While productivity is not an easy task for anyone, some people have a much easier time than others, why is this?

Why do some people get so much further ahead than others?

What decides how hard it is for you?

The answer may surprise you, but it comes down to: How you view yourself.

How you view yourself in relation to your work to be specific: If you view yourself as very productive, then work will be significantly easier for you than if you didn’t

And the science behind this, is that your brain does not like change. This is why our personalities and values remain relatively the same throughout our lives. When we do something atypical of ourselves, like a healthy person eating cake, our brain dislikes this and you feel negative emotions. Our brains want us to remain as we are, and this is because we have proven to be able to survive in our current state.

Your brain does not like behaviors that are atypical of you, so if you view yourself as NOT productive, then productivity will be significantly harder for you.

P.s. I got this information from Neuroproductivity, which is NO-BS productivity (productivity using science) if you are interested I got this from moretimeoffline+com they only use productivity based on science, they have a ton of great free stuff there like this

Hope this helps you! cheers :)

What would you advise a 22 year old man without a college degree and job experience?

I'm 22 years old without university education (i dropped out on my first year).

I've worked some dead end jobs in fast good restaurants but it feels like i haven't developed at all in life. Is there still time to turn life around?

Im not American (I'm from Europe), there are no community colleges here (university admissions are very strict and it would take probably 2 years to get accepted again) and i also can't join the military.

I feel like i have no direction and the depression is killing me. Anyone else that has been in this place before?

I just can't change my mindset on the matter. I feel like i think of the past way more than i should think about the future. It's like my life is already over when in reality i should feel like it's just the beginning. Have any of you guys in your 20-30 has a similar problem? How did you change your mindset?

That would like to share what worked for them. The only thing that helps me is thinking that I am postponing the inevitable, but it’s not enough most of the time.

What is your foolproof way?

My life has been like a cos wave, I go high then dip down, then go high, then dip down again. Somedays, I'm super productive and get things done, work wise, fitness wise, diet wise. And somedays, I'm bad with everything. The problem is I know what I'm capable of, but I'm not able to be consistent with it. Past few weeks, I'm in the downward inclination of the wave, and it has started to look like it'll never go up again. It is like my mind, body and soul are not in sync. I'm procrastinating with work and fitness. I'm someone who prioritises work too much in life, I want to perform good, but I'm not able to focus like I used to. I've lost the drive that I once possessed. I'm constantly checking phone, scrolling reels, checking apps constantly to see if someone has texted me, although I've buttload of work to get done. Give me anything, I'll give it my all, any string of hope 🥹

Feel free to enjoy these calming playlists on Spotify. Updated regularly with the latest new instrumentals :)
https://linktr.ee/calmplaylists

I dropped out around 7th/8th grade i was social as a kid throughout elementary and middle school I had some friends kinda had a normal life up until 7th/8th grade I started abusing drugs to cope with my depression started to get really lazy and quit school thought it was cool to not care about the work but now that I’m bouta turn 18 and I missed out on all my years of high school etc I have no friends, no social life I have basically nothing besides my mom i started to do online couple months ago to catch up from previous years of hs and I’m catching up kinda quick but idk what to do I have no social life I just sit in my room all day everyday smoking weed going on my pc to feel that dopamine and I know I’m very young and have a lot of time but I just feel like shit that I didn’t experience high school should I go to a public school for this last bit of senior year to try to make some new friends etc or should I just finish online I know this might sound stupid but I just need at least 1 person to help.

I can share my experience which works for me.

Hope it helps someone

I take bath twice a day.

Well probably, majority of Indians take bath twice a day, I believe

1. One happens early morning for me at around 5-5:30 am (mind remains fresh)

2. After coming back from work (gives me a good sleep)

And when I say bath, it's not just standing in the shower and pouring water, and coming out.

Soap is used to remove sweat and dirt from the body.

Regarding Cleanliness:

1. What I wear during the Night or what I wear while I am at home, it's properly cleaned and washed next day early morning, before taking bath

2. And what I wear in office, is cleaned after coming back from work

So 2 cleaning in a day. One in the morning, and one in the evening.

