A Rule for Success
(Alt Title: How I Make It Out of Bed Each Day)
Happy Tuesday, guys. Now that Monday is over, we can all return to our normal, mediocre level of productivity, right?
I’m joking ...a little.
I used to think being productive meant having enough willpower to convince myself to do whatever needed doing. Unfortunately, by my completely unscientific calculations, I use approximately 40% of mine getting out of bed and another 15% searching for my phone.
That leaves a concerning amount for building a career, pursuing creative ideas, and remembering to move the laundry.
If feeling motivated were a prerequisite for making progress, I’d have a lot of ambitions and very clean pajamas.
Motivation is an unreliable coworker. I want to do things that excite and inspire me. Give me an interesting problem, a creative challenge, or an idea I can’t stop thinking about, and I’m in.
The less glamorous steps required to bring those ideas to life? We have a more complicated relationship. I love having written in the mornings, but starting a draft is occasionally a hostage negotiation.
And the life I want includes plenty of things that require effort before they become exciting. Waiting until I feel like doing them gives my mood a little too much authority over my future.
So the most useful productivity rule I’ve found is surprisingly unsexy.
Habit.
In the distinguished and profound words of Macklemore, “The Greats weren’t great because at birth they could paint; the Greats were great because they paint a lot.”
I figure that we are all playing mind games with ourselves all day long, so why not learn how to hack my mind into working for me rather than against my productivity.
Just like making my bed, I create habits of productivity. I use the same pens, follow the same thought processes, drink my coffee from the same cup. No matter where I am working from, the process creates simplicity and focus.
This, in turn, automates the dull routine and clears the way for savage and original ideas. The mug has no professional qualifications. It simply helps the routine feel like mine.
I’m trying to reduce the number of decisions between “I should work on this” and actually working on it. When the setup is familiar, I spend less time negotiating with myself over how to begin. A little structure gives my creativity somewhere to show up.
It’s easy to design a routine for the imaginary version of yourself who sleeps beautifully, has no interruptions, and wakes up eager to improve.
I have yet to meet her. She sounds exhausting.
A useful habit needs to work for the version of you with a full calendar and a brain that has opened seventeen unrelated tabs. I doesn’t matter if you sit down and only type out the title to a new blog or type a novel; nor, does it matter if you run a block or a marathon. In the end, it’s about creating the habit of opening up your computer or lacing up your shoes each and every day without fail.
Make the first step small enough that you don’t need a motivational speech to take it.
Give the habit an actual place in your day. “I’ll do it when I have time” is where many of my excellent intentions go to retire. It helps to connect a habit to something that already happens.
After I make coffee, I spend ten minutes with the draft. After I close my laptop, I put on my walking shoes. Before I finish a work session, I leave myself a note about where to start next time. That last one is especially useful. Opening a project and finding a clear next step is a much warmer welcome than staring at it and trying to remember who I was when I last touched it.
Prepare what you can. Keep the file accessible. Put the shoes where you’ll see them. Decide what you’re doing before the moment arrives. Give your future self a little assistance. She has enough going on.
While we're on the topic, give the habit an actual place in your day.
When I first wrote about this, I believed the key was showing up every single day, without fail. I also called the approach completely foolproof.
Bold claims from someone who regularly loses her phone in her own bed.
I still believe in repetition. I have much more respect now for rest, changing circumstances, and the occasional need to reconsider the plan. You’ll miss a day. You may miss several. That doesn’t require a dramatic announcement that you’ve lost all discipline and must begin your life again on Monday.
Return at the next reasonable opportunity. If returning keeps feeling impossible, look at the habit. Is it too large? Poorly timed? Connected to a goal you no longer care about?
Some days, the words come easily. Other days, you write one questionable paragraph and leave a note for tomorrow. Both belong in a creative life.
The greatest thing about this productivity hack is that it is fail proof 100% of the time, in that, eventually something good will come as long as you don’t quit. Creativity will strike. Your stride will land just right. Your ideas will finally click if you keep putting them out there.
What new habits will help to get to where you want to be? How can you integrate them daily? I want to hear all about it.
