Nov 21, 2024
The Art Of Laziness
Do This For 10 Minute Before You Sleep
Every day is important. You need to both move forward and
look back. You must reflect on your actions to check whether
you’re doing the right things. And if you’re doing the right
things, how can they be improved?
You can never improve something that you can’t track.
There are a lot of small distractions throughout the day that
can lower your productivity and don't even make your life
better. So, here’s what you must do every night before you
go to sleep:
1)Take a pen and paper and write whatever you have
accomplished throughout the day. Write down all the good
and bad things you did throughout the day. Do it hour by
hour, and you will see how much time you wasted on things
that didn’t improve your life even a tiny bit.
2)Write down the things that you’re going to do tomorrow.
Make a short to-do list. Don’t make it too long. Planning your
day is super important. It keeps you focused on the
important tasks so you don’t get distracted by less
important tasks.
This simple exercise every day will make you aware of how
you’re spending your time every day, where you’re wasting
your time, and how you can remove those distractions from
your life that don't add any value.
3 Arrows
You will feel exhausted if you try to do too many things in a
day. There is nothing wrong with being exhausted but the
problem is that when you try to do too many things
generally you start doing the things that aren’t that
valuable. You start doing tasks that will not move you
toward your goals.
So, what you need to do is to write the things you have to
do. Then you must cut all the non-important things. You can
only do three high-value tasks. What are those three things
going to be?
Introduction : Life is short
Hours are passing. Days are passing. Months are passing.
Years are passing. Let’s say you will live for 100 years. If
you’re lucky, the average life expectancy in the world is only
72 years (around 3,700 weeks). It may look like a long time,
but it’s not. And if you are a 30-year-old, you have already
spent 1,500 weeks. I am telling you this not to make you
sad or to give you an existential crisis but to make you
aware that we don’t have as much time as we think we
have.
We should make the best use of the time we are given.
We already know that and have been told that thousands of
times, but do we make the best use of our time? Do you
love the things that you do? Are you around with the people
you love? Life is short for doing the things you hate or not
doing the things you want to do. The regret will be huge
when you’re old. Imagine you’re almost 80, looking back at
things and wishing you did something differently. You lived a
life how you wanted, not how others wanted. You will regret
all the moments you wasted being lazy, sitting on a couch
watching T.V. for no reason, spending hours daily scrolling
social media with no purpose. No person who doesn’t do the
things that he wants to can be happy from the inside.
Think for a few minutes: what would you regret when
you’re 80 years old?
Here are a few regrets that you might have:
1. Not doing what you love.
2. Being lazy and wasting your time.
3. Not spending more time with your family.
4. Not taking care of your health and wellbeing.
5. Working hard for nothing in return.
6. Not traveling when you’re young.
7. Not enjoying your life to the fullest.
Stop making excuses why you can’t do the things you want
to. Stop these things right now. Stop giving answers to your
mind; start asking questions. It will force your mind to find a
way.
Wasting your time so that time can be perfect is the worst
excuse, and you will regret it later. There is no perfect time.
The best time is now.
If you want to travel the world, now is the best time.
If you want to start a business, now is the best time.
If you want to go to the gym, now is the best time.
You will thank yourself later.
The goal should be to live the best we can. And there are so
many things that we are doing every day that we will regret
in the future.
This book will be short. My goal is to make you more
aware of your daily actions and how they will impact you in
the future. After reading this book, I hope you will stop being
so lazy and finally start doing what you want.
The book is divided into two parts; the first focuses on your
mindset and how you can live a better and more peaceful
life, and the second focuses on tips and techniques that will
help you overcome laziness and boost your productivity.
Time is running out. Start living now.
100% Responsibility “The price of greatness is responsibility.” –Winston Churchill
it’s not that a solution doesn’t exist.
It exists, and you know it deep inside of your heart. Only
action can help you achieve your goals, nothing else. No
one can help you achieve your goals.
Nobody cares if you’re lazy or not.
Nobody cares if you procrastinate or not.
Nobody cares if you exercise or not.
Why would they care? Nobody cares. It would be best for
you if you do things for yourself. You must act. You must find
time.
It is easier to sit on the couch and watch TV than go for a
run.
It’s easier to scroll on social media than to read a book.
It’ easier to procrastinate than to work hard.
Our mind always goes towards the easy option. You need to
change it to choose the best choice for yourself, not the
easy one.
We blame all the time to avoid confronting our problems
because it’s super easy to blame. You blame someone else,
and boom, you no longer think that maybe you can do
something about it. Every action that you take or not take
impacts your life. So, the next time you blame someone else
for your problem, consider the consequences. Your future is
in the hands of your present actions.
Don’t even think about the past. It’s already gone. There
are only two things that the past can give you: lessons and
regrets.
Learn from the past, but don’t let him have too much
control over your life. Learn from your mistakes. There’s
nothing wrong with making a mistake, but if you keep
repeating the same error, there is something wrong. Don’t
be stupid. Neither love nor hate mistakes. If you hate
mistakes, then you become fearful of them. You start to
overthink. It destroys your peace of mind. It doesn’t allow
you to take action. If you love mistakes, you start making
more because you attract what you love.
If a mistake happens, learn from it and move on. Don’t
waste your time. If you’re not moving forward, you’re
making a second mistake.
5 Minute Rule
You always have a lot of pending tasks because you tend to
procrastinate even on small tasks that can be done instantly
or in under 5 minutes, and you say that you will do it later.
And you never do it and the list of things to do keeps getting
larger and larger and then you feel overwhelmed by the
substantial number of pending tasks that need to be done.
And then you get nothing done because doing one or two
things will not do much.
A new rule you should always follow is that whatever can
be done under 5 minutes should be done now. You cannot
delay the task for tomorrow. It must be done now.
As Benjamin Franklin said, "Beware of little expenses - a
small leak will sink a great ship.”
In the same way, we should be very aware of little things to
do because they will destroy our productivity.
Do this one thing right now: list all the small things you need
to do. Close this book and do everything that can be done
right now.
Do it. Don’t wait. Waiting means the work can’t be done
automatically. You must do the work whether you do it now
or later
Wake Up
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious
privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to
love.” - Marcus Aurelius
The time for you to do the things that you want to do is
running out. You must always live with a sense of urgency.
We have a very short time left. I don’t want to make you feel
sad or anxious.
Wake up; you will get the same results if you keep doing
your current work. You must change what you do to change
the results you want.
The life you want to live is on the other side of laziness.
Living each day with complete awareness, enjoying each
moment, and not living in the future or past but in the
present. Your future can only be changed by the things you
do in the present.
Each day is important.
Each hour is important.
Each moment is important.
Don’t live your life by the expectations of other people. You
will always regret that in the future. Why did you listen to
other people and not listen to your inner voice, who was
trying to guide you to the right path?
If you’re a 30-year-old and you’re going to live up to the
age of 90, you have already spent 1/3rd of your life. If you’re
happy by the way, you spent your previous day then great
but if you don’t like your past then you must do the things
that need to be done so when you’re 70 you don’t say that I
have wasted my entire life.
Drop everything holding you back from living your life the
way you want. Don’t worry about other people's opinions.
They didn’t live happily and want you to do the same.
They’re filled with regrets and want you to have the same
kind of regrets.
Once, a father and a son were coming back from a village
far away, where they had purchased a donkey. They
overheard a man saying, see the fools, they have a donkey
but still walking on feet. Both thought it was a good idea,
and they sat on the donkey.