I don't keep my dirty clothes pending for 1 week. It's horrible to keep dirty clothes pending for washing

Regarding Chores:

For me, the main daily Chore is

1. Preparing my own bed (simple task)
2. Cleaning my room (daily or once every 2 days).
3. Since we are staying in staff quarters provided by the organization, people take turns to clean the common bathroom

But at home, I clean the toilet which I use. I don't even allow a maid or my parents or anyone else get involved in that.

These are all very simple, basic discipline etiquette.

But sometimes, it's the simplest of things we tend to ignore the most. And then the simple things become complicated things.

So hope these things which has been stated, helps someone.

Hey everyone.

It started to get really bad 4-5 years ago. Like I will leave everything important to do to last minute and I don't even feel bad. i also get late to places I have to be a lot of the times. Or when I want to draw something which I actually enjoy doing, I don't end up doing it at home. I get distracted so easily and then I started to get obsessed with reading since a year ago and don't do anything else. I also can't find a job because of this, first of all I have bad social anxiety and procrastinate extremely bad. I don't know why I'm like this, I am ruining my life :/ I always keep lying in bed and reading. I don't have depression. Sometimes I get motivated a lot and have energy and start to do other things but that lasts for a few weeks and the next months I start to do nothing again. Always the same.

Looking for inspiration and to improve my productivity ☺️

Please post your plans for this date and if you can, do the following;

• Give encouragement to two other posters on this thread.
• Report back this evening as to how you did.
• Give encouragement to others to report back also.

Good luck!

Please post your plans for this date and if you can, do the following;

• Give encouragement to two other posters on this thread.
• Report back this evening as to how you did.
• Give encouragement to others to report back also.

Good luck!

Please post your plans for this date and if you can, do the following;

• Give encouragement to two other posters on this thread.
• Report back this evening as to how you did.
• Give encouragement to others to report back also.

Good luck!

Please post your plans for this date and if you can, do the following;

• Give encouragement to two other posters on this thread.
• Report back this evening as to how you did.
• Give encouragement to others to report back also.

Good luck!

To be spontaneous like a child doesn't take any doing, because it's our core. To stop being spontaneous/at ease/free/peaceful, on the other hand, does take some doing.

Relax you awareness/attention/focus. Ignore the troublesome thoughts passing by. Have you ever seen a child play. They are engaged and flowing with the moment whatever is happening. And after crying they drop it completely and continue playing/enjoying.

This is what happens when people drink alcohol isn't it. They relax/loosen up. They have drowned their critical mind and can finally flow freely. They become brave, more at ease in social situations, because now there's a distance between them and their worries.

This distance is nothing but ignoring the negativity. Just let it be there in the background while you allow your awareness/attention to move freely. It's when your attention gets caught on these negatives that you don't feel that inner childlike spontaneity and freedom.

Do what you need to do and do it in the way that gives you the most joy/peace. Even if one thing is just a little bit more appealing than another. It doesn't have to be big. It could be deciding to clean the house before going to the shop. Follow your passion/excitement/joy/interest/flow without attachment.

Maintain a positive perspective regardless of how things turn out. And remember that everything is happening now. There is only now. And now you get to choose what to pay attention to. It doesn't matter what happened in the past, you get to choose whether you let it fade away or keep activating it and making it a part of your life now.

To start this off I want to mention that I have had lots of trauma in my life, that has made me cope by doing addiction and im talking about being graped as a child, being attacked by multiple people, suffering with horrible anxiety. Now all I do everyday in my last year of high school is get high, skip school, procrastinate, watch porn, dream of a better life but never work towards it. I’m not looking for sympathy I just genuinely think it’s over me. I used to be pretty athletic, good at sports, not a dumb kid. But this one year after I got bullied everything in my life fell apart, however I was atleast now going to school but after I got attacked I haven’t really gone because of my anxiety. I really do not know what to do anymore I want to get into boxing but every time I just procrastinate. My heart feels empty and I make it worse by getting high off cannabis. I really do not know what to do anymore with my life sometimes I feel as though it would be better if I just don’t exist ive never felt this hopeless in my life. I seriously need help.

