Here’s What I Do To Make My Day Worst
The catch — do the opposite.
I recently wrote an article about how to think better and one of the tools I shared was inversion thinking. So I implemented it on myself and thought about ways I could make my day worst.
Here’s what I came up with that you might find useful:
Overindulging
It is easy to fall into the trap of overindulging in stuff I love, especially on a weekend. Even the healthiest thing can be toxic if we go overboard. It also numbs our enjoyment when we do it too much.
This includes:
- Eating delicious food;
- Playing videogames;
- Netflix-ing with loved ones;
- Coffee;
- Binging on self-development videos
Solution: I find that overindulgence generally happens when I have too much freedom or time on hand so it makes sense for me to set some boundaries:
- Eating delicious food (Keep this on weekends);
- Playing videogames (Getting off the game for every “chapter” or “level” I beat and do something else OR scheduling a gaming time);
- Netflix-ing with loved ones (Limit by 2 episodes of dramas OR 1 movie per day);
- Coffee (One cup a day, cravings will be handled by protein shakes and de-caf drinks);
- Binging on self-development videos (3 videos a day and off to actually do stuff);
Sleeping Late
I have a bad habit of scrolling my phone once I get in bed. It might be online shopping, reading articles, or watching cooking Youtube videos before I blackout.
I tend to feel anxious to get to bed early that I would only head to my bedroom close to 12 am. I felt there was so much more I can do before just calling it a night. Top it off with the “bed-scrolling” and you have the perfect recipe for a zombified day.
Solution: I tried leaving my phone on airplane mode whenever I get in the bedroom but it takes a little more effort to remind myself about putting the phone on airplane mode. I also tend to just undo the airplane mode sometimes and continue my scrolling adventure.
I then decided to get a digital alarm clock so that I don’t have the excuse of needing the phone as an alarm. I could just leave my room in the other rooms when I hit the sack.
As to tackle the psychological part of “being productive”, I’m trying to take fewer gigs now. Sure, it felt great when the client paid up but I had too much on my plate that I was worried about work all the time and it was affecting my sleep.
Saying Yes To Everything
I have shiny object syndrome. I’m guilty when I think about how easily distracted I am. Everything seems like an untapped gold mine and I just want a piece of everything.
Until I experienced burnout. I was constantly anxious about my neverending to-do list.
Saying yes to something also means saying no to another. You can only do so much with so little time. Something gotta give at some point and it was starting to creep into the time when I was supposed to rest.
To top it off, I was busy chasing dangling carrots, I was spreading myself thinner than my wallet. I felt mediocre and scattered in everything I do. I can do a lot of stuff but not exactly great at any of them.
Solution: I’m learning to say no more often now. If it’s not a “Hell Yes!” then it’s going to be a no. Saying yes to everything is not really my cup of tea now that I’m committed to my marriage and my mortgage.
I’m also starting to cope better with the “lack of novelty” when it comes to focusing on the same thing. I’m slowly accepting the fact that to be good at something takes years of practice. Practice might not always be fun but it’s going to pay off in the long run.
Multitasking
Multitasking is the imposter of productivity. It makes you feel as though you’re doing a lot but in actual fact, you’re not. Sure, you’re busy all the time but you’re also constantly distracting yourself with what you’re trying to do. Read that again.
I tried writing while watching live-reality TV shows with my wife — it was a big fat fail. My laptop’s in front of me, my fingers are on top of the keyboard and they stayed on top throughout the show without moving at all. I couldn’t work and I missed the most exciting parts of the movie night. Lose-Lose.
Multitasking is a sure-fire way to keep you away from the flow state. Flow states can only happen when you’re in the zone, focusing on what’s in front of you. And you’re not present when you’re multitasking, you’re everywhere!
Multitasking is masked as the ability to do a lot of things at once. It’s actually being distracted by a lot of things at once. This also means handling the cumulative stress that comes with multitasking — AT ONCE.
Solution: I started asking myself the question:
What’s the ONE most important thing that I can do right now?
At any given time, even with a rolling to-do list, I’m constantly reminding myself to do ONE thing at a time. It takes more energy for me to switch tasks so I’d rather just focus on one thing, do the best I can, and then move on to another.
If someone is asking for help when I’m in the middle of something, they’ll have to wait (politely). Not because I’m stuck up but I know I can only do my best when you have my full-on focus.
One at a time.
Not learning anything new
I like progress. It feels as though I’m doing something worthwhile and my life is meaningful. To me, progress also means growth and this only happens when I’m learning something new.
When I’m only going through the motions for the day, I’d feel as though I wasted a day. I wanted to thrive, not just survive.
Growth is more consistent back in school. Because there’s an education system that always pushed us to learn and challenge our knowledge. But the “real world” doesn’t really care if you’re learning or not.
There isn’t anyone who would force you to study Physics or to practice the piano, it’s all on you now. I enjoy the freedom of doing whatever I want… a little too much.
Solution: I started realizing the importance of having a system for learning when I’m out of school. It’s difficult to drive progress when there is no system in place. I’m gonna spend my free time doing useless stuff like playing video games or watching dramas.
So I set some simple rules to follow:
- Read 30 minutes a day (can be written, audio, video format);
- Writing every week — and I had to read more to have ideas;
- Journaling every morning (To learn more about myself);
- Signing myself up for 30-day workout challenges (To put me in a system for working out);
Not taking breaks
Race cars have pit stops not because they need it but it’s to make sure they can keep racing safely — Brendon Burchard
The same goes for people. People these days are so subscribed to the hustle culture, they can’t sit still even for 10 minutes. No, make it 5.
Even if I’m in a flow state that defies time and energy, it’s still helpful for my mind and body to recharge from a short toilet or coffee break. We can only be productive for so long until you start tapping into your emergency energy reservoir.
I’m not gonna lie, I tried 4 hours of continuous work and it was killing me for the next couple of days. I got work done but I felt drained. It’s like I went on overdrive for a little too long and I’m suffering the backlash of it.
Solution: A technique that I’ve been constantly trying to implement is the Pomodoro technique.
You would work for a set period of time, say 45 minutes and you take a 15-minute-break before going for another round. This ensures that you’ll get some rest for every work cycle which also prevents burnout.
Another activity that I’m bringing back recently is short meditations. Meditation comes in handy when I feel overloaded and I need a mental reset. A 10-minute session always helps me relax and get back into the game.
On days when I feel that my energy is low, I take 20-minute naps during my breaks. 20 minutes is the sweet spot as you get some shut-eye without waking up feeling groggy.
In Summary
These are the things that I can do to make my day the worst:
- Overindulging
- Sleeping Late
- Saying Yes To Everything
- Multitasking
- Not learning anything new
- Not taking breaks
I’ve had some fun pondering over what might set me back. What about you?