On their way, another villager saw and spoke. Look, look at
the poor donkey. He can hardly walk. The man felt sorry for
the donkey and got off. While crossing the fields, a woman
remarked. The son is young and healthy; he should walk and
let his father sit on the donkey. Son told his father, “I am
sorry, Dad, please come sit on the donkey,” so they
changed places.
As they were about to reach their village, a passerby said,
"Hey, see the selfish man; the poor son is walking and
enjoying the ride. Without giving another thought, both tied
the donkey upside down to a long bamboo and carried him
through the village.
By the time they reached home, all were laughing at
them. A villager elder asked, why are you carrying this
donkey like this? Can’t walk?
Father explained what happened on the way. The old man
said everyone was laughing at you because instead of using
your senses, you kept on doing what others said.
One day just like this book your life will end. Do the things
you want to do. Travel the places you want to. Read the
books you want to. Surround yourself with the people you
want to.
Time is running out. Start living!
Nobody is coming to save you
No one can change your life. Nobody has any interest in
changing your life. Their own life is a mess, so how can they
change yours? You must do it yourself. It’s in your own
hands. You can be lazy and wait for others to help, but you
will wait forever. Get this out of your head that somebody
else can help you achieve your goals. Stop being dependent
on other people. You have the power to choose whether you
want to remain lazy or want to do something meaningful in
life.
Here’s a great fictional story of a farmer:
Once there was a farmer. He had a wheat farm. But there
was a sparrow nest in his wheat farm, and there were four
little children of that sparrow in that nest. The Sparrow used
to go daily in the forest to feed her little children.
One day, when she returned from the forest, she found
their children were terrified. She asked them what had
happened and why they were so scared. They said the
farmer had come here today and discussed wheat
harvesting. He said he would send his sons to cut the crops
tomorrow. They said where they will go after crops have
been cut. After listening to their children, the sparrow said
that nobody would come tomorrow to cut the wheat crops,
so don't be scared.
The next day, the same happened, as Sparrow said. No
one came there to cut the crops. Many days passed, but no
one came there to cut the crops. Everything was going well.
Sparrow's children were very happy.
One day, when Sparrow returned from the forest, she was
again shocked by seeing her children's faces. They were so
scared again. Sparrow asked them the reason behind their
fear. They again said the farmer had come here today and
discussed crop harvesting. Today, he said he would send the
laborers to cut the crops tomorrow. After listening to them,
Sparrow again told them not to worry; no one would come
tomorrow.
The next day, again, the same happened as Sparrow said.
No one came there to cut the crops. Furthermore, many
days passed. But no one came there to cut the crops.
Again, one day, the sparrow returned from the forest, and
she saw her children's scared faces again. She asked again
about their fear. They said the farmer came here again
today and talked about wheat harvesting. But today, he said
he has wasted a lot of time depending on others, and he
said that tomorrow, he will come to cut the crops by himself.
After listening to this, the sparrow said, tomorrow, we will
leave this place and make our nest in some other place.
Sparrow told their children that tomorrow he would cut the
wheat crops. That's why we must leave this place.
The next day, the same happened as the sparrow said.
The farmer came there and cut the crops. After seeing this,
the sparrow's little children asked his mother if whatever
you said went right every time. What was the reason behind
this?
Sparrow said the farmer was dependent upon his sons the
first time and the second time he was dependent upon
laborers. That's why the work was not completed.
But the third time, he was not dependent upon anyone.
That's why he succeeded this time.
Comfort Zone Is Your Enemy
“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows
there.” - Unknown
One of the biggest reasons people are lazy and always want
to do everything tomorrow is because they are too
comfortable with their lives. They don’t want to change the
way things are going. Doing the things that you’re always
doing is easy, but it doesn’t lead to the growth that you
want.
Growth demands that you step out of your comfort zone
and do the hard things. It’s easy to watch movies, read
news, and scroll social media all day, but it’s not
meaningful, and you know it. Your body knows that you’re
wasting your time. That’s why you feel bad after you waste
your time that could be used for something valuable and
meaningful.
Do you want to spend your entire life wasting your time?
Time is running out. Soon, you will genuinely not have the
energy to do what you want. Do them now. Stop waiting for
something to happen automatically. Nothing is going to
happen; you must make it happen.
After leaving their comfort zone, nobody says that they
wish they stayed there. You will feel blissful after you stop
procrastinating and start doing what you want. Nothing
gives you more happiness than waking up every day with
the energy to start working on the things you want to do.
No Good, No Bad
Stop thinking everything is either good or bad. There are a
lot of bad things that happened to me, and I’m happy now
that they happened to me as they changed the trajectory of
my life. Here’s a great story:
There was a farmer with a horse who helped him in farming.
The villagers constantly told the farmer how lucky he was to
have such a great horse.
“Maybe,” he would reply.
One day, the horse ran away. The villagers came to the
farmer to express their sympathies.
“That’s too bad.” the villagers said.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
A few days later, the horse returned home with ten strong
wild horses.
“That’s great, isn’t it?” the villagers said.
“Maybe,” the farmer again replied.
The next day, the farmer’s son was riding one of the horses
when it kicked him off and broke his leg.
The villagers arrived to express their dismay.
“That’s too bad,” they said.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
A military officer marched into the village the next day,
recruiting able-bodied young men for the war. The farmer’s
son, with his broken leg, was left behind.
The villagers were joyful, “Your son has been spared. What
beautiful luck!”
The farmer smiled.
“Maybe.”
Don’t Let Failure Stop You
There are always ups and downs in life. Sometimes, you’re
doing great; sometimes, you’re not. Here is a great story:
Once, a king called upon all of his wise men and asked
them, is there a mantra or suggestion that works in every
situation, circumstance, place, and time? In every joy, every
sorrow, every defeat, and every victory? One answer for all
questions
All the wise men were puzzled by the King's question. An old
man suggested something that appealed to all of them.
They went to the king and gave him something written on
paper, with the condition that the king would not see it out
of curiosity.
Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone,
and there seems to be no way, can he see it. The King put
the papers under his Diamond ring.
Sometime later, the neighbors attacked the Kingdom. King
and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. The King
had to flee on his horse. The enemies were following him
and getting closer and closer. Suddenly, the King found
himself standing at the end of the road - that road was not
going anywhere. Underneath, there was a rocky valley a
thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be
finished, and he could not return because it was a small
road, and the sound of enemy horses was approaching fast.
The King became restless. There seemed to be no way.
Then suddenly he saw the Diamond in his ring shining in the
sun and remembered the message hidden in the ring. He
opened the diamond and read the message. The message
was: THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
The King read it. Again, read it. Suddenly, something struck
him- Yes! This too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was
enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings.
Yet today, the Kingdom and all my pleasures have gone. I
am here trying to escape from enemies. As those days of
luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. A calm
came on his face. He kept standing there. The place where
he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never
known that such a beautiful place was also a part of his
Kingdom.
The revelation of the message had a significant effect on
him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him. After
a few minutes, he realized that the noise of the horses and
the enemy coming was receding. They moved into another
part of the mountains and were nowhere near him.
He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the
enemy and regained his empire. When he returned to his
empire after victory, he was received with much fanfare.
The whole capital was rejoicing in the victory.
Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being
showered on King from every house, from every corner.
People were dancing and singing. For a moment, the King
said, " I am one of the bravest and greatest Kings. It is not
easy to defeat me. Suddenly, the Diamond of his ring
flashed in the sunlight, reminding him of the message. He
opens it and rereads it: THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
Don't Be a Perfectionist
“Perfectionism is a disease. Procrastination is a disease.