How can I become disciplined?

I just turned 22 years old and have basically accomplished nothing. I’m in community college right now but not doing the best. I’ve failed a couple courses in the past and it’s taking me a lot longer than it should to finish school. I have a hard time getting myself off my ass to do the work. I think I’ve just gotten so used to doing the bare minimum that it’s become incredibly difficult for me to change. I also work part time two days a week so money isn’t great right now. I tried hitting the gym as well to get back in shape but I find myself leaving mid way through a half assed workout. Sometimes at like 3 am in the morning I’ll have this random burst of motivation and ambition. I wish it was like that all day. I also vape a lot and used to smoke weed but quit when I realized it was really messing with my head. Basically, I have absolutely nothing to offer and I hate that but for some reason I can’t bring myself to be better and I really don’t understand it. My dad is a pretty successful person but we live on opposite sides of the world. He sent me, my mom, and the rest of my siblings overseas when I was in high school since most of my siblings were in uni. I avoid calling him sometimes because he always asks about school and my future but I don’t avoid because he asks I avoid it because I can always hear in his voice the disappointment. I don’t like disappointing him especially after all he’s done for me and my family. I need to know how I can break all these terrible habits and actually stick to doing things instead of always quitting. Naturally I am not happy with myself and I want to be better. I know the only answer is probably to just do it but what are some ways I can force myself to be better and to do things even when I don’t want to do them? How can I become the best version of myself?

I have learned that in order to be great at what you do, You need to love what you do. You need to love the day-to-day tasks that take you to where you want to go.

But the truth is, most people don’t love the day-to-day tasks that help them achieve their goals, and I do not expect you to either.

But this is how to become the greatest at what you do, this is the only way you can do the work required to be the best.

So you need to love your work, even if you don’t enjoy it.

And this is possible,

Let me tell you how:

The work required to be the best at something, like I mentioned before, is significantly hard. You will go through some pain. But the only thing stronger than pain, is pleasure, So you need to be able to derive some pleasure from the pain.

The secret is to learn how to enjoy the difficulty of work, this is the mindset shift you will make to get work done like never before. You need to have an attitude towards pain so that you actively invite and enjoy it.

This is a mindset shift many already make in other areas of their life, such as exercise.

I learned to love working out and pushing myself. I had already proven to my brain that pain in the short term leads to success in the long term. So when I began my business, I was able to apply this exact same mindset to my work, because I understood that even when work was hard, that it was good for me, and by pushing through the pain of work, that I was improving, and I was becoming better in the process.

I knew that I was doing something good for me, so I learned to enjoy it even when it was hard.

You don’t need to genuinely love the day to day tasks that make up your work, but by understanding that you are exercising your mind by working, and that you are improving,

This will allow you to completely shift your mindset towards work. And enjoy the work that you do. So when I sit down to work, and I don't want to, and it's hard and it's painful, I still love it. Because my brain understands that the pain I get from working will provide me with great things in the future, and I love that, so I subsequently love to work, and I enjoy it.

This post is based on Neuroproductivity, which is NO-BS productivity (productivity using science) if you are interested I got this from moretimeoffline+com they only use productivity based on science, they have great free stuff there.

Hope this helps! cheers :)

There are a million cliches extolling the importance of patience, perhaps because it is so easy to lose. Consistency is the manifestation of discipline; implicit in the definition of consistency is a great period of time.

If you've spent years or decades building bad habits, how could you reasonably expect to be able to erase them in a few months? Yet after a few weeks of living intentionally, you may begin to doubt. You may grow frustrated and discouraged despite doing everything right and ask yourself:

Why am I still fat? Why am I still poor? Why do a I still struggle with x?

You simply haven't given it enough time.

Judge yourself not by where you are, but by how hard you're trying to get to where you want to be. Good things take time.

The stream does not despair because it has yet to carve a gorge.

The seedling does not anguish in its ascent to tower over the forest.

No, they methodically stay the course, confident in their ability and enjoying their journey, totally ignorant to their progress. As should you. Don't lose hope, instead look back on the you of yesterday and rejoice in the progress you've made. Show yourself grace. Take heart in knowing that it is merely a matter of time, that your triumph is inevitable, that your victory is assured.

