How Living With Constraints And Limitations In Another Country Can Help You Develop A Good Habit
Being familiar and comfortable with things and environment around might not fully grow you and shift your view toward your own potential.
But it’s opposite, with constraints and limitations, they shift, grow and even help you develop a good habit.
To The Problems
There’s a chance that a certain point in time it will pop up and make you realize that you have to do something to change. A particular piece of time that tends to make you think you have to make an action.
That’s because I’ve lived in a comfortable environment for far too long. I get used to people, the way they think, I can do almost anything that I don’t feel embarrassed. It happened long enough that it (implicitly) helped me developed bad habits.
Waking up late
As I’m working from home, the work depends on myself and its productivity. I don’t feel enough of rushing-level to wake me up. I sleep in a comfortable bed thus waking up would requires much of effort.
Procrastination
I work in my own room. I feel free with no pressure to discipline myself to doing work instead of chilling out on Youtube or doing something else rather than the job at hands. My thought was that “tomorrow is fine, just play along with it for my pleasure a bit”. “A bit” turned into several hours, a half day, or even full day. One procrastination happened, another one is not far from reality. Finally, it had developed into a bad habit.
Making Decision
I’m in my own territory. I’m in my comfort zone. I feel like I can wait for another reasonable period of time before making a decision. There’s no such good pressure or reason to shift me to a prompt decision making. That’s bad. Truthfully, this is my flaw ingrained into myself. I knew this. But it’s even worse living in environment that doesn’t help to flip you to a good side.
Distractions
I work in my own room. So there’s less likely that I will meet other fellows except when I go out and work at coffee shop, or arrange the meeting with them. That means it exposes me to distractions. I was pulled by them easily enough to not get the main job done in time. There’s no peer-pressure to keep you focus on the work at hands, only yourself if you’re strong enough.
Get Into It
That’s enough of reason that I decided to change the place, the environment living in day-to-day basis with a hope to leverage my productivity and start building a good habit.
Suddenly, I decided to go to Hanoi, Vietnam promptly without much planning.
It turned out I spent time living and working on my own stuff there for 25 days, 24 nights.
Constraints and Limitations
With constraints and limitations while you’re doing anything or living it out gives benefit you wouldn’t imagine it is there at the first place. Here is the list of constraints and limitations, read it through at each section, it contains a good habit I’ve developed upon its boundary of uncomfortable thingy.
Budget
I have limited budget. So I need to spend it wisely on things that matter only, on things that push my goal forwards.
With limited budget, it automatically cuts useless or unnecessary things out. It cuts out the things that are nice to have but it’s okay to live without. It cuts out time that might be wasted in decision making upon things that are outside your reach of payment ie. souvenir, unexpected meetups, ad-hoc request to help, offer that is too nice to turn down etc. I learned to say Nos a lot.
Truthfully, budget is like a main topic that places down your mindset for the whole trip, and other areas. At the end of every day, I noted all the expenses I made, summed it up and compared it with the total saving amount to see whether I exceed beyond the cap-spending or not. It will result in — or +. I keep doing this for the whole trip, and it turned out with a lot of + at the end. Thanks to 10% below cap-spending I additionally take into consideration.
Meal
During the time I was staying there, I decided to have 2 meals / day. I also continue doing this even I were back home; Bangkok, Thailand. It’s not only about cutting the cost, but also about the minimalistic way of diet. I feel happier for myself. I have longer hours to spend doing important stuff without to break as conscious thought might tell you it’s time for lunch. It shifts my body timing, and be ready when the hard time would comes if I cannot afford to have meal as much as I can like before.
Co-working space
Apart from the price you have to pay for renting the space either in week, or month, it’s about freebies and distance from your place to the space as well.
Freebies, it’s important to know all the free things that the space could give it to you. If it provides unlimited tea & coffee, then you can save buying additional drinks by planning it wisely to have it at the space instead. It might sound not so nice having to be too cost-saving, but the real world is there, and you have to protect your goal against what others might think.