ACTION is the cure.”- Richie Norton
I’m not saying perfection is terrible, but it’s not worth it in
every part of your life. Beautiful things exist because
someone spends much time on tiny details. Without
perfection, the world wouldn’t be that great. There would be
only low-quality things all around us. The world is beautiful
both due to its perfection and imperfection.
Leonardo da Vinci was obsessed with tiny details. He
would spend years trying to paint a single painting. When
designing the Cathedral of Milan, he created hundreds of
designs. It took him more than ten years to paint the
famous Mona Lisa.
Steve Jobs also had a crazy obsession with details. When
designing the first Macintosh computer, he insisted that the
circuit board wires should look straight and beautiful even
though no one would see the inside as only the technician
could open the computer with special tools.
If you’re painting or creating something, then yes, it
should be as perfect as possible, but if you’re doing
something like cutting grass, which is going to regrow in a
few weeks, don’t spend your entire day trying to be a
perfectionist and trying to cut each blade of grass with
perfection.
You should be able to turn on and off the switch of
perfectionism. Sometimes it’s needed, and sometimes it’s
not. Don’t make a default setting of always being a
perfectionist. Change it according to circumstances. Don’t
hide your laziness with perfection.
Here is an excellent quote by Shane Parish:
"If a decision is reversible, make it as soon as possible. If it
is irreversible, make it as late as possible”.
Done is better than perfect
Not all things can be done perfectly. You can’t sit there and
spend days on a task that can be done in a few minutes.
Lazy people always do this when they finally decide to start
working on a project, and they start worrying about all the
tiny details. They get so overwhelmed by the details that
they never even begin doing it.
Don’t be Mediocre!
“Mediocrity doesn’t just happen. It’s chosen over time
through small choices day by day.”
–Todd Henry
We always have the choice of becoming great or becoming
mediocre. To become great, it’s not an easy task. You have
to give your very best each day. There will be failures. You
will struggle a lot. To become mediocre, you don’t have to
do anything; your goal in life is never to be an average
person. You must give your best. Mediocre people never
give their best they settle down once things are a little bit
okay, or they know that if they keep going things will
become hard.
99% of the people settle for less than they want. They
settle for the jobs they hate, and then they wonder why
they aren’t productive, are not happy, lack motivation, and
don’t wake up with the energy to do their job.
How can you wake up happy doing something you hate?
“Your work will fill a large part of your life, and the only way
to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If
you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with
all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
-Steve Jobs
Nobody wants to be mediocre. If you don’t believe it, ask
someone, “Do you want to become mediocre?”. You will get
the answer. The answer is always going to be no.
The one big reason people are mediocre is everyone
around them is also mediocre. And if you try to become a
little bit ambitious, people will tell you all sorts of things to
destroy your ambition. They don’t want to shine. Maybe
they want you to, but if you aren’t mediocre, it will make
them feel bad inside their heart, knowing they’re wasting
their human potential.
When we are children, we have all sorts of dreams and
aspirations, and then something happens, and everybody
falls in love with mediocrity.
People have no sense of energy inside them to do
something that time is passing by and they’re just dragging
through life instead of living it.
Think big.
Even if you fail, that will still be better than the regret of
never trying to push your boundaries. Imagine being an 80-
year-old wishing you could travel the world, pursue your
dreams, and live how you want to, not how other people
want to.
You still have time. At least for now, you have it, but one
day, there will be no time to do anything. Death will be
standing at your door.
Live your life always doing what you want to. You will need
no productivity tips; you will stop being lazy because a
sense of purpose will be inside you.
If you don’t like your work, change your work.
If you don’t like your friends, change your friends.
If you don’t like your thinking, change your thinking.
If you don’t like your life, change your life.
Remember that a life of greatness is harder than life of
mediocracy. It’s not easy, but the path will be worth it
The Myth of Multitasking
“The man who chases two rabbits catches neither.”
- Confucius
On December 11, 1998, NASA launched the Mars Climate
Orbiter to study the climate of Mars. The Mars Climate
Orbiter cost $125 million to build. On September 23, 1999,
the spacecraft entered orbit with Mars, and then suddenly,
NASA lost contact with it. It was due to a simple error:
engineers failed to convert from English units to metric. The
spacecraft got too close to Mars, and it was destroyed.
Multitasking means doing more than one thing at a time. It
sounds good, but it doesn’t work. We can’t focus on multiple
important things at the same time. If you have two
important tasks, then multitasking will reduce your
efficiency. You’re also more likely to tire quickly if you switch
tasks continuously.
As the saying goes “The devil is in the details “You need to
have complete focus on whatever you’re doing at the
moment. Switching tasks will reduce your focus, and you’re
more likely to make tiny mistakes that can have a huge
impact.
The more you switch from one task to another, the faster
you will get tired; when you’re tired, you’re less likely to pay
attention to tiny details. The level of stress also rises as we
change tasks.
3 Tips That Will Make You More Productive:
1)Avoid switching tasks. Work on one task with complete
focus and then move to another task.
2)Remove all distractions you can from the work you’re
doing. Be completely focused on the task at hand.
3)Turn off all the non-important notifications on your phone.
Focus
The best thing you can do to improve your productivity is to
focus on one task at a time. Important things aren’t meant
to be done with low focus. They demand our complete
focus. Let’s say you need to do three things. The best way is
to do one with complete focus and then move to the second
and third. The worst way is trying to do all the things at one
time and switching your task every five minutes to do
another task. You might feel that you’re productive, but you
are not. Don’t allow anything to interrupt your focus.
Take a Nap
When you work for an extended period with focus, your
mind energy will get reduced. The best thing you can do is
to take a nap. It may not be possible for everybody, but if
you can do it, then it’s worth it; you will be more energized
to work with more focus. Don’t go for a long nap instead opt
for shorter ones less than an hour. Avoid taking a nap after 3
pm. You may find it difficult to sleep. Also, if you sleep too
much during the day, you may have trouble sleeping at
night.
No Interruptions
We work best when we aren’t constantly disturbed by
others. It takes some time for our mind to get into a flow
state to achieve maximum output, and if you’re constantly
distracted by things, you will not be able to focus properly,
and your productivity will suffer.
Most Important Thing
If you must do multiple things first, you must know which
one is important. You must remove all the non-important
tasks that will not help you achieve your goals.
In everyone's life, there are a couple of things that you can
stop doing, and it wouldn’t make any difference. The biggest
distraction people face is that instead of doing the
important thing, they start doing the nonimportant thing.
Daily Routine
“You'll never change your life until you change something
you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your
daily routine.” - John C. Maxwell
Developing a daily routine is super important. You must
have some routine that you would follow. Without a proper
routine, you won’t be consistent with your work. Some days,
you would be motivated and work well; the rest of the days,
you would lack motivation, and you’re going to
procrastinate.
A daily routine would help you stay consistent. It will make
you more focused and will help you finish important tasks.
Without routine, we prefer doing the easy task, not the
important one.
What you do daily is going to shape your future. You are
the sum of everything you’ve done for the past few years.
To change who you are, you must change what you do daily.
A routine helps your mind to stop thinking all the time
about what to do next. You can adjust your routine to make
it as perfect as possible. I suggest you do it right now: look
back at yesterday and see what can be improved.
Here is the daily routine of Leo Tolstoy:
Leo Tolstoy was born on 9 September 1828. When he was
18, he started “Journal of Daily Activities”. In this journal, he
would write how much time he would spend on any task like
writing or studying, and then he would later comment on
how well he performed.
He would wake up each day at five o’clock. He would take
a walk for an hour. He has a strict habit of writing each day.