I’ll be here with my coffee, my favorite pen, and a phone that is apparently somewhere in this room.
I’m joking ...a little.
I used to think being productive meant having enough willpower to convince myself to do whatever needed doing. Unfortunately, by my completely unscientific calculations, I use approximately 40% of mine getting out of bed and another 15% searching for my phone.
That leaves a concerning amount for building a career, pursuing creative ideas, and remembering to move the laundry.
If feeling motivated were a prerequisite for making progress, I’d have a lot of ambitions and very clean pajamas.
Motivation is an unreliable coworker. I want to do things that excite and inspire me. Give me an interesting problem, a creative challenge, or an idea I can’t stop thinking about, and I’m in.
The less glamorous steps required to bring those ideas to life? We have a more complicated relationship. I love having written in the mornings, but starting a draft is occasionally a hostage negotiation.
And the life I want includes plenty of things that require effort before they become exciting. Waiting until I feel like doing them gives my mood a little too much authority over my future.
So the most useful productivity rule I’ve found is surprisingly unsexy.
Habit.
In the distinguished and profound words of Macklemore, “The Greats weren’t great because at birth they could paint; the Greats were great because they paint a lot.”
I figure that we are all playing mind games with ourselves all day long, so why not learn how to hack my mind into working for me rather than against my productivity.
Just like making my bed, I create habits of productivity. I use the same pens, follow the same thought processes, drink my coffee from the same cup. No matter where I am working from, the process creates simplicity and focus.
This, in turn, automates the dull routine and clears the way for savage and original ideas. The mug has no professional qualifications. It simply helps the routine feel like mine.
I’m trying to reduce the number of decisions between “I should work on this” and actually working on it. When the setup is familiar, I spend less time negotiating with myself over how to begin. A little structure gives my creativity somewhere to show up.
It’s easy to design a routine for the imaginary version of yourself who sleeps beautifully, has no interruptions, and wakes up eager to improve.
I have yet to meet her. She sounds exhausting.
A useful habit needs to work for the version of you with a full calendar and a brain that has opened seventeen unrelated tabs. I doesn’t matter if you sit down and only type out the title to a new blog or type a novel; nor, does it matter if you run a block or a marathon. In the end, it’s about creating the habit of opening up your computer or lacing up your shoes each and every day without fail.
Make the first step small enough that you don’t need a motivational speech to take it.
Give the habit an actual place in your day. “I’ll do it when I have time” is where many of my excellent intentions go to retire. It helps to connect a habit to something that already happens.
After I make coffee, I spend ten minutes with the draft. After I close my laptop, I put on my walking shoes. Before I finish a work session, I leave myself a note about where to start next time. That last one is especially useful. Opening a project and finding a clear next step is a much warmer welcome than staring at it and trying to remember who I was when I last touched it.
Prepare what you can. Keep the file accessible. Put the shoes where you’ll see them. Decide what you’re doing before the moment arrives. Give your future self a little assistance. She has enough going on.
While we're on the topic, give the habit an actual place in your day.
When I first wrote about this, I believed the key was showing up every single day, without fail. I also called the approach completely foolproof.
Bold claims from someone who regularly loses her phone in her own bed.
I still believe in repetition. I have much more respect now for rest, changing circumstances, and the occasional need to reconsider the plan. You’ll miss a day. You may miss several. That doesn’t require a dramatic announcement that you’ve lost all discipline and must begin your life again on Monday.
Return at the next reasonable opportunity. If returning keeps feeling impossible, look at the habit. Is it too large? Poorly timed? Connected to a goal you no longer care about?
Some days, the words come easily. Other days, you write one questionable paragraph and leave a note for tomorrow. Both belong in a creative life.
The greatest thing about this productivity hack is that it is fail proof 100% of the time, in that, eventually something good will come as long as you don’t quit. Creativity will strike. Your stride will land just right. Your ideas will finally click if you keep putting them out there.
What new habits will help to get to where you want to be? How can you integrate them daily? I want to hear all about it.
I’ll be here with my coffee, my favorite pen, and a phone that is apparently somewhere in this room.
Thank you!
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