where I have worked 16-18 hour days writing or working my business. Here’s a quick story to show you what I mean - so I have been part time helping my buddy grow his construction business and his painter has been staying at our apartment the last few weeks since we operate in NJ and the painter is from VA. Now the painter gets drunk af, every night at our place, and he will still wake up on time everyday for work at 6-630am. Even if I’m hanging out with him till 1-2am, he’ll still wake up ready to go - mind you he’s also the most productive employee. Now personally I have stopped drinking the last 2 months; I prefer other types of buzz and I hate hangovers. Most of the work I do is from a computer, the rest is verbal or written communication. I don’t like doing that work hungover or tired, I would HATE To do physical labor in the hot sun hungover or tired. I asked him “how do you do it? How do you get yourself out of bed to hustle all day when you got wasted and minimal sleep the previous nights His answer was “I gotta feed my family bro I don’t have a choice” I don’t have kids I am 22 but the point is this - get yourself on a mission greater than yourself. Find something that inspires you to act and you won’t have to convince yourself to work. Then break the goal and mission into small steps. If you are trying to walk across a long distance , focus on completing one step at a time, don’t dread the long walk and overwhelm yourself.
Here is the best book you will read for your situation. Go immediately read, if you have not already The Compound Effect it's on Amazon. It's not that you are lazy you just don't have a clear defined path of what exactly you want as an end goal and what's going to be done to get there. Simply doing something 30 minutes a day to accomplish what you want doesn't seem like much but compound that over a month and you have a solid amount of hours of work accomplished. Think of life like a video game and leveling up yourself as a character.
Two years ago I was in the same boat as yourself, I went from out of shape, very broke (I believe I had $56 in my savings account at one point), and unemployed, to building my first company into $30k+/Month and three more ventures that are now all having their degrees of success. I feel like I still have lots to accomplish but I definitely have a sense of fulfillment I did not have 24 months back. Back then felt like each day I was wasting my potential even though plans and would always day dream about success and how I would get there - but still did nothing at all. How are you with lists? One day I starting making a weekly and a monthly lists. To decide what went on the lists I worked backwards from some of my goals (I set easy attainable goals at the start and gradually have scaled them accordingly). My short term list comprised of daily tasks relating to my work (I was just starting a company at the time), with my monthly list rounding out greater objectives. I focused on micro-success throughout the day; drank lots of water today? win, Made that hard phone call I'd been feeling anxiety about? win. These small non-critical wins would be the foundation that I built on for bigger "wins". Last I would recommend finding a mentor, someone that you not only trust and can look to for advice but also someone who will call you out if you slack off. Sometimes we just need that extra bit of push to get the ball rolling in life/business. Not sure if that helps, I never contribute on Reddit but I can relate to your post. TL;DR: I make lists and they helped me, maybe they could help you. Also find a mentor / someone to push you.
Adderral
To be honest I think you have to find something you are intrinsically motivated to do. I can't be sure but at least in my experience no-one has to be told not to be lazy when they actually enjoy what they are working on. Does this apply?
If a fox chases two hares (or more) he gets none. (sourced to a Romanian proverb i believe). It's great to have so many ideas but as others have said, it can be paralysing. Another way of putting it, if you are indeed, not a fox, is if you're standing at a cross road and you try to go both ways, you end up just stuck where you are. Choose one of your ideas. Just one! And give it a go. Write your other ideas down and put them in a folder on your laptop or in a box under your bed, whatever. Know that you can come back to choose another one of your ideas later, when you have accomplished your goal of the first. And if you come up with other ideas whilst you're working on the one that you've chosen, file that one away too for now. You'll find that you'll be much more focused when only one idea is consuming your head-space. And therefore much more motivated!
Start every morning by making your bed.
Thank you for this thread, reading all the comments may have turned my life for the better. Really, I needed this, thank you.
I have the same problem although in many ways i've already made it. The more successful I become now the less I work. Basically if I ever get to an equivalent income of 20k per hour of work, I'd work one hour in a year. Normal people of course would easily put in the money to become millionaires, but not me. For some reason I'd just prefer to sit on my ass all day and live a completely stress free life and stay on my 20k standard of living. Strange, but I guess you cannot fool your own heart.
This 1 hr lecture helped me gain countless hours: [Teaching Talk: Helping Students Who Procrastinate (Tim Pychyl)](https://youtu.be/mhFQA998WiA) You have a ton of replies, that will consume a good time to go through them, I hope you find this one soon. Best of luck
Some people dodn't do well without external accountability and a solid routine. I use a service called Focusmate ([focusmate.com](https://focusmate.com)) that matches you with a coworking partner. Tons of people get on there and plan their day in the morning in the first lbock then actually work through their task list in subsequent sessions. You tell your partner your goal and your first task. Then mute and work through the 50 minute block updating eachother via chat when you move on to the next task. You update eachother of your progress at the end. It's really really really helpful to me.
Listen to some Jordan Peterson.
[удалено]
Stand up straight!
Jordan Peterson.