He also slept around 2 hours during the day. He used to
work in complete isolation. And would go to bed no later
than 10 o’clock.
When should you wake up?
There is a ton of advice on when one should wake up. From
4 am to 9 am, everyone has a different opinion. You must
listen to yourself and don’t lie to yourself because you can
make all sorts of excuses to justify your decision.
Think for a moment and ask yourself what is the best time
for me to wake up, which will make me more productive and
help me achieve my goals. Don’t say you must wake up late
because you want to be comfortable. You need to choose on
behalf of your future self.
Make the right choice, not the easy one.
Sit Alone
“All of humanity's problems stem from our inability to sit
quietly in a room alone” - Blaise Pascal
You must sit alone and think about what you are doing with
your life, what things you’re doing are not improving your
life, and instead, making your life worse. Do this simple
daily exercise for 5-10 minutes, and you will have fantastic
clarity about your life.
Eliminate All Distractions
The Trojan was between the Greeks and the City of Troy. It
was a great battle. It continued for ten years. But in the end,
the Greeks won the war with the famous Trojan Horse. They
built a giant wooden horse that was hollow from the inside
and left it outside the gates of Troy, and the whole army of
Greeks left. Trojans thought that they left the war and
accepted defeat. They pulled the horse inside the Walls of
Troy. When the night fell, the best warriors of the Greeks,
who were hidden inside the Trojan Horse, got out and
opened the gates for their army, which now sailed back.
Troy has fallen.
Distractions are like the Trojan Horse. They destroy your
focus and productivity. Be completely aware of hidden
distractions. Distractions are costly. Even if something
distracted you for 2 minutes, 10 minutes are wasted
because refocusing takes time.
Delete Apps
On everyone's phones, a few apps distract them, are
addicting, and you constantly waste time on them. Delete
them. Delete them all. If any app distracts you, it should be
deleted. For most, it would be video games. Once they open
the game, they waste 15 minutes before realizing it.
Relaxation is not bad. Everyone should relax as much as
they like, but video games aren’t built for relaxation. They
consume much mental energy, so you’re even more tired
after playing. There are better ways to relax.
Do this right now: open your phone and review all the
apps and games you waste your time on. Delete them. If
you need them later, you can always download them again.
This simple thing will at least save you from wasting 30
minutes every day.
Learn To Say No
“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes
too quickly and not saying no soon enough.”
-Josh Billings
If you want to take better control of your life and time, then
you must learn how to say no when you want to say no. We
often say yes, even if we don’t want to, just because we
don’t want to make the other person sad. You accept
everything other people want you to do, but you only have
finite energy and time. If you say yes to every opportunity,
invite, and work you’re asked to do, you will soon start to
feel burdened by it. To appease others, you will lose yourself
in the process.
Say no when you want to.
Say yes when you want to.
This is the only way to take back charge of your time.
You don’t have to be rude to say no. You can say it very
politely when you want to. I also don’t say that you have to
say no to everything. That’s also bad. You need to know
when to say yes and when to say no.
Your time is valuable and if you keep doing what others
want you to do then you will be distracted from your main
goal and, instead, start doing side things which will lower
your productivity. If we keep listening to others, then we will
have no time to listen to ourselves.
We need to learn how to say no to opportunities that we
have no interest in, and if we try to do everything, we will
get nothing done. As the saying goes, to be everywhere is
to be nowhere.
If you’re saying yes to everything, then there is a chance
that you’re not focused on your goals, or you have no goals,
which is even worse. If you have no goals, you will get
pushed by others according to their will here and there.
Here is an excellent quote by Seneca:
“If you don't know what port you sail to, no wind is
favorable.”
Don't Work 24/7
“20 years from now, the only people who will remember you
worked late are your kids.”
- Sahil Bloom
The goal of becoming more productive is not to work more,
but it’s the opposite. The goal is to get your work done in
less time so that you can spend time with your friends and
family. If you work too long, then both your creativity and
productivity suffer. It’s not worth it to spend 12 hours every
day in the office and neglect all other aspects of your life.
Sometimes, it’s okay, but not all the time.
We should measure productivity by how much work we
get done, not by how much time we spend. Some people
spend more time in the office to satisfy their ego.
If you’re working a lot and still aren’t achieving your
goals, there is a high chance that you’re avoiding the
important things that need to be done instead of doing
things that aren’t that important. The less important things
are distracting you from doing the actual important things.
Doing less essential things instead of the most important
thing is also procrastination. Don’t procrastinate on the
essential things. They will bring most of the results you want
to achieve.
I have seen that people do this deliberately; the essential
things are hard to do, so instead of doing the hard work,
they start doing easy things that make them appear busy.
Life is Short
Life is very short. Don’t waste all your life working and then
when you’re old wishing you did things differently.
Think about all the things you will regret when you’re old.
Enjoy your life. You may never get a chance to do the things
you can do now. You can’t enjoy travel when you’re 80.
Less is More
If you work a lot and still are not able to achieve your goals,
there could be two reasons:
1. You may not be working as hard as you think. You may be
lazy most of the time and think you’re working hard.
2. You may be working on the wrong things. You could be
working on less important things. Things that don’t matter
that much. You spend most of your time on minor things but
don’t do the challenging and essential things.
Everything you do has some value that you will gain from
doing it. Some tasks have more value in your life than
others. You don’t want to get distracted by less important
tasks. You want to dedicate as much time as possible to the
things that matter.
Be Productive, Not Busy
"If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step
we take just gets us to the wrong place faster." - Stephen
Covey
Working for 12 hours doesn’t mean anything if you are
working on the wrong things. You should work on things that
move you toward your goals. Don’t start climbing a ladder
and then halfway you look around and realise that you’re
climbing the wrong ladder. Work on your own dreams, not
the dreams of others.
Be productive, not busy. There is no reward for being busy
all the time. Don’t be busy just for the sake of being busy.
Be productive instead. Work on things that move you
towards your goals, not away
Don’t Wait
“Wisdom is knowing what to do next; Skill is knowing how to
do it, and Virtue is doing it.” - David Starr Jordan
The one main reason that a lot of people are lazy is they’re
always waiting for the right time so that they can do
something, and guess what? The right time never happens.
No time is good or bad. You can start today and make some
progress, or you can wait and console yourself that your
time will come.
Throw away all the garbage that eventually your time will
come without putting in the work. It won’t happen; you must
do the work to achieve your goals. I have seen zero
successful people who just waited for the perfect time.
Yes, some tasks can’t be done faster no matter how hard
you try but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try at all
and keep waiting.
Don’t confuse your laziness with patience. Patience and
laziness are very different. Don’t mix them. You must put in
the work every day, and then you should be patient with the
results.
A Story of Great Patience
A farmer once planted a bamboo tree. The farmer watered
the crop daily for a year but saw no sign of life. No growth,
no sprouts, no hope. The second year was the same as the
third and fourth years. His patience and faith in this
“miracle” bamboo plant faded. During the fifth year, just as
he was about to give up on his dream of growing the plant,
he noticed it sprout. The bamboo sprung up 60 feet over the
next six weeks!
This is an excellent story of both patience and hard work.
Life is just like this. There is no overnight success. It takes a
long time for success to happen, but this also doesn’t mean
sitting there and doing nothing. The crop didn’t grow
independently; the farmer had to plant it, take care of it,
and be patient.
Impatient With Action and Patient with Results
A student of Zen went to his teacher and asked earnestly, “I
am devoted to studying Zen. How long will it take me to
master it?”
“Ten years,” the teacher said.
Impatiently, the student answered, “But I want to master it
faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice every
day for ten or more hours if necessary. How long will it take
then?”
