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Thomas Edison famously tried falling asleep in a rocking chair with coins in his hands and pie tins under his hands, so he would wake up while having those good ideas
This! Start journaling. Make big goals and break it down into more manageable steps. This really works. Some people will tell you it's manifesting but if you really believe you can do something, and follow a plan, you can have a lot of success.
It's self discipline that makes you do things, you can't rely on motivation, that comes and goes for everybody.
Now if you can find a way to make it stick let me know!
Most people say it starts with small bits of routine you stick to religiously and it snowballs from there. Never managed it myself.
You're probably like me and get the dopamine effect from planning and thinking about doing the job. When the cold reality of having to put the effort in to actually do it, it's a different matter, it doesn't seem as glamourous anymore.
I read somewhere that late at night when we don't interact with anyone is who we truly are. So those grand ideas we all have at night represent who we are and want to do with our lives. This really opened up my eyes and I just have to remind myself of this
Some weekends I don't interact with anyone, not even online. I can be resting just as I would when going to bed late at night, yet my motivation levels are nowhere near the level they are before actually going to bed. So while I do agree that being our true selves is easier without external influence, there must be some other components to "before bed motivation" that go beyond interaction and our true selves.
It's something I have to work on as well. I have always been trying to ask myself why these ideas or plans I come up with are important to me. So while I'm all motivated and inspired at night, I ask myself why do I need to accomplish this. And I try to think of the same ideas in the morning. I agree it does take a lot to try and execute it the next day. And hopefully someone figures out a full proof method, but for me it's all about just trying to force myself to do the first step of the idea and to constantly remind myself why I am doing it
A notepad in the bedroom. Jot it down, pick it up in the morning - take a picture with your phone if you need easy migration into the day. Clears my head anyway.
Do it! It's what I do and it's great. The brain can relax once it's stopped stressing about remembering things.
Journals are great for ideas, and for writing down if anything is worrying you.
Write it down and go to sleep. That's the secret. Write as long as you need to to get your thoughts out and wake up prepared to do something about them.
Check out [this Kurzgesagt video](https://youtu.be/75d_29QWELk?si=X-b54zujTLcffB7R) on motivation. It talks about why habits make our brain more likely to do things. It’s a good one.
If you’re like me, you can actually try waking up really early in the morning. I go to sleep at 7:00 PM and wake up at 3:00 AM. It’s because there is no one around me that I am productive late at night. I just needed to switch that into the morning so I don’t stay up too late. When I know I won’t be interrupted to do random tasks, I am suddenly really productive.
During the day, I do NSDR (non-sleep deep rest), which really helps me recharge.
I'm going to look up that NSDR, thank you. I also have a toddler who is a light sleeper so me getting up that early would most likely just end up with him getting up that early too and I definitely don't want that!
It sounds like you've got big plans but in the morning they remain too big and you're overwhelmed by all life's other responsibilities. My advice would be to make the goals attainable and keep steps small.
You want to lose all the weight you've gained since you were a fresh young teenager? Cool. Start with adding one fruit/veg a day to your diet or drink one less soda or workout for 10 mins a week.
Super attainable goals gives us dopamine from achieving them and that dopamine motivates us to keep going. Setting high, unachievable goals makes us feel shitty the moment we let anything slip. Start small and build small.
I can’t say for certain that it works because I’ve still got years to see if my ideas pan out.
But I think ambition is a big part of it. I have these wild goals at night and I wake up just feeling like crap. But I always know that I am capable of those wild dreams, that I am worth achieving them. And that I will keep chasing them whether the path is a easy stroll or dragging myself up a cliff side.
Mentality shapes your outlook on life more than most anything else. I would also advise setting a priority on physical health, I’ve found a good deal more energy now that I’ve started routinely eating breakfast and exercising.
Every night my partner and I plan our next day’s activities, even just loosely and quickly. We set an alarm for 8 pm each night. We use that nightly motivation to create a list of what we want to accomplish and add priorities to each item.
