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Self-discipline



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My Experience

I struggle with my self-discipline a lot. Usually with things that are uncomfortable to do. I have tried to become better at it but still in the 2 years of my studies I still highly struggle with it. Nowadays I try to tackle the problem by giving myself reasons like “how will this essay take me forward on my own journey” or “Imagine how good it feels when you finally get this ready”. These things work to some degree but I still procrastinate things too much and put myself in hard positions because of this. In this essay, I will study why I do it and what tools and technics could I find on the internet. I will get also so science and statistics behind these.

The Topic.

Most people work for a company and they wake up in the morning and complete the tasks they have been told to do in their work. The employee has to do these things in order to keep their place inside the company. I can manage these tasks pretty well and I´m have been rarely late for my work because I have to do it. How can I get myself to think like this with also my own stuff? When I plan a day myself it´s so easy to sleep 1h more than I originally planned to or bend the work until tomorrow. I have found that when I do something I love I will be really efficient and do my job well and on time so I´ve tried to comply with everything the things I love so I will manage the tasks better.

Why be more self-disciplined?

Being self-disciplined has many beneficial effects. You will be more productive you will achieve more on lesser time you will be trusted by the people that you work with it is essential to be self-disciplined. Good self-discipline also lessens the stress levels when you can rely on yourself that you will complete the tasks you have given to yourself you don´t have to carry the anxiety of the thought that will I make it. As you see this is a really important skill to have so how to improve it?

How do improve self-discipline?

Self-discipline has multiple different factors: habit, organization, motivation, and avoiding procrastination.

 It is so easy to fall into the bad habit of saying I will do it tomorrow. I have found that estimating how long the task would actually take from the day and scheduling it into the day makes it a lot easier to complete. For example, for me, the calendar is critical.

 

The motivation. This is depending a lot on what kind of like person you are. I have ADHD and as a side effect, I have this thing called hyperfocus what it means is that I will love one thing that I can easily come really interested in and go deep into that until even a point that I will forget everything else around me. So I try to align the things that I do with the one thing I really love to do.

Organization, when organizing the tasks well beforehand it is so much easier to hop on when you have clear tasks to do.

Avoiding procrastination. I found a good article from Forbes about procrastination Tracy Brower wrote ” Procrastination can be the thief of progress and success. It can also be the source of stress in the last-minute shuffle it creates, and it can rob you of a sense of esteem that comes from accomplishment.” In the article, there was shown a study that was done at the University of Calgary about procrastination and it showed that procrastination is a usual problem: “A lot of people face procrastination in a University of Calgary study 15% – 20% of people reported that they procrastinate regularly”. So we are not alone with our problem.  In the article, Brower also listed down 12 things how to avoid procrastination

#1 -Remind yourself of your goals.

When you have a bigger purpose behind the tasks you do you are a lot more likely to complete your tasks in time and well made

#2 -Make your tasks part of your identity

When the tasks are about you and how people see you it helps you to take the tasks a lot more serious

#3 -Reduce the pressure

Don´t be hard on yourself. Nothing will be perfect but you will go forward one task at a time although none of them are done perfectly

#4 -Reduce distractions

Take your phone away and find a silent place where you can be alone. Distractions break your flow and slower the process down.

#5 -Break down the responsibility

If you don´t know where to start with the task it will be harder to complete the task. Organize beforehand and the task is a lot easier to complete

#6 -Start small

It´s a lot more inviting to go do a thing that is even a bit in the start already.

#7 -Avoid the task completely

This was brilliant! Put the plates straight into the dishwasher after you have eaten. Then you won’t have that depressing-looking dish mountain in the sink.

#8 -Link the task

Link the task with some habit you already do. Like, get the post same time as throwing the garbage out.

#9 -Track your progress

Follow your progress and reward yourself.

#10 -Bring others in

You are a lot more likely to complete the tasks you have when you have someone there to give you the extra push.

#11 -Be empathetic

If you don´t complete your task you might cause more work for somebody or they can miss something because you didn´t complete your task in time.

The main points were from Forbes but I put a meaning to them from my own perspective

Source: (Forbes. Tracy Brower. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/12/30/11-ways-to-procrastinate-less-surprising-new-research/?sh=6274842d61c4 . 11 ways to procrastinate less. Surprising new research. 30.12.2021.)

 

habit. Habit is the most important of these when you are able to do a habit you will complete the tasks you have needed to do automatically but it can be sometimes really hard to hang on to your habits because there will be always changes to your life. You can create habits and turn them to your benefit. A good example of a habit is using your phone. I look at it too much and it annoys me so what I do is that I put it in another room or give it to a friend next to me. Then I will be a lot more efficient to work when I don´t distract myself all the time with a phone. Then when I start to feel un efficient I will give a short break and reward myself with a little bit of screentime and after that continue working again.

It is important to find out which of the factors of self-discipline plays the biggest role with you and start to work from that. When you know what you lack you its a lot more easy to work on the problem.

CONCLUSION

As an entrepreneur, it is important to acknowledge and try to improve these factors. For entrepreneurs, it´s crucial always to find different and better ways to do things that´s how we can keep our work. When you do your tasks right away you will be more efficient and trustworthy and also your career will go far away quicker. It is your task to find out the best ways that fit you it´s not easy but definitely worth it.

My reflection on the topic

This was really beneficial for me to do this essay on this matter. It was great to read more about procrastination because I haven’t read that much on that topic although I know I do it.

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