The teacher thought for a moment, “20 years.”
You have no control over the results you get or not get. You
can only control your actions and the work you do. Everyone
wants to get results fast when they’re working hard,
thinking they should be rewarded right now for their work,
but generally, that doesn't happen. You may work hard for
years before you get the results you want. You must be
patient with the results, but don’t be patient with action.
Don’t be one of those people who think everything will be
given to them automatically. You must do the work first
before you get the results you want.
"A man who is a master of patience is master of everything
else." - George Savile
No Perfect Time
There is nothing as perfect timing to start anything new. You
can start today and make some progress, or you can keep
waiting for the ideal time. The perfect time is now. There is
no better time than today to start moving toward your
goals. Stop being lazy and start doing the work that is
required.
Consistency Is Key
To be great at anything, you must do it daily and for a long
time.
To become a better painter, you need to paint every day.
To become a better writer, you need to write every day.
To become a better speaker, you need to speak every day.
Most people never start; some start but give up as soon as
things get complicated; only a few are consistent and show
up every day, no matter how hard it gets.
It Will Get Easy
“It may seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at
first.” - Miyamoto Musashi
The hardest thing is to start. That’s where 95% of people are
stuck. They never start. They keep waiting and making
excuses. If you want to break a bad habit the first few days
will be the hardest and after a few weeks, it will get pretty
easy to keep going.
Do What You Say
If you love to procrastinate, you will not honor your words. If
you say that you’re going to something and then you don’t
do it, then soon people will stop trusting you. I don’t mean
to do everything that other people ask you to do, but when
you finally say that you’re going to do something, then you
better do it. If you say from tomorrow, you’re going to the
gym, then no matter what happens, you better go to the
gym. Do what you say. Stop saying things and then just be
lazy. Honor your word and do the things you say
Surround Yourself with the Right People
“You are the average of the five persons you spend the most
time with.” - Jim Rohn
If your friends are lazy, then you’ll be lazy
If your friends procrastinate, you’ll also procrastinate.
If you’re friends work hard, you’ll also work hard.
If your friends read books, you’ll also start reading books.
There may be an outlier, but that’s very rare. The main
reason people are lazy is because whoever they spend most
of their time is also lazy. You adopt the habits of the person
who is very close to you. Their good or bad habits become
yours. If your friend likes to waste time, you’ll also join him
in wasting time. It’s tough not to get influenced by other
people.
So, what you can do? The only thing you can do is to be
aware of what you’re doing. Only by awareness can you
conquer your laziness and procrastination. You must be very
aware of your actions. You must learn to say no.
This thing also goes the other way if you have friends who
are not lazy, don’t procrastinate, and have adopted good
habits. You’ll become like them.
The choice is yours. The people you surround yourself will
have a massive impact on your life. They will shape your
thoughts, actions, and your life. The right people will
improve your life, and the wrong ones will worsen your life.
If you’re always with a negative person, they will make
you a negative person but instead of you surround yourself
with positive people you will become a positive person. You
must think about whom you’re surrounding yourself with.
Change Your Circle to Change Your Thinking
If you want to change your thoughts, you must change
everything you do. You must change the people you hang
around with. If the people you spend the most time with are
lazy, negative, and in no way make your life even slightly
better, then it would be worth it to change your circle or
reduce listening to their advice.
Someone said,
"Close the window that hurt you, no matter how beautiful
the view is," and I felt that!
Don’t Take Advice from Everyone
Don’t take advice on matters from someone you dislike
exchanging places with. Let’s say you want advice on how
to be happier; the last person you want to take this advice
from is an unhappy person. Think about it: if his advice has
some value, then why would he be unhappy? Nobody loves
to remain unhappy.
Who you take advice from will decide the life you’re going to
live.
Take advice from unhappy people, and you will
become unhappy.
Take advice from unhealthy people, and you will
become an unhealthy person.
Take advice from angry people, and you will
become angry.
“If they don’t have what you want, don’t listen to what they
say.” – Alex Hormozi
Stop taking advice from people you don’t want to become.
Stop listening to other people's opinions about how you
should live your life and what you should do. Their advice is
completely useless.
It's your life; live the way you want to.
Don’t Worry
“I am an old man and have known many troubles, most of
which never happened.”
-Mark Twain
Worrying loves a lazy person because a lazy person has
nothing else to do except worry. Since they aren’t doing any
work, all they can do is worry about the future. If you
believe in yourself, then there is no need to worry. When
you don’t believe in yourself? The worry starts to appear. All
types of negative thoughts start to enter your mind. You
start worrying about things with a very low chance of
happening.
Worrying can only be destroyed by one thing, and that is
through action.
That’s the only way I know to make your worries go away.
I have no other knowledge. Let’s say you’re worried about
your health, and then the only thing you can do is to start
taking care of your health. There is nothing else you can do.
Thinking about your health all day will not make you
healthier; it might do the opposite.
Worrying is natural. We all worry about jobs, business,
health, money, family, etc. You must classify your worries
into two parts:
1) The things that you can control, and you can do
something about it.
2) The things you can’t control, and you can’t do anything
about them.
Worrying about the first part is okay. You have to worry
about your health so that you can take some action and
improve it. This is what I call good worrying. It helps you do
things that can make your life better.
Worrying about the second part is stupid. Why worry
about something you can’t control? Let’s say tomorrow, an
asteroid is coming to Earth and going to kill all of us. What’s
the worry? You can’t do anything. Worrying about things you
can’t control is going to rob your happiness.
Make a new rule to never worry about anything that you
can’t control, and if you can control it, then act immediately
and do something about it. In both cases, there should be
no worry.
Do the Hard Thing First
“The cold water doesn't get warmer if you jump late.”
-Unknown
Here’s a simple tip to become more productive and feel
better: the hardest work you have for the entire day should
be done first. No matter how hard it is, it needs to be done
first. Whenever you start working, write all the things that
need to be done, pick the hardest and most complicated
task, and immediately start doing the task.
As humans, we don’t like to be uncomfortable; we don’t
like to do hard things if possible. So, we avoid it, but you
can’t avoid doing a task. If you can avoid doing a task, it
wasn’t important in the first place. But if a task is important
and needs to be done, the best thing you can do is to start
working on the task as soon as possible.
The hard task is also important and will help you achieve
your goals. But since it’s hard, you wouldn’t like to do it first,
and then procrastination will take over you, and you would
delay it by saying, “I’m too tired” or “I don’t have time now.”
These are just excuses to avoid doing the work that needs
to be done.
Hard Choices = Easy Life
Everyone wants to live an easy life with no worries. A life
where you don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to
do. A life in which there is complete freedom to do anything
you want to. A life in which you don’t have to worry about
anything. Who doesn’t want to live like this?
An easy life for most people can only be possible by
making hard choices. There is no other way. You have the
option to choose one of the following:
Easy Choices = Hard Life
Hard Choices = Easy Life
This is the harsh truth of life. You have to make hard choices
in the short term to live an easy life in the long term. Being
lazy is easy in the short run, but it will make your life harder
in the long run. Doing is hard; not doing is even harder.
Going to the gym is hard, but not being healthy is even
harder.
The choice is yours; you can make hard choices to live an
easy life or easy choices to live a hard life.
Do What You Need To
There is a very fine line between doing what you love and
doing what you find easy to do. We, as humans, love to do
what is easy. We run away from doing hard things. But once
you start doing hard things, then it will get easier. The start
is always the hardest. There is no reward in life for doing the
easy thing. In life, you will be rewarded for how hard things
you can do. Everybody can do the easy thing. It’s the hard
things that count. To get better results, start doing hard
things.
