“I don’t have time” = “I’m too lazy”
Picture by Amit Agarwal
It is pretty much the most common phrase used to explain why a person doesn’t do something. I have given countless people advice about starting a blog, practicing for interviews, and networking and the most common excuse for not doing it is that they just “don’t have the time.” But lets be honest here; that’s just another way of saying “I’m too lazy.”
I was stumbling through some blogs today and I ran into Amit’s blog where he wrote about the average day of a part-time blogger. This is exactly the kind of self-motivation and hustle that is needed to be exceptional in life. Amit has a full-time job, and he still managed to maintain a great blog that has over 150K reader monthly! How does he do it and what can you learn from it?
1. Plan out a schedule
It’s fun to live your life care-free and spontaneously; however, if you want to get things done you’re going to have to develop a schedule. You need to set specific times during a day or during the week that you will allot for blogging. Even if you have nothing to write about, still take the time and think about some topics that you can post about. This doesn’t have to just be for blogging, you should set up a schedule to maintain a good and balanced life: schedule time in for the gym, reading, and for the girlfriend.
2. Know that your schedule will constantly be interrupted
This took me the hardest to realize. I would always plan things out for the day or week, and things would always come up where I had to reschedule what I had planned to do. This will happen constantly! So what are you to do about it? You honestly just have to accept it and role with the punches. If something interrupts your allotted blogging time, just accept it and be happy that you’re a super busy person. Always better to be busy than to have too much free time on your hands :) Look, if you sit around and mope that you can’t get things done because you’re always being interrupted, then all that negative energy is going to make you do worse in the activities that you are engaging in. It’s all an attitude, so be happy and things will go your way.
3. If you don’t do it, no one is going to do it for you!
This is my personal motto. When I’m too tired to work out, I will tell myself, “Jun, you better get off your butt and go work out because no one is going to work out for you.” You are responsible for making the most out of your life. If you don’t start a blog, no one is going to start one for you. If you don’t step away from your corporate life and start your own company, you’ll never become an entrepreneur because no one is going to do it for you. Next time you feel to lazy to do something, go up to the mirror and say this phrase. Who knows, maybe it’ll work for you as well.
What are some ways that you keep yourself motivated and productive?
When I`m unable to write, I remember a quote from Anne LaMott. I`m paraphrasing here, but it goes something like:
- Well, you don`t have to write today. You can just go kill yourself. -
Not sure if this will actually be of any help to your readers, but I find a bit inspiring, and very, very true.
Keep up the good work.
Chris
Hey Chris,
That quote is intense! but I like it
Carpe Diem my friend. I’m glad that we’re both trying to live a life that is out of the ordinary
- Jun
Great post Jun. In Steve Pavlina’s book Personal Development for Smart People (which I Highly recommend) he talks about the difference between motivation and discipline. They’re two sidesof the same coin that makes up your willpower and helps you get things accomplished. While motivation may get the race started, it’s definitely discipline that crosses the finish line. Understanding this key distinction helps me out a whole lot. Alot of people talk about being unmotivated. I think it’s rather a lack of discipline, motivation is not hard to come by, but discipline is hard to build. Motivation is a feeling, and if you act only when you are “feeling like it”l,well, you probably won’t get alot done.
He also points out, that no matter what it is you do, there are just some tasks that will just be work-and you may not feel like doing them. Take acting for example, I thought all we had to do was get on stage. I had no idea acting was so technical, how much reading, analyzing and learning was involved. But I’m sticking with it.
Will Smith has the best quote on discipline that I can think of. He says “the key to life is on a treadmill, because if you say you’re going to run 3 miles and you only run 2, then I don’t ever have to worry about losing to you!” That’s a harsh truth to face, but ultimately, if you can’t conquer yourself, you’ve already lost