94. You’re being lazy

it’s not what you think.

When you imagine someone being lazy you think of the floating slobs out of the movie WALL-E, or staying in all day doing nothing, or eating a ton of junk food. But what if I said that was a very narrow-minded view of laziness.

Do you think, ‘I’m not lazy I do a ton of stuff’… because I do.

This is the problem.

Upon reading Tim Ferriss’ book, ‘The Four Hour Work Week’ (I highly recommend), I realised busyness is indeed a form of laziness that is arguably worse than that of those people on sofas.

When you are too busy to do anything you are actually not in control of your life.

Being busy is a form of laziness- lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.

If you decide that you are going to eat ice cream and do nothing all day, we might disagree with you. But if you follow through with that (however questionable it may be) you must be commended because you didn’t get distracted from doing what you said you would. But if you are constantly busy, you are deviating from the task at hand. You are not being purposeful.

A lack of time is simply a lack of priorities.

A helpful idea to remember here is ‘Parkinson’s Law’.

Work expands to fit the allotted time for its completion.

So here you can see that with laziness you are being too kind on yourself, giving yourself too much time, and not having deadlines.

I do this all the time.

Believing I have all the time in the world and cramming work right at the last moment.

This may work but not only is bad for longevity, consistency and quality of effort- it doesn’t allow you to properly rest.

Focus is hard but enables freedom of time due to efficiency increase.

When you don’t prioritise everything gets muddled into one and the fun stuff can never truly be enjoyed because you are wary of the work and the work can never be completed well because you aren’t focused.

The solution to the issue is discernment. Understanding what truly matters in your routines, removing all the excess, and focussing in short bursts to get the work done.

Very few of us are actually productive - we think we need to add things, have better processes, or buy that fancy programme. The reality is that adding is a much smaller part of the picture. Understanding the true desires of our life and implementing the routines to enable that whilst subtracting the distraction contributing to our laziness.

As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry says so well,

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Now, understanding what laziness is- are you able to tackle it?

93. Distractions

are easy.

They enable you to move away from resistance.

They enable you to alleviate any hardship.

They enable you to never achieve your dreams.

Victor Frankl puts it well;

“When a person can’t find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure“.

But you have this contention with rest, fun, and purpose.

Surely you want to be doing pleasurable things?

Surely you need rest?

Surely a purpose can be enjoyable?

The issue is when you seek hedonic stimuli first.

Instead, you must put in place boundaries to which this rejuvenation is to be had.

The reward at the end of the work session.

If the distractions are commonplace in the routine- you simply can’t focus on the hard things. The things which will get you where you want.

Thibaut Meurisse says it well, “Dopamine and constant stimulation can impair your ability to think long term”.

Doing the easy stuff will make your immediate time enjoyable but looking back you will never be content.

Progression comes in the ability to take ownership and control of not only the focus but the distraction.

Active rest, productive rest, purposeful rest.

The beast that can stop everything in your tracks needs to be allowed in under your terms- not his.

Having a rest is necessary but don’t let it be the thing that stops you from receiving the true satisfaction of achieving your purpose.

Get out there, dig deep into your calling, and destroy the beast which is purposeless distraction.

92. How to become an idea machine

without all the mumbo bumbo rubbish.

No.1: Switching your mindset

I’m going to annoy some people here but there is no such thing as ‘writer’s block’.

If you are a living, breathing human who interacts with people you have knowledge.

You have ideas- you just need to find them.

When you hang out with your friends is your mouth sewn shut? I hope not.

Have you heard of something called ‘speakers block’? Me neither.

Is doing something you don't want to do fun? Of course not.

It is here we see the problem. It is uncomfortable coming up with ideas.

You want to believe that you will get a ‘eureka’ moment and some earth-shaking insight will occur, and although this occasionally happens, you are much better-curating work than contemplating thoughts.

Like a muscle, you must train how you create. James Altucher puts it brilliantly, “The way to have good ideas is to get close to killing yourself. It’s like weightlifting. When you lift slightly more than you can handle, you get stronger.” You must practice creating ideas.

No.2: Make it easy for yourself

You need to allow yourself the ability to harvest ideas anytime, anywhere.

How do you do that?

Have a very easy system to record headlines, thoughts, and anything that will spark the imagination.

There is no right way of doing this other than the fact that it needs to be with you at all times.

My system consists of a few things:

• having an app called Evernote on my phone and laptop to clip any things that I intend in using later

• a voice dictaphone for me to speak into when I think I have an idea (I use an app called Otter)

• using a physical notebook to write down notes/ ideas

Do all my writings ever reach the light of day? Nope.

But that’s not the point.

I’m creating an ability to observe and discern.

The more I create the more I have the ability to create better- and that means I’m going to have to come up with a lot of rubbish first.

No.3: Create a routine

We often believe that it is the elaborate things that spur brilliant ideas, creativity, and writing. It’s not. It’s the small things done right.

One of the most helpful quotes I turn to for this is by W. Somerset Maugham;

“I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”

There is no need for a fancy set of rituals but rather just a good routine.

Keep it simple:

• Write around the same time.

• Write in the same place.

• Choose a length that you’ll stick to.

• Do it for years.

The biggest downfall for writing is the hesitation before the pen hits paper. You just have to start.

No.4: Feed yourself

Books allow you to download the life experiences of another human within the space of a few hours.

With the vast library of writing available, you can educate yourself on so much- both fictional and nonfiction.

As Stephen King suggests, ‘Books are uniquely portable magic’.

Through reading not only are you generating numerous ideas but you are studying perspectives, unlocking new parts of your brain, as well as developing the craft of formulating words.

In a world where the written form and slow media are in the decline simply opening up, a book will put you miles ahead of the competition.

Okay, but what should I read?

Many would argue you should read certain types of books, like nonfiction only, or the classics- however, I disagree.

As Naval Ravikant says, ‘read the books that make you want to read more’.

As you read more you will develop a style, genre, and focus.

Upon doing this your ideas will find a niche and it will enable you to delve into topics many have not before.

So pick up a book.

No.5: Get your ideas out there

If you never received any criticism you would believe you were always right and there would be no potential for growth.

In publishing your ideas you not only have a great sense of accountability but you work on removing a perfectionist attachment to your work.

People will hate it- So what?

That is part of the process.

Developing a healthy relationship with scrutiny allows you to take a good look at your ideas and change them from good to great.

It also enables you to get comfortable with the process of being a writer.

If you have never gotten any ideas out there- that initial one will have a lot of pressure- On the 500th one, less so.

It is just part of what you do.

“Ship often. Ship lousy stuff, but ship. And ship constantly.” — Seth Godin

-

Takeaways:

• You have ideas, you have unique perspectives, you have offerings to the world- you just have to uncover them.

• Remove the resistance and make recording down ideas easy.

• Get used to practicing idea generation and force yourself to sit in the chair every day.

• Feed yourself from others. Get inspired and learn from reading lots.

• Ideas are no use just sitting there. Get them out and see what the world has to say.

“If you are a writer, or want to be a writer, this is how you spend your days — listening, observing, storing things away, making your isolation pay off. You take home all you’ve taken in, all that you’ve overheard, and you turn it into gold. (Or at least you try.)” — Anne Lamott