Stop Living a Balance Life
I’m not telling you to become crazy, but there is so much
laziness in our life that as soon as things get a little bit hard,
we stop doing them by saying we want to live a balanced
life. You can balance a lot more than you think.
Balance is required in life. You need to sleep a good
amount of time according to your body's needs. You need to
spend as much time as you like with your family and friends.
To live a balanced life, we have to remove all the hard
things from life. We don’t even like to do anything hard. We
don’t want to make hard choices. We don’t want to try new
things. We just want to let things happen as they’re
happening.
A little bit of unbalance is required to achieve great
things. I’m not in favor of sacrificing anything for anything. I
don’t suggest you sacrifice your health for money or
anything else. All I’m saying is that you try to push a little
bit of those imaginary walls that you have created in your
mind. Pushing them will not cost you anything. If you don’t
feel good, you can always move back but don’t sit there and
never even try to push the wall a little bit.
Picture Your Future Self
Whenever you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to do the work,
start thinking about your future self.
How will you feel about not doing it in the future? How will
you handle the regret?
Now imagine how your life will look in the future if you do
the hard work instead of procrastinating.
There is no better way to motivate yourself than to think
about your future self. Your future is always created by you
in the present. The actions you take will reflect how your
future will look.
“People do not decide their futures; they decide their habits,
and their habits decide their futures.”
― F. M. Alexander
Delegate
If you want to do a few small things right, do them
yourself. Learn to delegate if you want to do great
things and make a big impact. - John C. Maxwell
There is no way to do everything by yourself. No matter
what technique, hack, or tips you try, there will never be
enough time to do everything by yourself, and that’s a good
thing because we don’t need to do everything by ourselves.
Other people can help us do the things we don’t have time
to do.
If you have any task that needs to be done and you have
no time to do it, it’s a low-value task, which means that
even if you don’t do it by yourself and instead hire
someone else, it will not make a difference.
Many things take a lot of your time that aren’t that
important, but you can delegate right now so that you can
use the time to do the things you want to do.
Make a list of all the non-important tasks you need to do
every day, how much time it takes to do them, and how
much money it will take for someone else to do them. You
will see that you’re doing things that can be easily
outsourced and very cheaply that take a lot of time daily. Try
this for a few things, and then see how it goes. Even if
somebody else does around 90% of a good job, it’s worth it.
Also, there is a high chance that somebody else will do a
better job than us. We think that we can do a better job, but
that’s not true. It may appear to our mind that we can do
better, but most of the time, that’s not the case
How To Learn Anything Faster
"I constantly see people rise in life who are not the
smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they
are learning machines." - Charlie Munger
Learn What Is Useful
Don’t learn anything just for the sake of learning it. Learn
things that can improve your life. Don’t become so weird
with learning things that you start learning local languages
spoken in some villages in the nowhere. Think about what
you’re learning, whether that is useful or not. If not, don’t
spend time learning it. There are thousands of things that
you can learn today that are helpful and will improve your
life.
No Laziness While Learning
You can’t be lazy if you’re trying to learn something. You
can’t just sit there and keep waiting to learn. You need to
learn now. You need to start right now. Let’s say you want to
learn how to code. You can start learning right now. There is
no need to wait. Speed is crucial. I’m not saying to watch
videos at 3x, but you must have a sense of urgency. Learn
at whatever pace you’re comfortable with, but start it now.
You will thank yourself later.
Speed Reading
“If you can speed read it, it isn't worth reading.” – Naval
Ravikant
I’m not a huge fan of speed-reading books, as great books
worth reading demand your complete attention. The fastest
way to read more books is to spend more time on books.
That’s it. There are some books I spent weeks and some
that I even read in a day. Don’t think too much about
reading speeds. If you’re a beginner, it will get better over
time. Focus more on the quality of the books you read. Also,
stop reading the same type of books. Read a variety of
books. Don’t stick to the same type of books.
Read fiction.
Read non-fiction
Read self-help.
Read history.
Read philosophy.
Read biographies.
Read Autobiographies.
Read everything
80/20 Rule
This is also called the Pareto Principle. This means 20% of
your work will bring you 80% of the results.
There are many things you can do each day, but there are
a few things that are important and will bring the most
results, and there are other things that are less important
and will not help us achieve our goals.
Even if you don’t procrastinate, you should still be very
aware of what you’re doing because if you’re doing things
that are not valuable and will not help you achieve your
goals, you’re wasting your time.
Think for a moment. What is the most important thing you
can do to help you achieve your goals?
It’s probably hard to do, but it would be worth doing. The
goal is not to be busy always but to do what needs to be
done
10 Tiny Habits That Will Change Your Life
1. Move Your Body
Our bodies are not made to sit all day. If you don’t do any
physical work, then you will feel tired all the time. Move
your body every day, no matter whether it’s physical work
or some sort of exercise. Go for a run early in the morning or
when you feel overwhelmed during work go for a walk.
2. You Are What You Eat
What you eat will impact the way you feel during the day. If
you feel lethargic, then maybe you need to change what
you eat. It depends on person to person, so look at your diet
and see whether you can improve it.
3. Have A Purpose
If you have no purpose, then you will never have the energy
to do anything. If you don’t love your work, then you will not
be excited or filled with energy. You need to have a sense of
purpose to have constant motivation to work hard. Find a
purpose in your life.
4. Drink More Water
Make sure that you’re drinking plenty of water throughout
the day.
5. Surround Yourself with People You Love
Be around with people you love and care about. People
around whom you feel happy and blissful. Stop being around
negative people. Move away from all the toxic people in
your life.
6. Take Risks
If you’re not taking risks, then you will not have the
motivation to do things. Our mind needs constant
challenges to keep it alert, and if you’re doing the same task
over and over, then your motivation will decrease.
7. Don’t Overload Yourself
Stop having unrealistic expectations of yourself. You need to
push yourself but if you do it too much then it will have
negative effects. Stop trying to do too many things in a day.
You can’t do 20 things in a day.
8. Not Multitasking
Multitasking is a lie. It exhausts you fast and doesn’t allow
you to focus on a task. It acts as a distraction. Switching
tasks reduce your productivity instead of boosting it. Don’t
multitask.
9. Eliminating All Distractions
The best thing you can do is to eliminate all the distractions
from your environment. Anything that diverts your brain's
energy should be eliminated.
10. Having a Sense of Urgency
You can’t achieve anything in your life if you don’t have a
sense of urgency. You need to be patient with results and
inpatient with action. Anything that you need to do should
be done as fast as possible.
Pomodoro Technique
This technique is very simple what you need to do is: work
for 25 minutes uninterrupted then take a break for 5
minutes and you will repeat that.
I like to go for a long time before taking a break. You must
see this for yourself when you’re getting tired, and you
should adjust this technique accordingly. Rest is very
important, during your work you should take rest whenever
you feel you’re tired mentally due to working for a long
period or working intensively.
If you’re fully into any task, then you may have noticed
that you stop worrying about everything else; you stop
noticing the passage of time. This may not happen often,
but when it happens, you feel happy. This joy can happen
only if you’re doing something that you like. You can't feel
this if you don’t like your work. Loving your work is the only
way to feel this.
Two Day Rule
The two-day rule is simple: you would not miss anything for
two days straight. You can miss it for one day if you must
but never for two days. Let’s say you started exercising
every day, then suddenly, you have an emergency and can’t
train for a day. That is completely okay but if you miss two
days in a row then not exercising becomes your habit and
there is a chance that you may not exercise for many days.
