There's No Secret To Waking Up Motivated--But This Gets Me Close
"Motivation doesn't last. Neither does a shower." - Zig Ziglar
2 quick ways to kill motivation?
Obligation and guilt.Do it because you care.Do it because you want to.That's way more powerful.And it turns out, it's way more sustainable.The only trick is that you'll need to remind yourself that you care.iOS reminders. Letters to yourself. A time capsule. Post-its on the bathroom mirror.There are a million ways--but you have to make it happen.You don't have to know all the answers right now.You don't have to have some giant epiphany.You just have to start reflecting on your values and interests.What do you like and what do you think is important?What do you find yourself NOT being able to stop doing?Start there and good things will happen.
2 Minute Action
It will take you 1 minute to write down 3 things you care about.It will take you less than 1 minute to ask Siri/Alexa/etc. to remind you about these in 3 months or to text a friend to check in on your progress in 6 weeks.The secret is that big things are actually made up of lots of small, actionable things.Everyone has 2 minutes. You can do this.
The Real World Tradeoff Of Internet B.S.
I had always worked 60 hour weeks.But I wanted to do more, so I started working 80 hour weeks. It felt sexy and self-righteous to cut out weekends and social events.I was beating everyone.And that’s when I decided I wanted to push 100 hour weeks.
Let me explain something really important about this.
The difference between 60 and 80 is not the same as the difference between 80 and 100.At 60 hour weeks you’re sacrificing some social stuff, but there’s still time for a relaxing weekend.At 80 hour weeks, your weekends are gone so you’re sacrificing almost if not all of your social activity.
Here’s where it gets crazy.
At 100 hour weeks, you’re now forced to sacrifice really basic needs like exercise and sleep.You’re basically getting 5 hours of sleep each night and immediately beginning work when you get up.There are a lot of internet people who talk about hard work, long hours, and the sexiness of competing for who stayed at the office the longest.I’ve worked all of these styles and I can tell you that there is a huge trade off when you exceed 80 hour work weeks.Sacrificing all social events and interactions means you have no support network or way to vent, verbally process, or feel connected.Sacrificing exercise means your health risks go up and you don’t have recovery hormones making you feel positive and energized all day. Enter; the risk for a coffee, cigarette, or other stimulant addiction.Sacrificing sleep means your body can’t recover as it normally would from mental or physical exertion.All of a sudden, you’re making stupid mistakes that create more work.
But weren’t you working all this time to get ahead?
Now you’ve got a problem. More work and less capacity to finish it.The point is that there’s a tradeoff and you have to find your sweet spot.If you’re serious about living a productive life that helps others and improve our planet, you’re going to have to be responsible for your own sustainability.
This means finding out your limits and working backward to hit your stride.
Stop listening to the internet celebrity B.S. and start listening to (and measuring) yourself.No one else is going to tell you what’s optimal for you. You have to get out there and figure it out.
2 Minute Action
Take 2 minute to reflect on the amount of sleep you’ve gotten for the last week.Set a sleep goal (high or low, it doesn’t matter) for this week.Set a reinder for each morning to notice how you feel with that amount of sleep each day of this week.Reply here and let me know what results you get. There’s no right or wrong with this, I’m just curious what is working for you.
The Trick About Peak Performance
It's the peak.That's it.It's not sustainable. It's not feasible under most conditions. It's not the goal.It's good to have peak performance as a benchmark to measure what you're capable of, but to expect it all the time will lead to discouragement.It's more productive/profitable to seek Productive Performance, which is a term I just made up.It signifies a level of output that is sustainable over time, tough to shake under life's difficulties, and it promotes a state of happiness and flow.What's your Productive Performance output? It's probably ~80% of your Peak Performance.It's high enough to feel a little uncomfortable every day, but it's not consuming all of your resources or requiring a "crash day" after your project ends.Everyone is different, so it's your responsibility to figure out your Productive Performance rate (how many hours of work, what kind of labor is most exhausting for you, etc.) and solve for x.School definitely didn't teach this, so it's up to you.The planet needs you.Let's focus. Let's do this.
2 Minute Action
When was the last time you pulled an all-nighter?Do you remember how it felt?When was the last time you worked on a project and felt ready for the next challenge after you finished?Take 2 minutes to compare those moments in your life and give yourself your best guess about what kind of work excites/energizes you, what kind of work drains you, and how many hours it takes before you need to crash and reboot.Having this insight in the back of your mind will help you maximize your output across the rest of your career.