#84 Long-term Side Effects of Procrastinating

ByLukas
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I can choose to procrastinate on a project for weeks – then finish it all in one go, right before the deadline.

In absolute terms, I might have been very efficient with my time – but the time I saved, I spent frustrated with myself.

The long-term effect on my self-image: I’m a procrastinator.

What if I work a little bit on a project every single day – and have it finished well before the deadline?

I might spend more time in total – but every day, every moment spent makes me feel good about myself.

The long-term effect on my self-image: I cultivate an identity of discipline and consistency. I do what I believe to be good for me. I build character. Taking small daily actions towards a goal becomes part of my identity.

What’s more: I avoid the frustration and resentment that comes with procrastination (=not doing what I know I should be doing), and feel good about myself instead.

Long-term, the benefits of small daily actions always outweigh huge last-minute efforts.

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#166 It’s not about goals, it’s about the questions they raise

ByLukas

“If successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers.”

https://jamesclear.com/goals-systems

It’s not about having goals. It’s about the follow-up questions goals raise.

“Will pursuing this goal be good for me? Physically, emotionally, mentally, and financially?”

“Is there any part of myself, my environment, and the people I care about that will suffer if I pursue this goal?”

“Who will I have become when I have achieved this goal?”

“Who do I need to be today to achieve this goal?”

“Which actions can I take today that bring me closer to achieving a goal?”

Repeated actions will overrule your thoughts. Repeated actions will change your identity. Better choose your goals and your actions intentionally.

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#145 The practice becomes the identity

ByLukas

I write every day until I’m a writer.

I paint every day until I’m a painter.

I practice the guitar every day until I’m a guitar player.

I love my family every day until I become a family person.

I prove to myself that I can take one daily action aligned with who I want to be.

And before I know it, the practice becomes the identity.

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#62 Productive vs prolific

ByLukas

Plants are productive when they’re fertile: capable of producing fruit or offspring.

Plants are only prolific when they actually produce fruit in abundance.

https://wikidiff.com/prolific/productive

When it comes to creativity, we humans are all productive in the sense that we are capable of creating.

Productivity tools and “hacks” can help to create more space in your day for that creative potential.

But you’re only prolific when you use that creative potential and actually create something in abundance. Like Picasso.

Without prolificacy, productivity is just an empty container – unfulfilling, unfulfilled potential.

What can you be prolific in? What do you want to create in large quantities? What’s important enough to you to start sculpting away, day by day?

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#210 How do you know you’re reaching your goal?

ByLukas

I could consider myself a writer if I write 20,000 words a day – and I would be right.

Or I could consider myself a writer if I write one sentence a day – and I would be right.

I could consider myself a writer if I’ve written a book – and I would be right.

Or I could consider myself a writer the moment I’ve decided I’m going to be a writer – and I would be right.

I could consider myself a writer if I’ve built up enough self-trust and taken enough daily actions that prove that I genuinely care about being a writer – and I would be right.

Whether you’re aware of them or not, you’re using subjective measuring sticks for everything, usually determined by upbringing, culture, and societal pressure.

But nothing stops you from consciously choosing your measuring sticks (depending on your goals, you could make them easier or more challenging) and setting yourself up for more fulfillment and success.

Here are some questions that can help:

When you say you want to be {successful, happy, fulfilled, fit, wealthy}…

How do you know you’re reaching your goal?

Is it an achievement?

A material possession?

A feeling?

An action you take?

A decision you make?

Choose wisely.

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#172 The pursuit of failure

ByLukas

I can’t just say, “today, I’m going to be excellent at writing.”

Excellence is an outcome: a result of focused daily actions.

And one of the fastest ways to excellence is the pursuit of failure.

Not just making accidental mistakes but actively seeking them out.

Did I write nonsense today? Did I understand why I was writing nonsense? Have I learned something from writing that nonsense that will help me write something less nonsensical tomorrow?

The pursuit of failure is painful, especially for perfectionists like me.

But once ego, perfectionism, and the fear of failure make way for a commitment to the process, there’s much to learn from daily mistakes.

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