I've realized something powerful about personal growth that I need to share: Real growth rarely happens when things are easy—it happens when we step outside what feels comfortable.

Every signal of resistance is actually an invitation:

• That voice saying "this is too hard"? That's your opportunity
• The urge to retreat to what's familiar? That's where growth begins
• The feeling of "I don't know if I can"? That's your next level calling

Here's the raw truth: You don't:

• Build strength on easy days
• Develop grit when everything goes right
• Discover what you're capable of by staying safe

You build it in the struggle. In the "this feels impossible" moments. In the "I want to give up" seconds.

Think about every skill you've mastered, every fear you've overcome—it all started with discomfort. It started with that moment where you could have backed down, but didn't.

Start Before You're Ready

• Not confident? Good. Push forward.
• Feeling uncertain? Perfect. You're exactly where growth begins.
• Not sure of the whole path? That's okay. Take the first step anyway.

This is an extract from one my article, if you're interested in reading the whole thing check it out here!

how did you get yourself to do the exposure therapy?

I’ve been in a bad state for a while. The only time I get anything done is when I know going to have guests. I’m chill AF & just need someone to check in with about goals daily. Any takers?

We are all guilty of mindlessly scrolling through our phones then waking up after a few hours and realizing we just wasted the entirety of the day. Social media seems to have the purpose of connecting with people, but we all know at the end of the day it wastes our time more than anything else.

This Week, you will delete all your social media apps — basically quit everything. You shall not use any social media platform except for work (maybe you are a YouTuber idk). If you want to you can extend this to be a dopamine detox … in that case you would restrict everything that causes, well dopamine activations…

The easiest way to avoid giving in to the temptations you should know what to do instead of going on to social media. Here is a small list…

• Reading a book (ironically, go to the r/ suggestmeabook subreddit for ideas)

• Write something. Anything. Whatever your mind comes up with

• Do some exercise

• Meet your friends

• Play a good video game with your friends (online/in real life)

• Watch a good movie

• Clean your room

• Listen to a podcast

took me like 30 seconds to come up with that list, so there is plenty of things to do when you don’t know what to do (and would usually go on your phone to scroll). So now is your chance to delete all your apps and whatever and from now on you don’t need any of that anymore… Have a nice day!

From my Newsletter

Hi! I would like to reduce the phone usage and could use the partner to hold accountability to each other. Would be great if there's an app that sends the phone usage of the day to registered friend. thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, I am working to grow my web design/marketing agency from the ground up. Running into some issues and doing it alone while working from home has its own set of challenges.

Looking for people on a similar path with similar interests or goals so we can bounce ideas off each other and hold each other accountable. Send me a dm if interested and we can get a group chat going. I think we can not only hold each other accountable but share ideas and insights to go further and faster as a group.

I'm also into everything outdoors, business and entrepreneurial ventures, lifting and working out, hunting/fishing, and becoming the best version of myself. My faith is also important to me and something I am striving to improve. 26 yr old male from the Midwest. Excited to connect w/ some of you!

Let's Grow!

I grew up privileged, spoiled, and with everything handed to me by my parents. I have also always been ambitious and a hard worker. I went to great schools and am a professional in a well-respected field now.

It did take me a while to learn to be disciplined and I still struggle with it. I had a variety of mental health struggles in my 20s that I sometimes amount to attention-seeking behaviour because I was spoiled.

Fast forward to now, I have a friend who is also highly successful and ambitious, more naturally talented and intelligent, and had a very difficult and poor upbringing. It's really inspiring she's made it so far while having to pay for everything on her own.

Sometimes she tells me, and I have also realized from witnessing her, that I would not be where I am today without my parents and that if I did not have that privilege, I would probably be a dishwasher or something. She also says a lot of spoiled children grow up to be narcissists and ungrateful. She says my mental health issues were me pretending to have adversity instead of the real adversity that builds character. I know she means well and is sometimes harsh. I also want to break my own delusions.

