“Discipline is freedom,” says Jocko Willink. That was such a hard concept for me to wrap my brain around for so long. But as I learned about Decision Fatigue, Choice Paradox, Timeblocking, and checklists, it all made sense.
I was a heavy procrastinator for a long time mainly because I didn’t have any negative consequences. To be more clear, I didn’t notice them. As time went on, I noticed I missed out on things, I didn’t grow in the ways I expected.
I lost time.
That was the most painful thing. Discipline and habits give you more time. Discipline is the fuel to create a habit. Once you have the habits, they often stick until something gets in the way
When the corona quarantine hit, it took me a few days to get settled and home. Then I got into my rhythm, which really just means habits. Then when I went back to the office, it took me a few days to get back into a rhythm as well.
Much like the small wins help you get towards the big win, it happens with habits as well. If you have something that isn’t taking, back it off a bit. Instead of saying I will call leads for 8 hours today, start with 20 minutes. Sure it sounds small when you are thinking big, but starting is the hardest part. Whenever I start coaching someone, they get all pumped up and start planning their day like they are perfect. I don’t want to discourage them so I will ask questions if they have ever done this before. I make them look inside but I don’t discourage them. Then we see if they can do it. No one does in my experience yet.
Few people can completely change their life on a dime without some large influences either emotionally, geographically, or without support by others. Find someone to make calls with during a certain time and then check in on how things went. Or just have someone that you report numbers to every day.
Check out this video summary of Atomic Habits which is a great way to build habits
This idea of making small habits and stacking on them is how almost all animals are trained to perform.
A dog doesn’t just learn to spin in a circle. They learn to turn their head and get rewarded. They Turn a 1/4 turn and then get rewarded and so on and so on until they have made the full turn. This is how most of us work.
Lastly, make failure difficult. If you want to make calls, kill the distractions. Let those around you know to not disturb you. Use a landline if possible. Use a browser extension to stop you from looking at other sites. Have your snack and drink with you. Have the list of phone numbers ready.
Few habits are really set in 21 days. The ones you really want to set are likely more complex and can take up to 200+ days. While that may discourage you, it should encourage you that if it isn’t set in 21 days, that doesn’t mean you can’t get it.
Exercise: Find one habit you really, really want to have. Watch the video to figure out the best way to build the habit.
Do the work, get the results.
Next Lesson >> Time blocking