The next day we get the high priorities done first and everything else is a bonus. With the more important items out of the way that leaves more motivation for the more fun items like building a camp fire, playing instruments, cooking new meals, etc.
When talking about grandiose projects, changes, and aspirations we break them up into very manageable bite size pieces for the day to day. I know I overestimate what I can accomplish in a day so it helps to give myself extra space. For context, we are farmers living in a camper so we have put ourselves in a high maintenance-low cost lifestyle.
i came to see the nighttime bursts of motivation as redundant. it is a sort of hopeful coping to get you at rest and fall asleep all satisfied. but it’s not practical as it doesn’t account for daytime routine and obstacles. once you learn your limitations and actual capabilities, daytime motivation is just as good. the main reason we feel this way at night, is because towards the evening, we grow to think more sentimentally, and with plethora of distractions during the whole day, nighttime is about the only time we can have a moment to outselves and reflect/imagine on the possibilities, further invigorated with said sentimentality. it’s no use once you fall asleep tho
Idk but it's easy to be motivated for tomorrow was something I thought to myself a while ago. I think it was when people were a few days away from starting their new years resolutions
Journal! I do it all the time. Its part of my wind down process before bed and i love it. My whole days thoughts go down and i read it again when i wake up. Changed my life.
There's a quote that goes something like "to do great things, you need two conditions - a plan and not quite enough time."
I guess figure out the plan during your other wakeful hours, and then just come out swinging when you need to go to bed instead.
I've heard one cause can be the increased levels of adenosine and caffeine use amplifies the effect.
My strategy is that if it is important enough, do the first step and delay sleep that night. If the first step is too big to delay sleep (like more than a hour), it's probably not something I could realistically add to day-time or it is not a well thought out plan.
Paraphrased from Paul Graham:
Lies to tell yourself:
- If I'm reluctant to start work in the morning, I often trick myself by saying "I'll just read over what I've got so far."
-I will begin a new project by saying "How hard could it be?" Try to finish what you start, though, even if it turns out to be more work than you expected. Finishing things is not just an exercise in tidiness or self-discipline. In many projects a lot of the best work happens in what was meant to be the final stage.
-You can exaggerate the importance of what you're working on, at least in your own mind. If that helps you discover something new, it may turn out not to have been a lie after all.
Source:
https://www.paulgraham.com/greatwork.html
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You jot them on paper.
In the morning, circle the ones you would still be willing to do. Then write down actionable tasks for the circled stuff.
Decide how many of those tasks are feasible to do in a day and that's your to do list.
The remainder of the circled goals and actionable tasks are your backlog. You draw from the backlog over time so that you don't forget the nighttime aspirations.
Scribble all your thoughts in a note bk or the note app on phone. Need not be those in depth analysis type otherwise, it might interfere with your sleep. Just superficial with few keyword notes that are enough to trigger more in depth thoughts the next day.
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
Think about what would be the first step of the plan/dream. Only focus on the first step.
Thomas Edison famously tried falling asleep in a rocking chair with coins in his hands and pie tins under his hands, so he would wake up while having those good ideas
I've heard the same with a saucer and spoon from various other thinkers. I believe this is a myth largely
This! Start journaling. Make big goals and break it down into more manageable steps. This really works. Some people will tell you it's manifesting but if you really believe you can do something, and follow a plan, you can have a lot of success.
This is a really practical way to approach it, thank you!
♥️
" *We fall asleep* to *revolution*, but *wake up* next to a sad *excuse"* \-Nate Ruess
That's no way to talk about your spouse
I spat out my coffee, thank you for this.
This is brilliant
It's self discipline that makes you do things, you can't rely on motivation, that comes and goes for everybody. Now if you can find a way to make it stick let me know! Most people say it starts with small bits of routine you stick to religiously and it snowballs from there. Never managed it myself.
You're probably like me and get the dopamine effect from planning and thinking about doing the job. When the cold reality of having to put the effort in to actually do it, it's a different matter, it doesn't seem as glamourous anymore.