Consistency is very important. Without consistency, you
can’t move toward your goals. If you have a car it needs to
be looked after otherwise issues will start rising, it may not
start when you need it or may stop in the middle of your
journey.
20 Productivity Tips I Wish I Had Known Earlier
1. Plan your day. Write everything you want to achieve in a
day.
2. Write your goals on a physical paper.
3. Follow the 80/20 Rule. 20% of your work will bring you
80% of your results.
4. Stop Multitasking. Switching tasks reduce your
productivity a lot.
5. Focus on one task at a time.
6. Remove all the distractions from your environment.
7. When tired, take a nap.
9. Learn to say no. You will never have enough time if you
say yes to everything.
10. Delegate all the non-important tasks.
11. Don’t wait for the perfect time. Do It Now.
12. Anything that can be done in under 5 minutes should be
done now.
13. Do the task that you hate first.
14. Set deadlines; the task will never be finished without
deadlines.
15. Stop focusing on things that don’t help you achieve your
goals.
16. Don’t become a perfectionist when it’s not required.
17. Schedule a time when you’re going to check your email.
18. Avoid all the unnecessary meetings.
19. Avoid negative people at all costs.
20. Do what you love
8 Japanese Techniques to Overcome Laziness
1. IKIGAI
It means to have a purpose in life. The reason you wake up
each working excited to do something. When you have a
purpose, you won't feel lazy or unmotivated.
4 Rules of IKIGAI:
1) Do what you love,
2) Do what you're good at,
3) Do what the world needs,
4) Do what you can be paid for.
2. Kaizen
It means focusing on small improvements every day and not
waiting for big improvements but trying to become 1%
better every day. Instead of setting a big goal, we should
divide it into multiple small goals and tackle each of them
one by one.
3. Shoshin
It's a concept from Zen Buddhism that means approaching
things with a beginner's mindset.
"If your mind is empty ... It is open to everything. In the
beginner's mind, there are many possibilities, but in the
expert's mind, there are few." - Shunryu Suzuki (author of
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind)
4. Hara Hachi Bu
This means to stop eating after you're 80% full. If you eat
too much, you’re more likely to feel lazy. This happens to
people all the time. Once they eat their lunch, they start to
feel tired because the body tries to digest all the food they
eat. So you start to feel sleepy, and you will not love to work instead you would
like to procrastinate.
5. Shinrin-yoku
Shinin in Japanese means "forest," and yoku means "bath.”
It means that one should spend more time with nature.
Spending time with nature is the best way to deal with
stress. Whenever you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed,
go for a walk.
6. Wabi-sabi
This means that instead of perfection, one should find
beauty in imperfection. Things can’t be perfect all the time.
Some things can’t be perfect, and that’s okay. There is
beauty even in perfection. Love the things the way they are.
Don’t be stubborn and try to change them. You will ruin their
beauty.
7. Ganbaru
Nothing worth doing takes much time, no matter how hard
one tries.
One should be patient with the results and still try to do the
best that can be done.
8. Gaman
It means to show patience and perseverance when things
go hard. When you go on a journey it’s not going to be all
pleasant there will be a lot of times when things will go
wrong. You will face many difficulties when you start doing
the things you want to do. There will be failures.
Harsh truths of life:
If you’re lazy, it’s your fault.
If you’re unhappy, it’s your fault.
If you’re a procrastinator, it’s your fault.
What are you going to gain by escaping from the
responsibility? Nothing. If you want to change something
about your life, you must fully know you’re responsible for
your actions. The things that you want to achieve can only
be achieved by yourself. Nobody else can do it for you.
Complaining achieves nothing. It fills your mind with worry
and negative thoughts. Overthinking and complaining all the
time is terrible for your mental health. You need to act. You
can start today, or you can wait till tomorrow. The choice is
yours.
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The
second-best time is now." -Chinese proverb
Mistakes aren’t as bad as you think
It’s okay that you made a mistake. When you’re doing
something, mistakes are bound to happen. It’s normal. But
you must take responsibility for your mistakes. You are
responsible for all the actions that you do. Learn from your
mistakes and move on. Speed is necessary if you want to
move forward with your life. You can’t sit there and keep
thinking about your mistakes.
If you’re not a lazy person who sits all day and does
nothing, then mistakes will happen. You can’t sit there,
afraid of making mistakes; you must jump into the
unknown.
“Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in
never making the same one a second time.”
- George Bernard Shaw
Stick to your business
This simple tip will make you more productive: Don't worry if
it’s not your business. If something doesn’t affect you, don’t
worry about it. People are constantly worrying about things
that don’t impact them. Keep yourself focused on what is
truly your concern. You’re the most important person in your
life, so make it your goal to do your best for yourself. Stop
worrying about other people's opinions. 99% of the opinions
you hear are wrong and will not help you. Trust in yourself.
“Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your
concern and be clear that what belongs to others is their
business and none of yours.”- Epictetus
3 Types of People:
There are three types of people I see all around me:
1. The first one is the majority of people; they never start.
They never do anything. They sit there and be lazy. They
never work on their dreams. They never do what they are
supposed to do. They are just waiting for something good to
happen.
2. The second type of people are those who start, but as
soon as things get hard, they give up, and then they regret
why they gave up.
3. The third type of people are those who work hard, don’t
give up despite hardships, and keep going. They are the one
percent who do become successful.
One must be persistent. Things aren’t always smooth.
Things can go wrong and will go wrong. Your path will have
obstacles, but you must progress toward your goals.
Life is not a sprint but a marathon. It’s long and hard.
There is no reward for the quitters who quit halfway. You
must reach the finish line to achieve something.
Control What You Can Control
Control What You Can Control
You must be aware of what you can and can’t control. Don’t
become sad when things which you can’t control don’t work
according to your plan. Don’t confuse what you can and
can’t control. Not everything is out of your control. There are
a lot of things that you can control that will improve your
life. You have control over your mind. You have control over
the amount of hard work you do. But you have no control
over what other people will think about you. Worrying about
things you can’t control will make your life miserable.
Keep it Simple!
Whenever you’re trying to do something new, always try to
keep it as simple as possible. Don’t try to do too much at
one time. Don’t overthink about all the things that can go
wrong. Most of the time, they don’t go wrong at all. What
you should do is to start as soon as possible. You need to
have urgency. The urge to do things fast. Not urgency in
getting the desired results but the urgency in doing the
work. Let’s say you want to learn how to create a website.
You can start right now, or you can keep waiting.
Your first plan never works; you need to make
adjustments. You may even need to change your plan
altogether. Do it and do it as fast as possible. Speed is
crucial. You don’t have as much time as you think you have.
Keep things simple and do things with lightning speed.
“Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere
around 70 percent of the information you wish you had…if
you wait for 90 percent, in most cases, you’re probably
being slow."
-Jeff Bezos
Start to think a little bit differently!
“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.”
- George S. Patton
You do not need to think just like everyone else. You can
judge for yourself. You can think like no one else, and it is
entirely okay.
You must think and do different things than anyone else to
get different results. You can’t do what everybody else is
doing and expect different results. You can’t do what you
have been doing in the past and predict a different outcome
this time. Most of the time, the outcome is the same. If
you’re lazy, you know the result, just like the last time.
Set Clear Goals
We should set clear goals that are both possible and can be
achieved quickly. Setting huge, ambitious goals is not bad,
but the problem is if you're a super lazy person, you will not
work toward that goal because it would seem too hard and
impossible to achieve.
That’s why in the start you should set small easy goals that
can be achieved.
