Motivation and Productivity
No Bullshit Habits That Will Get Your Productivity Through The Roof
A Serious Note on Motivation and Productivity
Yeah, I said it and I wrote it — bullshit lists, bullshit suggestions, and bullshit habits.
Bullshit.
Chances are this story won’t get chosen for further distribution, but hey — if it helps a fellow or two, I’ll be damned.
You might have already noticed it, but just in case — here’s a tip — bullshit is everywhere. Look around. On your TV, on all the video channels you are subscribed to, in your favorite newsletter, in your reels, in your Self Improvement course, in your favorite subreddits, in your office and in your school, in your local pub, and in that fashion magazine that your wife reads as well.
The first world wonder, Productivity — and all its hype in the last couple of years gathers millions of people, all with a common goal of achieving more and being effective.
It’s not the last couple of years actually, productivity is since ever. Thanks to productivity and being efficient, humankind evolved to the peak where we now are. Humankind is trying to get shit done for ages already, so why should we break the spell of achieving the unimaginable in our day-to-day lives.
In that spirit, here is a list of habits that if you incorporate into your daily routine, will spike your productivity through the roof. And the list doesn’t include waking up early and the sorts.
Be specific
Be specific when you talk, when you walk, and when you are doing something. Embody the words — no bullshit — and don’t half-ass your way through anything.
Being specific and precise is a skill, and a damn hard one. Being specific isn’t just about knowing what you want, but doing it, focusing, understanding, and delivering.
Being specific requires you to double down on clarity, and if anything — clarity is the one friend that will never let you down. He’ll be there when you need to move, he’ll be there to get you up quick, and he’s the one friend that will critically, honestly, but constructively tell you that you fucked up.
No goals can be achieved without being specific. If you are planning your day, week, month, or year — write specifically down what you want to achieve, what are the risks, and if issues rise how are you going to handle them.
Always be specific, in your work, communication, requests, and goals. It will serve you well.
Take your chances
— or somebody else will.
There are few things in life that you can take for granted unless everything was given to you on a golden platter. Hell, even if everything was given to you, or you already achieved and have everything in life — do something/more with it.
Take whatever life throws at you. There’s a saying that all the chances you don’t take, are failures right off the bat — and kudos to whoever came up with that. It hits places because it’s true.
Regret is a heavy word.
Regret.
And regret is the only feeling you’ll get at the end of the day if you don’t take your chances.
One thing that I heard a long time ago, and I really think about it often, is —
Regretting the things that you didn’t even try to do, is always going to be ten times worse than regretting what you tried but failed.
One more thing — people don’t know shit. Try predicting something, you’ll see how bad humans are at it. If you take chances, you’ll lose some, but you’ll win some that you didn’t even expect to.
Measure your success and your failures
A man failing and learning from it, is a successful man. One that fails, and fails, and never reflects on what went wrong, is a fool.
Remember the last time you failed? If it’s hard to recall — you are doing it wrong. Failures are required in order to succeed.
Data is king, measuring is the queen.
Measure everything.
Measure things, measure your steps, measure your waist, measure your work, measure your audience, measure your work, what you do right and what you do wrong.
Learning loops are key to self-improvement, productivity, achievements, and success.
If you succeed, measure the success. Track your achievements and your goals. Check your boxes and keep adding them.
If you are failing, measure it — write down and elaborate to yourself. Measure the things you lacked, and set new goals for tomorrow. Measure the things you over-did, and under-did. Once you have the measurements in place, start building on that. You’ll find it way clearer and easier to maintain your devotion, motivation, and will.
Measure what you need to do, not only what you already did. Set clear measurements for the next goal.
If you don’t have the measurements, how do you tailor a good suit?
Get better at something, not good, but better
Success overnight is possible, yes. Of all the millions of chances you’ll have in life, one might make you successful overnight indeed.
But should you throw all your eggs in that basket? Probably not, but hey — take the chances, who am I to say don’t — it might actually work.