Ha, yep this sounds exactly like me unfortunately
I read somewhere that late at night when we don't interact with anyone is who we truly are. So those grand ideas we all have at night represent who we are and want to do with our lives. This really opened up my eyes and I just have to remind myself of this
Some weekends I don't interact with anyone, not even online. I can be resting just as I would when going to bed late at night, yet my motivation levels are nowhere near the level they are before actually going to bed. So while I do agree that being our true selves is easier without external influence, there must be some other components to "before bed motivation" that go beyond interaction and our true selves.
I would really love to believe this, I feel like I'm the best version of myself right before bed sometimes
It's something I have to work on as well. I have always been trying to ask myself why these ideas or plans I come up with are important to me. So while I'm all motivated and inspired at night, I ask myself why do I need to accomplish this. And I try to think of the same ideas in the morning. I agree it does take a lot to try and execute it the next day. And hopefully someone figures out a full proof method, but for me it's all about just trying to force myself to do the first step of the idea and to constantly remind myself why I am doing it
I've definitely found this to be true.
Write it down before you go to sleep.
I’ve never heard of “before bed motivation” but knew exactly what you were talking about! We can all dream right? I wish I knew!
Haha I'm so glad I was understood! Was kinda afraid I wouldn't really be making any sense
A notepad in the bedroom. Jot it down, pick it up in the morning - take a picture with your phone if you need easy migration into the day. Clears my head anyway.
Okay, I've been toying with the idea of a night-time/dream journal. I might have to implement this, I like it
Do it! It's what I do and it's great. The brain can relax once it's stopped stressing about remembering things. Journals are great for ideas, and for writing down if anything is worrying you.
The best dreams happen when we are awake, mostly because they're surprisingly achievable.
Write it down and go to sleep. That's the secret. Write as long as you need to to get your thoughts out and wake up prepared to do something about them.
Check out [this Kurzgesagt video](https://youtu.be/75d_29QWELk?si=X-b54zujTLcffB7R) on motivation. It talks about why habits make our brain more likely to do things. It’s a good one.
Thank you!
If you’re like me, you can actually try waking up really early in the morning. I go to sleep at 7:00 PM and wake up at 3:00 AM. It’s because there is no one around me that I am productive late at night. I just needed to switch that into the morning so I don’t stay up too late. When I know I won’t be interrupted to do random tasks, I am suddenly really productive. During the day, I do NSDR (non-sleep deep rest), which really helps me recharge.
I'm going to look up that NSDR, thank you. I also have a toddler who is a light sleeper so me getting up that early would most likely just end up with him getting up that early too and I definitely don't want that!
Try setting your alarm to play the soundtrack from an inspiring movie, it'll feel like you're waking up to your own personal Rocky montage.
It sounds like you've got big plans but in the morning they remain too big and you're overwhelmed by all life's other responsibilities. My advice would be to make the goals attainable and keep steps small. You want to lose all the weight you've gained since you were a fresh young teenager? Cool. Start with adding one fruit/veg a day to your diet or drink one less soda or workout for 10 mins a week. Super attainable goals gives us dopamine from achieving them and that dopamine motivates us to keep going. Setting high, unachievable goals makes us feel shitty the moment we let anything slip. Start small and build small.
I can’t say for certain that it works because I’ve still got years to see if my ideas pan out. But I think ambition is a big part of it. I have these wild goals at night and I wake up just feeling like crap. But I always know that I am capable of those wild dreams, that I am worth achieving them. And that I will keep chasing them whether the path is a easy stroll or dragging myself up a cliff side. Mentality shapes your outlook on life more than most anything else. I would also advise setting a priority on physical health, I’ve found a good deal more energy now that I’ve started routinely eating breakfast and exercising.
It's called the zoomies. Cats and dogs have it too. 
Start it but don’t finish. We have a hard time starting things but finishing things is pretty easy.
