Going to college this fall, and I realized that I have very little self-discipline. What are some tips you use to stay focused and disciplined, especially when you are doing a boring task? How can I become more disciplined?
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hey man, discipline is mostly about setting up systems that lead you to success instead of willpower. since you're about to enter a new phase of your life, you will need to experiment a bit on what works best for you. experiment with all sorts of routines, maybe study in the AM and workout in PM or vice versa, complete boring tasks right before doing something exciting like a football game or a party so you have a reward afterwards
if I have to do something boring, I make sure I set a block of time to do it and if that's more than an hour, I take 5-10 minute breaks in between because working for more than an hour straight on bullshit is draining.
but in all seriousness, you will have boring tasks in life, it's part of it. the best advice I can give to not let it beat you down is to have enough other interests/cool shit going on in your life that it doesn't bother you
Thank you so much, this is excellent advice. I feel like part of it is that I had undiagnosed adhd for my entire life, so now I have to "re-learn" how to be disciplined and focused
A few thoughts as someone who struggles to this day with discipline and sure as hell didn't have any during college and slightly beyond. No particular order:
- Discipline does not mean boring. I used to equate the two, and it was idiotic. I'll quote Jocko on this one "Discipline equals freedom" and is absolutely necessary to be successful. Part of my challenge is that I'm energized by new or different things - so it's about balance and discovering what should be 'routine' and what shouldn't be. My example today is if I workout in the morning, I'm freed up at night to spend time with my girlfriend, social events, etc. without feeling guilty.
- Set short and long term goals, keeping them front of mind. They should be both small and large. Small could be a daily thing, like meditate for 20 minutes in the morning or study for 30 minutes before your first class. These should be attainable and, importantly, set yourself up for success consistently - small wins each day add up fast. Large could longer term, maybe it's tied to GPA in a class or grade on a specific paper - again, up to you.
- Learn how to prioritize the goals that you set. Some matter more than others, learning early on how to rank them is crucial. College will throw a lot of noise at you - girls, alcohol, social pressures, sports clubs, etc. Priorities allow you to block it out or, at least, easier to say 'no'. Which by the way might be one of the most important skills to learn now - no. Everyone's going out and you have studying to do... skip it and go? No - finish up, and then if they are still out go join them.
- Learn when you are most effective at things. Brofessor made the point and I'll reiterate it - I always attempted to 'study' at nights, when people were going out. Guess what happened... I went out, and didn't study.
- Don't procrastinate on little things, as they'll weigh on you and become big things. Finished eating? Clean up the dishes. Finished studying? Put the books away for the night. It takes minutes, at best, to do them - so just do them. Also psychologically when you put something away, I've found it closes the door on it and let's you move onto other things.
- Hold yourself accountable but don't try to be perfect. A great example is that I used to skip workouts if I couldn't spend an hour at the gym or do something crazy high intensity. Even if it's not a great workout, and you are scheduled to do it, just do it. My thing now is that even if it's 20 minutes or 30 minutes - do what you can, keep the habit going.
- Surround yourself with the 'right' people who support you, not enable you. This might be the most important as you enter college - find the people who augment your experience.
- Experience has taught me that often times the 'boring' tasks are what frees you up to do things that interest you. Everyone has boring tasks - the goal, IMO, is to be successful enough to outsource or delegate as many as you can over time. And just to update you - I still do plenty of boring things at work all the time.
Thank you so much for this detailed and thoughtful advice. Truly amazing, and I will try to implement all of these in my life. I really agree with setting short and long term goals, because, as you said, the small wins add up over time. Again, thank you so much.
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