But always aim to get better at something — a few steps per day is hundreds per month. Improving a skill by 1% per day is 365% per year.
Have you applied this theory for the last three years, for a specific skill — you’d be already a master of it.
Time is something nobody can toy with. Humankind has figured out how to outplay evolution, hunt instead of being hunted, and explore instead of hiding, build cities, bridges, and skyscrapers — and we may be able to change the landscape but we can’t change how time ticks. The best we can do is make use of it.
Learn something new, polish up your existing skills, may it be a hobby or your professional calling — make time your friend. Small improvements add up, and rather sooner than later you’ll figure you got good in that.
Grow some
Perhaps not scientifically proven, but I’d say —
In order to grow, you have to grow some balls.
Self-improvement and personal growth are tightly correlated to one’s balls growth, I bet.
By now, I’m pretty sure this won’t get curated, but it’s a delicate topic — and in order to highlight some of the steps needed on our productivity journey — we sometimes need to be delicate ourselves.
Not many things can get accomplished without some serious will and temper. If you want to achieve something, set the world on fire, be the next Elon, ask your boss for a raise, ask (nicely) that girl out, or just tell her she’s pretty while you’re half-drunk, do it.
Measure the steps you’ll take, don’t overthink, don’t overreact, but do it. Grow balls and then some — you’ll thank me later, with either that paycheck or lipstick all over you.
With big balls, comes big responsibility though.
Embody your values, and stand by them. If you have a dream, stick to it. Be brave and there are very few things you’ll be afraid of. Responsibility and ownership are key, and it’s required in order for us to stick it up and get things done.
Don’t overestimate your strengths, but don’t undermine yourself.
Question things — and answers shall be revealed to you. Intelligence is often measured by the number of doubts people impose, whether it is a well-known thing, or something never seen by the human eye. Don’t think you’ll look stupid for asking and questioning something. Nobody knows shit anyways, so be the brave one that is ready to question in order to know.
Only with questioning the human can grow.
Also, always appreciate the good things and be humble — yeah, humble doesn’t make the list in most of the productivity stories, but it takes balls to be humble. Once you are humble, once you appreciate the good things, you start making better choices. Once you respect what life throws at you, you start getting respect from life back.
Workout
Maybe you’re not big on working out. I am not. But hell, does it help with productivity and motivation.
Try it out, you’ll feel tired but you’ll feel good. If you are the type who likes to feel pain, even better — the more you work out, the more you get tired, the more you’ll feel better.
There is something in human nature that urges us to do things that makes us feel bad.
Channel that into exercise and working out. It’s better than most vices that fulfill that need. Definitely don’t gamble, it’s a paradox directly from the deepest hell pits — it’s a poor man’s drug, but not for the poor.
Deadlifts, overhead press, squats, and hip thrusts. Stay safe though, know your limits.
Rest
And finally, take a break. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and they weren’t laying bricks every hour either, yet it was built, and it was magnificent.
Burning out isn’t just another buzzword, it’s a real thing.
The more rested you feel, the more energy you have — the better you’ll learn and perform.
Take a look at Rome, it wasn’t built in a day, but it was burned down. On a single day, on a very hot 18th of July, most of the districts burned down. Why? Who would know — but in any case, don’t blame others and look for scapegoats. Allowing to get burned out should be your ownership as well. (if you do though, get up stronger. I wish you the best ♡)
Always deliver, but make sure you are rested. Sleep, rest, and breaks play a significant role in our endocrine balance. The endocrine system, if you didn’t know, is made up of all the body’s different hormones, regulates all biological processes in the body, and is crucial to the brain, as well as growing some balls. Sleep is the key to a good endocrine system, and a good life balance as well.
I wrote this story first off for myself, in order to remind myself how to maintain my motivation and productivity. Just a half-decent amount of motivation induces great productivity.
The list is made up of things I personally noticed that help me with productivity, motivation, critical thinking, and self-improvement, and I hope the same might be beneficial for those who are reading this.
Thank you! 🎉
