Why Discipline Is The Secret Sauce
Tiny Habits That Lead to Huge Results
For the past 6 months I’ve worked remotely as a Career Coach.
Technically, I had all the time in the world.
No “schedule”.
No morning commute to the city.
No one to hold me accountable (in-person).
With all this freedom, I could have easily slacked off.
But the irony is, I actually became more disciplined since working remotely.
Mostly out of necessity.
Ever wonder why getting things done can sometimes seem like such a struggle?
The truth is: If you want to produce great work, you need to be highly disciplined.
Today I’ll share the habits that helped me perform at my highest level, despite being a digital nomad and having little accountability.
Here’s why habits and discipline matter.
Discipline Ain’t Sexy, But It Works
The Marines having a saying, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die” — Will Smith
If we want to bring any dream, goal, or project to fruition, it starts with self-discipline. That ability to give up instant gratification, for a longer term benefit. We only manifest what we think about and take action on most often.
At this point most people might be like…
“Tell me the secret sauce to getting shit done! We ain’t tryna hear the law of attraction, believe in yourself, pie in the sky speech.”
Seriously, hear me out, this is such a simple concept that it’s scary.
Don’t believe me?
Here’s what I’ve been able to accomplish the past 6 months…
- Created 100+ job interview opportunities for non-traditional engineers
- Directly helped 10 people land jobs and negotiate for higher salaries
- Published nearly 20 blog posts!
Do you smell that? That’s the sweet smell of discipline.
So, How’d I Do It? Two ✌️🏾 simple habits.
#1 Time Blocking
It’s just what it sounds like. When you time block, you block out specific chunks of time for what really matters.
Here’s what that looks like for me in Trello…
The secret sauce to time blocking is to merely use it as a GUIDE. Think of it as a roadmap for your week. Don’t take it so seriously that you stress yourself out.
There have been days where I’ve missed a workout.
Or didn’t start a blog post when I said I would.
AND THAT’S OK!
Time blocking is only a tool at our disposal. What’s important is to be real with ourselves about where & how we spend our time.
#2 Executing By Tracking ONLY What Matters
My job is to get people jobs. THAT’S IT!
When it comes down to my performance, there’s not a lot a room slacking. To succeed at getting people jobs while also coaching candidates is tough.
Which means I’ve had to be relentless with what I spend my time on.
The 4 metrics I track to make sure I’m succeeding are:
- How many new companies have committed to interviewing my candidates?
- How many candidates have I referred to companies?
- How many 1 on 1's am I having weekly?
- Did I publish my weekly careers newsletter?
THAT’S IT!!!
Maybe you don’t have 4 areas you need to check-in on every week, but at least make the time to consistently do ONE THING that matters.
And don’t fall into the trap of thinking that some new tech (app, software etc.) will magically fix all your producitvity woes.
We often complicate our lives by downloading the newest productivity app. Thinking it’ll somehow instantly make our lives more organized.
Don’t be swindled by such tomfoolery.
NEWSFLASH: All we have to do is take the time, to find the time, then do what TRULY matters. CONSISTENTLY.
If you’re serious, read this 👉 to plan your most productive week ever.
Create Space For Self Care
Once we achieve a state of flow with our habits, only then can we start to reap the benefits. And just as we time block and develop our work schedules, it’s critical that we develop a self-care schedule.
This year I’ve…
- Gotten damn good at jumping rope.
- Created a morning routine and consistently woken up daily @ 7 AM.
- Even accomplished my first headstand by attending Yoga once a week.
I didn’t get good at any of these things overnight.
Quite frankly, I still struggle to wake up on mornings when there’s bad weather. Those mornings it’s cold out, cloudy/raining, and your bed feels like it whispering to you…. “HEY BABY. DON’T GO! JUST A LITTLE LONGER 😩”
These are the most difficult and critical moments. And most of us have experienced this. Consider this solution…
Here’s a thought experiment to help you be more disciplined this week: Create A Micro-Habit
Do the smallest possible unit of the habit you wish to create.
If you want to build up a jump rope habit, go outside at 7AM and commit to ONE JUMP. If it’s flossing, commit to flossing ONE TOOTH.
All you’re trying to do is build momentum.
If you try this and it works, shout me out in the comments below 😃!
We all should commit to habits around self care because it’s what will allow us to show up and do our best work. So we MUST make an effort to cultivate and integrate such practices in our lives.
Eat good.
Sleep good.
Workout often.
Simple.
Your best self and best work is directly correlated to your self-care routines.
Think about what habits you need to create to make your time count.
Before You Go…
Step your self-care game up by checking out my post on how to develop a morning routine.
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