I am struggling with this idea because I do not know how to fit it into my self-concept and identity - did my hard work really mean nothing? Do I have zero talent and intellect?

I am really examining myself and trying to learn to be grateful and realize I would not be where I am without all the support, but I am also struggling with my self-esteem. Thank you for your time.

In a fast-paced world where external forces often appear beyond our control, there are considerable advantages to be had for those who master their inner selves: unlocking the path to the life they desire. Those who learn how to take control of their inner growth can achieve remarkable transformations in every aspect of their lives.

Implement these high-potential inner growth strategies to help you navigate the unique challenges and aspirations of your own life.

Align Your Values With Your Desired Life

Take a deep exploration of your values. With this insight, you can align your values with the life you aspire to live at the intellectual level. Hypnotherapy can help with a deeper alignment: between the intellectual and emotional realms of your inner self. This dual alignment supports a deeper sense of purpose and direction in your life.

Conquer Your Limiting Beliefs

Building on your values, your beliefs shape your reality. Which of those beliefs are limiting you: acting as sub-conscious blockers? By combining intellectual and emotional approaches you can free yourself from those invisible chains. Unrestrained, you can make those positive changes at a whole new level. I have written about limiting beliefs in more detail elsewhere.

Manage Your Attitude

We all have our own natural disposition to responding positively or negatively to the challenges life throw at us. With insight on how aspects of our brain / mind work and self-awareness you can learn how shift your disposition towards the positive. In turn this opens-up your creativity and your deeper wisdom. I have written a piece on this – The Thought Action Repertoire – elsewhere. With a more optimistic outlook on the world, you can be better placed to stay the distance and achieve those bigger goals.

Practice Gratitude

While juggling the conflicting demands of career, family, health, and leisure, acknowledging the positive aspects in your life becomes a powerful tool for wellbeing. By incorporating gratitude practices, you reinforce a positive perspective. Guided visualisation can amplify the impact. Combine this with a compelling mental picture of your desired future – aligned with your values, beliefs, identity, and purpose - and you equip yourself with powerful inner tools.

Use Challenges as Opportunities for Inner Growth

Whether you see failure as an endpoint or a stepping stone towards success is a matter of perspective rather than a matter of fact. By reframing your perspective, failures can serve as powerful opportunities for learning and growth. A solution focused approach can enhance your mindset, enabling you to navigate setbacks with resilience and a constructive outlook. Have a go at re-framing a failure: Now that I have learned (what have I learned from the experience?), I choose to (what is my next step?), by (how will I take this next step?) so that I (what will I achieve by taking this next step?) because (what is my why – my purpose – in achieving this outcome?)

Take Control, stay in control

With insight as to how certain aspects of your brain / mind operate, you can learn how to take conscious control of your thoughts. By managing your thoughts, you actively create a mindset that aligns you with your desired outcomes. This lays the foundation of those inner changes which, in turn, puts you in greater control of your interactions with the world around you. With clarity on who you are and what your life is about, decision making becomes a whole lot easier.

By nurturing your inner growth, you embark on a transformation that goes beyond surface-level changes. You can learn how to integrate your innate capabilities - intellectual and emotional - to align your values, beliefs, identity, and purpose for a more authentic and fulfilling life.

Currently I am a can a day chew tobacco user, smoke weed on the weekends, p0rn every once in a while (even though I have a gf) , MAJOR caffeine addiction all I drink is Coca Cola, barely ever water and play a lot of CS2 (video game) after work and on weekends.

Weed and chew have been huge parts of my life since 16, so these will be my hardest to quit I think. I want to defeat these addictions and get my life on the right track with working out and getting in shape (24M,110Lbs 5’10” I know I’m a disgusting loser)

I’m just not sure if I should quit them all at once or one at a time. Every time I try I go into a major depression and fall right back into my habits. But I feel like the longer I take to get off them, the worst I will get.

Any advice? How do I defeat these habits and get back on track?! I’m so lost in life I just feel like giving up and being a stoner until I die. I know I should change these habits as they are very unhealthy I just feel like I don’t care enough about myself to do it. And I really should. I guess I just never really liked myself to begin with. No type of pills or therapy has helped me.