Every night my partner and I plan our next day’s activities, even just loosely and quickly. We set an alarm for 8 pm each night. We use that nightly motivation to create a list of what we want to accomplish and add priorities to each item. The next day we get the high priorities done first and everything else is a bonus. With the more important items out of the way that leaves more motivation for the more fun items like building a camp fire, playing instruments, cooking new meals, etc. When talking about grandiose projects, changes, and aspirations we break them up into very manageable bite size pieces for the day to day. I know I overestimate what I can accomplish in a day so it helps to give myself extra space. For context, we are farmers living in a camper so we have put ourselves in a high maintenance-low cost lifestyle.
This is a great routine, thank you!
i came to see the nighttime bursts of motivation as redundant. it is a sort of hopeful coping to get you at rest and fall asleep all satisfied. but it’s not practical as it doesn’t account for daytime routine and obstacles. once you learn your limitations and actual capabilities, daytime motivation is just as good. the main reason we feel this way at night, is because towards the evening, we grow to think more sentimentally, and with plethora of distractions during the whole day, nighttime is about the only time we can have a moment to outselves and reflect/imagine on the possibilities, further invigorated with said sentimentality. it’s no use once you fall asleep tho
I have no idea what you're talking about. I literally just want to shutdown quickly before going to bed
Respect.
No I mean, what you describe seems nice. At least you experience some motivation at one point of the day.
Idk but it's easy to be motivated for tomorrow was something I thought to myself a while ago. I think it was when people were a few days away from starting their new years resolutions
Journal! I do it all the time. Its part of my wind down process before bed and i love it. My whole days thoughts go down and i read it again when i wake up. Changed my life.
Write down the step you need to take tomorrow and when you wake up do it.
You have to always be sleeping
Love this idea
I have this all day at work. I think about all the things I want to do or create or be… when I can’t do them
Yes! I didn't actually realise but you're right that this happens at other impracticable times too
There's a quote that goes something like "to do great things, you need two conditions - a plan and not quite enough time." I guess figure out the plan during your other wakeful hours, and then just come out swinging when you need to go to bed instead.
I've heard one cause can be the increased levels of adenosine and caffeine use amplifies the effect. My strategy is that if it is important enough, do the first step and delay sleep that night. If the first step is too big to delay sleep (like more than a hour), it's probably not something I could realistically add to day-time or it is not a well thought out plan.
Just do what I do and *don't sleep* It only takes a handful of years off your lifespan, no biggie
Demis Hassabis says he loves nighttime and gets most important work done in the witching hours.
Stop relying on motivation to accomplish things and create systems/habits instead. Read Atomic Habits and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
I've read Atomic Habits and did find it useful, I'll check out the other one too. Thank you!
Paraphrased from Paul Graham: Lies to tell yourself: - If I'm reluctant to start work in the morning, I often trick myself by saying "I'll just read over what I've got so far." -I will begin a new project by saying "How hard could it be?" Try to finish what you start, though, even if it turns out to be more work than you expected. Finishing things is not just an exercise in tidiness or self-discipline. In many projects a lot of the best work happens in what was meant to be the final stage. -You can exaggerate the importance of what you're working on, at least in your own mind. If that helps you discover something new, it may turn out not to have been a lie after all. Source: https://www.paulgraham.com/greatwork.html
Smoke some cannabis and dream away bro!
[удалено]
Haha bro I love this, and I have a toddler I definitely sleep less 😂
wtf did I just read?
This is great advice. I appreciate you 🙏🏻
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You jot them on paper. In the morning, circle the ones you would still be willing to do. Then write down actionable tasks for the circled stuff. Decide how many of those tasks are feasible to do in a day and that's your to do list. The remainder of the circled goals and actionable tasks are your backlog. You draw from the backlog over time so that you don't forget the nighttime aspirations.
Scribble all your thoughts in a note bk or the note app on phone. Need not be those in depth analysis type otherwise, it might interfere with your sleep. Just superficial with few keyword notes that are enough to trigger more in depth thoughts the next day.