On being disciplined
Discipline can be really, really hard.
At some point of time, we all know that it’s not motivation that helps us achieve goals, but discipline.
Being disciplined can be exhausting. It can feel like everyday is the same day, and it can be scary for some people.
Self help books can often be annoying because they all repeat the same content more or less, just packaged differently.
So here are some easy steps to actually being disciplined.
1. Understand that discipline comes from accomplishing small tasks.
Here’s a simple formula:
Doing a task consistently = executing that task properly = experience in that task grows = results in confidence in doing that particular task
What’s something that you can do in practically your sleep? It could be something as small as making your bed (because you have practice!), baking a certain dessert that all your friends love (practice!), being able to understand how mitosis works (biology homework- practice!).
Everything comes from practice.
You can read as many books as you like, attend as many self-help conferences, but if you don’t put in the work, it’s money wasted.
2. So what kind of small tasks am I talking about to increase your discipline?
Here are some examples:
You really want to nap for 20 minutes. So you set your alarm, and you sleep. 20 minutes later, the alarm goes off.
Do you wake up? Or do you snooze for another 20?
Waking up after the first alarm goes off requires discipline. Sheer willpower.
Nail this step first.
By nailing just the art of waking of waking up at the time you were supposed to, you may be grumpy for a minute but you’ve done it! You battled the feelings of being lazy and sleeping in - and now you’re going to probably have a better day.
3. Outline 3-5 tasks that you think you need to do every single day in order to achieve what you want.
Here’s an example of mine:
My Goals:
To have the mornings to do my tasks, as opposed to sleeping in
To be able to learn something new everyday
To keep my brain and body active
To be aware of what’s going on in the world
This translates to my 5 tasks:
Waking up at 7 am
Working out
Reading the news
Playing brain games on my phone that help increase your thinking, creativity and intelligence (I use Elevate)
Reading 3 pages of a book
For me, I’m someone who loves seeing progress being measured. So I maintain a habit tracker.
This method may not work for everyone, but I get happy when I can tick those 5 boxes of my list every night.
4. Here’s how you set the correct goals:
How exactly do you come with those 3-5 tasks?
Make sure they’re relatively easy.
Reading 3 pages of a book, for example, is quite easy. It takes me around 5 minutes to do that.
Surely I can spend 5 minutes of my day to read just 3 pages?
Make sure that they’re attainable and you have a choice in that task.
If you don’t exercise, but you want to start, don’t start heavy. Especially if you’re working out by yourself.
“I’ll do a 90 minute workout today!” Turns to “God, I hate this, I hate working out, I’m never doing it again.”
So keep it attainable, even if you feel like you can do more.
Aim for working out 30 minutes a day for 2 weeks.
30 minutes a day, your choice of work out. Human beings love choice. We love choosing what to do. So give yourself the freedom to choose what you want to do.
Then increase that to 45 minutes for 3 weeks.
Then increase that again, if you want to, and if you feel comfortable.
Make sure it’s something you can do everyday for some time.
For example, reading the news is a daily ritual. I need to know what’s happening in the world. My work requires me to.
I can’t read the news weekly or monthly - it’s something that has to be done everyday.
So regardless of the type of day I’m having, this is something I need to do and is doable.
I can read the news on the train. On the bus. On the toilet. While I eat something.
It’s doable everywhere.
Obviously, it doesn’t apply to all your goals - you can’t workout on a train or in the classroom - but try to keep majority of your goals somewhat portable.
