Mental/Things to keep in mind:
Use Time blocking and break tasks into actionable smaller parts - To avoid making it feel like a big obstacle and make it more achievable mentally. This helps in initiating action.
Opposite Action (Selectively) - If your inertia tells you to stay still, experiment with doing the opposite in a small way (e.g., stand up and stretch, walk around the room).
Less than 2 hours screentime – Don’t ask why, just do it. You know it will help you. If people asl why you're here, just say that you promised yourself less screentime, hence, finding things to do.
Start small – Just start for 5 minutes. Do Pomodoro if 5 mins seems gimmicky to you. How to start small? The 5 second rule. Count 5-4-3-2-1, and just start without letting negative emotions, self doubt etc. kick in. You'll start trusting your intuitions more.
Only alternate allowed is to sit idle, in boredom, without stimulation - If you are distracting yourself from work, promise yourself that you won’t distract yourself doing other things. If you don’t want to work, only thing you are allowed to do is stare at the screen with the document open. If a thought comes, don't act on it immediately. Note it down on a paper and act on it later on (during pomodoro break, end of day etc.)
Showing up and the Promise to keep pushing, without asking the point of it - Acknowledge that it feels hard to you right now, but keep in mind to keep pushing through inspite of the feeling. The significance of simply 'showing up' in life has been prominent in my thoughts. Even when feeling worn out or disengaged, an inner awareness prompts participation, framing it as a responsibility. I aim to consistently show up, especially on difficult days, with deep gratitude for the ability and privilege to do so. Keep doing the difficult things. If a thing is difficult, do it - do not think too much about why, just do it. You know it will benefit you even if you don't know exactly how. Reps - Don't be afraid of 'reps'. Keep doing things, even if you fail, don't take it personally and keep doing them. It builds the learning muscle. Just keep going.
The concept of taking an idea/thing to work on and following it relentlessly - Many thought leaders emphasize the critical importance of deliberate focus and sustained effort. This strategy involves selecting one specific objective, initiating work toward it, and consistently refining your approach through persistent application. The methodology demands unwavering commitment over extended periods—daily dedication compounding over months and years.
Alex Hormozi suggests that if limited to providing a single piece of professional advice, he would recommend identifying your primary objective and committing to such volume of work that success becomes virtually inevitable. Mukesh Bansal reinforces this principle in "The Startup Code," as does the TED presentation "How to Achieve Your Most Ambitious Goals." Numerous successful ventures, including Notion, exemplify this approach.
The initial challenge lies in determining your focus area. This discovery process cannot occur in isolation—it requires active engagement with diverse stakeholders, across generations and experiences, to identify meaningful problems requiring solutions.
Instead of engaging in too much planning, trying to find the perfect way to do something, in most of the scenarios, it pays to just start doing the thing in a small way and then keep re-iterating it. Companies care about speed, not perfectionism. Aligns with the principle of neuro-plasticity which is learning by doing errors.
Ponder over - Setting up external/internal accountability, measure progress.
Physical things to actually do:
Win journal/non-zero days journal – Note down things which felt like win to you. Small things like ‘Being able to work 30 mins continuously without struggle. Reading 10 pages.
Blog noting down the following - 1) Funny story or any story from the day. 2) Documenting 'problems' and potential solutions; 3) A website where you try to predict future trends and consumer behavior 4) A proof that you tried to do different different things in order to find meaning. 5) Blog your journey of beating procastination and learnings on the way
Connecting with people - Even if you don't feel like it, try talking, connecting and staying in touch with people. Not only new people, but all people, old people, young people, relatives, your office colleagues, cash in on the chances to interact with new people, talk to people where you go to do things etc. Most importantly, try to spend more time with people with shared interest. Obviously, you have to find them. Might give you a spark of 'internal motivation' and trigger that sense of urgency. For e.g., you know that you might want to work on spreading/bringing joy in the life of people. You are not motivated to act on it currently. Meeting/speaking to someone of shared interest has the potential of sparking something which might make you act on your value. This also connects to Key takeaways from Meg Jay's book emphasize building 'identity capital' and cultivating 'weak ties'.
One thing I can look to do is organize things. Small things also work. Just a small run maybe? Just a meeting of few people? Just a step to bring ppl closer maybe? Let's see. This is for later. First focus on just talking more.
Think of ways to implement it - such as volunteering, going to bars, going for treks, hobby groups, reading groups etc.
Habits to incorporate -
Note down your bank balance daily - Improving your financial habits. Avoid consumerism and adopt minimalism is the guiding thought.
Learn to dance - Something which I want to do but putting off.
Meditation - Again, just for 5-10 mins a day.
Learn card magic - Entertaining thing, not many people do.
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