Goals should also be clear. For example, a clear goal is
that you want to lose 2 kilograms in 1 month. An unclear
goal is that you want to be healthy.
A goal that can’t be measured and has no time duration is
not a goal. You’re just expecting a miracle to happen.
Write down your goals
If you don’t write down your goals on paper, you should
start doing it now; you will not regret it. If you have clearly
written goals and read them regularly, they will motivate
you. You will feel some guilt if you don’t do what you have
written. Even if you achieve half of your goals, that’s still
better than doing nothing.
Don’t Overcomplicate
I’m not a big fan of all the various apps that people use to
measure their productivity. I think it’s a complete waste of
time. You don’t need any app to focus on your goals. I prefer
writing things. You only need two things: pen and paper.
That’s it. Don’t overcomplicate simple stuff.
Anything more than that is just a waste of energy.
You Will Regret It Later
When we don’t do what we actually want to do and instead
procrastinate, that thing keeps bothering us. It doesn’t allow
us to live in peace because we subconsciously know that we
are lazy and should do that task, but we don’t.
Think Long Term
You can do two things. You can think long-term and do
things that will be valuable for you in the long term, or you
can satisfy your short-term pleasures and ignore the future.
One should have in mind how the actions that they take in
the present are going to affect the future. One thing that I
can tell you for sure is that you will always regret being lazy.
Laziness feels good in the present as it gives an immediate
dopamine hit. Doing something new is hard and doesn’t
give an instant dopamine hit, but in the future, you will
always regret being lazy and never doing things that you
want to do.
You need to delay instant gratification, do hard things,
take some stress, and make sacrifices so that you can
achieve your future goals.
I’m not telling you not to avoid all fun in the present
entirely, but sometimes short sacrifices are necessary for a
better future.
Take Risk
Don’t be afraid of risks. If you want to achieve anything in
your life, you must jump from a comfortable position to an
uncomfortable position. The regret of not taking a risk is
enormous. You are going to regret your entire life if you
don’t take risks. Taking risks is scary and should be, but not
taking risks is even scarier,
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk... In a world that is
changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed
to fail is not taking risks.”
- Mark Zuckerberg
Self-Discipline
“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of
discipline or the pain of regret.” – Jim Rohn
Self-discipline means doing the things that are good for your
future but are hard to do in the present.
Going to the gym is hard, but sitting on the couch is easy.
It’s hard to start a business, but it's easy to procrastinate.
It’s hard to read books but easy to watch movies.
It’s hard to wake up early but easy to lay in a warm bed.
All things that are going to improve your life are hard.
Always ask yourself this question:
Will I regret not doing this in the future?
If the answer is yes, it must be done no matter how hard it
is.
Do what needs to be done
“There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas; what’s missing is
the will to execute them.” – Seth Godin
Discipline means doing anything that needs to be done. If
this means working hard, then you will work harder. If it
means working smarter, then you will be working smarter.
Never avoid doing the things you want to do just because
they’re hard.
Procrastination is the enemy of discipline
Procrastination means avoiding doing a task that needs to
be done by giving excuses to do it later. Without giving
excuses, you will feel bad, and we don’t want to feel bad, so
we give different types of excuses. The most popular one is
“I’m waiting for the right time.” The time will never be right;
it can’t be perfect. There are always going to be obstacles in
your way. Many things will try their best to make you lazy
and procrastinate, but you must overcome all of them.
Delay Gratification
It’s hard to delay gratification because we want to enjoy
things now. Nothing is wrong with it, but the problem arises
when you do things that harm your future. Actions that you
will regret in the future, and you will be asking yourself why
did I do that?
You must look in both directions: present and future. You
must enjoy the present but not at the cost of your future. By
being lazy, you don’t enjoy both your present and future.
Do It Now!
“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die
having left undone” - Pablo Picasso
The time is never going to be perfect. If it becomes perfect,
then there is a chance that it’s already too late. You can wait
all you want; nothing will happen, or you can start today
and move towards achieving your goals. You can’t wait for
the perfect time, better resources, or more experience. Even
if you don’t have a perfect plan with all the details, you can
start today and figure things out along the way.
There are no hacks
Stop looking for an easy way out. You can know all the tiny
tips and hacks, but you must do the work. A lot of people
are just way too focused on learning than doing. Learning is
great but alone it will not be enough. You must put in the
work to get things done. Stop looking for hacks before you
even begin. First, start and then learn about various
methods to do things faster.
Work on the Right Things
“Even Michelangelo would have trouble getting out of bed if
he had nothing but a day of spreadsheets ahead. It's hard to
imagine Leonardo da Vinci working for a corporation or
being a government bureaucrat.” - Vizi Andrew
You should ask yourself whether you’re working on the right
thing.
There is no point in doing things that shouldn't be done at
all. You will always be lazy if you don’t love what you do.
These are signs by your body that you should try to change
your work. Do something meaningful. You can never be
motivated to do meaningless things.
If your work is repetitive and has no flavor, finding
meaning and happiness in the job would be very hard.
No work is more important than life. You should do what you
love but also not run away from the hard part of your work.
Somebody wants to paint, but he becomes an accountant
by listening to some people's opinions. The regret of not
following his passion will always stay in his mind.
Work Is Happiness
You’ll spend a lot of time doing some kind of work. If you
don’t choose what you want, somebody will choose it for
you, and you may not like it. The work selected by others for
you will feel like a burden to you but if you choose the work
that want to do then you will be blissful. Your work is the
pathway to happiness. You can’t be happy if you don’t like
your work. You can never be motivated to work if you don’t
like your work. If you love your work, there will be no
laziness. You will even forget the concept of laziness
entirely.
I have one piece of advice for you: if you don’t love your
work, start finding a way to leave your work as soon as
possible. You can never be happy in a sad job. Love what
you do. It will make you at ease with existence.
Listen to your inner self; it will guide you.
Don’t Run Away from Hard Things
Doing what you love doesn’t mean you run away from the
complex parts of your job. It doesn’t mean you don’t give
your 100%. It doesn’t mean that you become lazy and don’t
work hard.
Whenever we start doing something new, the motivation
is high, and we begin with excitement as soon as the initial
motivation wears off. The complex reality of the work starts
to appear, problems begin to arise, it becomes more
challenging, and then we stop liking our work even though
we love it. It’s our passion. Following your passion doesn’t
guarantee that you will always be happy.
When Vincent Van Gogh was 27, he entirely dedicated
himself to painting. He used to work with extreme intensity.
Painting was his whole life. He was highly productive. He
used to paint at lightning speed, but despite his hard work
and genius, he struggled financially because his painting
wouldn’t sell as he was ahead of his time. He was supported
mainly financially by his younger brother, Theo Van Gogh.
His mental health deteriorated, and on July 27
th
, 1890, he
was painting in a field himself when he shot himself in the
chest with a pistol, and two days later, he died.
Learn To Prioritise
You can’t do everything. We have limited energy and must
spend it in the best way possible. You don’t want to spread it
too much to risk exhaustion and no results. You're more
likely to give up if you see no results and are exhausted too
much. You need to focus your energy on selected tasks. The
less, the better.
Attract not Chase
Don’t chase anything. Don’t run after anything. Work to
make yourself better so that everything is attracted to you.
Focus on yourself. Everything else will take care of itself.
You Are Great!
Stop feeding your mind that you’re not good enough to do
anything. You can do it. Don’t be your own biggest enemy
by feeding your mind negative things. Be confident that you
can do things. The biggest reason people remain lazy is that
they keep thinking that they aren’t good enough. You are
great. Start doing. In the end, everything will be okay.
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