Distance, normal people usually think that if the work location is near your place of stay, it’s better. My point of view toward this is opposite after I’ve experienced it myself. Co-working space I rent is around 5 km far away. I didn’t plan to use public transport. I used a bicycle for the first few days, but decided to walk after that instead as the bicycle got stiff and can’t be cycled anymore. Thus I walked in total of at least 10 km every day. Along the way, I built a habit of listening to meaningful and beneficial podcast.
Every day, episode by episode was complete and burnt out, I gained new knowledge, tidbits & tips in doing business from entrepreneurs, and got motivated through their interview. I spent around 1 hour walking from my place to the space, thus it’s 3–4 episodes complete along the way. So in total, I listened to 6–8 episodes per day. It’s totally insane number if I would compare myself to the past, I nearly didn’t listen to any podcast like this.
It’s also very less likely or a minimal chance there is if you still sit or stay at home or working place, you won’t listen to any podcast as you’re working with laptop and spend your attention towards it. But not this, while you’re walking, a momentum that you can feel combine with motivated podcast, it’s a totally go go.
Out of comfort zone
As I need to find a cheapest place to sleep. Shared room or dorm isn’t far from options. I was staying in a shared room, and later in a dorm. Both with shared bathroom. Personally, I’m a kind person that need much of personal time, a private world. Thus having to share a room with others seem to be a very uncomfortable experience at first, but after I’ve experienced it, it’s not that bad. I shift the way I use the bathroom, and it turned out to be a very good approach for developing oneself for a good habit.
Instead of having to wait or fight with others (not actual fighting) to use a bathroom, I just wake up early, and spend time there like no one else is waiting around. I’ve developed a good habit of waking up early. I woke up at 4:00 AM. Thus I have a luxury of 30 minutes or more spending time there with no rush before dressing up and have so much plenty of time in doing other activities like reading, and preparing for the day. It’s totally a privilege to be waking up before all others, and be the first to be ready for the day.
Business
I knew my own goal before making a decision to be here in Hanoi. I have to push my game forwards even I’m far away from the less of the team, or even your friends, or others might think you are on vacation but you knew it to yourself that it’s not simply like that. Thus I don’t spend a dime trying to explain much of why I’m here. I knew my agenda is to revive myself increasing productivity by living here and work on my game with a strong intention to take the benefits back and continue there at my home in Bangkok.
25 days worth living here, I can solidly tell that the progress of the game made here is far more healthy than a month worth made back at my own territory in Bangkok. It might be because of constraints and limitations I impose to myself. I didn’t miss even a single day for which I should be working on the game on anything else (apart from Sunday which is my reading day). Every day is your grinding effort to push it forwards, and I did that.
Personal Improvement
I discipline myself to apply approach toward greatness from Think Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and No Excuses, The Power of Self-Discipline by Brian Tracy into every day since the morning I was waking up.
I always have a small notebook with me all the time. I woke up at 4:00 AM, went to take a shower, dressed up, and started watching. What was I watching? I watched a couple of motivated video clips to become a greatness one. Like this, and this. Then I noted the goals I want to achieve, and list to-do tasks prioritized for the day I need to get it done.
The mentioned sequence I did it every morning, and before I went to sleep. Motivated energy hits you wrapping up the day with grace. Just keep watching, keep noting, and keep doing.
Conclusion
Two things I totally believe will define the outcome of everything are Habit, and Discipline.
If you got the first one right, the latter will come automatically.
It takes nearly a month to form a new habit. Thus spending time imposing yourself with constraints and limitations with that time-window has higher chance to form you a new habit successfully.
But if you’re still seeing that it’s too hard to develop such a good habit in your environment. It might be because of you are still comfortable with things around. So try to step outside your comfort zone, and consider living in another country. From there consider imposing constraints and limitations that you can build your good habit upon.
You will figure it out later during your stay.
I have done mine.
You too. You can do the same.
Now go and take an action.
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I make games, and connect people.
Connect with me via Twitter @haxpor.
