Conquering one’s weaker self
How to get your work done, even in times of Facebook and Starbucks.
I’ll be honest with you, I might not be the best person to write about this because its not like I’ve accomplished a great deal in this area. Its actually more like work in progress.
One could say, I’m writing about my own work in progress to remind myself of the work that is still ahead of me. And accepting that there is more work to be done, is always a good start and a valuable first step, I guess.
The most simple task is usually to identify your challenges. In my case, these are Procrastination, Distractions and Laziness.
Procrastination
To quote Wikipedia, “In psychology, procrastination refers to the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of lower priority, or doing something from which one derives enjoyment, and thus putting off important tasks to a later time.” Wow, I could not have said it any better.
I’m not sure about you, but I do that a lot. You know what helps me to get back on track? Thinking about it, I’m not even sure. I guess it has something to do with the fact that each time I switch from the work I should be doing to something that is more interesting and perhaps a little entertaining, it really only takes me a moment or two to get this bad, nagging feeling that clearly reminds me of the tasks I should be doing.
Distractions
Are really the worst. I am particularly affected by them as my abilities in saying “no” to someone asking me to join for, let’s say, a cup of coffee are limited to non existent. I’m really not sure about the reasons, but I guess it has to do with the fact that my abilities decline pretty much anything are very limited. I actually remember my teacher many years ago who had made getting her pupils abilities to say “no” as her personal goal. Well, no wonder she stopped teaching.
Laziness
Is the most easiest to conquer. Laziness, in my opinion, often has to do with limited energy. You know, lying around, thinking about how tired you are and thereby becoming even more tired? I sure as hell know this very well from my own personal experiences. And its really like a devils cycle, because staying in bed just makes you more tired.
The cure however is often surpassingly simple, its also actually a bit of a paradox. First, its really for the most part of it only happening in your head. Sure, there are some times when you are just really, really physically exhausted from many hours of sport. But usually, its really just in your head. And you realize that the instant you get up and get going.
Mens sana in corpore sano.
Now the paradox is that you have to burn energy in order to have more energy. Obviously, doing sports really is the best way. Its really surprising, you’d think that we’ve only got a limited amount of power or energy available, and that it would be stupid to spend it on something theoretically unproductive as running on a treadmill. But then you actually realize that you end up with more power on the next day than you started with! Super strange, isn’t it?
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