How do you build a work ethic?

[Ayanle Farah]

How do you stay consistent? I have a problem working on one thing for extended periods(weeks and months). Is it a lack of discipline or something else?

I can go to bed at night and make plans of all the things I will accomplish tomorrow only for me to only do about 10% of what I wanted to accomplish.

It's quite pathetic tbh.

 

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[Merging Left]

How do you stay consistent? I have a problem working on one thing for extended periods(weeks and months). Is it a lack of discipline or something else?

I can go to bed at night and make plans of all the things I will accomplish tomorrow only for me to only do about 10% of what I wanted to accomplish.

It's quite pathetic tbh.

Try to think smaller. Instead of working on the same thing every day, work on one small piece of the bigger picture every day.

Example: Designing a website
One approach is "I will work on my website everyday"
Another would be:
- Day 1, layout
- Day 2, header images
- Day 3, call to action copy
- Day 4, benefits
- etc, etc, etc.

Similarly, instead of writing down a long list of everything you need to do tomorrow, break it down. What's the single most important thing you need to do tomorrow? If you complete that, what other things would be nice to get done? Then focus on #1 only.

I recommend the book The One Thing by Gary Keller. He'll help you to think about things in smaller, manageable sizes and add a structure to your plan that will be much easier to think about and accomplish.

 

[lowtek]

How do you stay consistent? I have a problem working on one thing for extended periods(weeks and months). Is it a lack of discipline or something else?

I can go to bed at night and make plans of all the things I will accomplish tomorrow only for me to only do about 10% of what I wanted to accomplish.

It's quite pathetic tbh.

Are you only accomplishing a portion of what you want because you spend time dicking around? Or does the stuff you plan to do end up taking more time than you thought?

Do you tend to quit doing things when they're going well, or when they aren't going well?

When you quit, are you sitting around and doing nothing or are you immediately pivoting to something else?

 

[WJK]

How do you stay consistent? I have a problem working on one thing for extended periods(weeks and months). Is it a lack of discipline or something else?

I can go to bed at night and make plans of all the things I will accomplish tomorrow only for me to only do about 10% of what I wanted to accomplish.

It's quite pathetic tbh.

You have too many things on your list. Remember how to eat an elephant -- one bite at a time. Only list 2 or 3 things -- and do them starting with the most important first. Then you can add to your list and start on the next-most-important-stuff. The human brain can only concentrate on one thing at a time. It sounds like your focus is broken. I too like, The One Thing. That's a good book. Another one is Getting Things Done, the art of stressfree productviity, by David Allen. I also like Willpower by Baumeister/

 

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[Niptuck MD]

Are you only accomplishing a portion of what you want because you spend time dicking around? Or does the stuff you plan to do end up taking more time than you thought?

this is the absolute truth. a lot of times we spend time "dicking" around when we dont realize it. I know I did when I would watch youtube vids instead of watching useful youtube vids on programming etc or electrical theory...
Also, i have stopped listening to music in the car and started to listen to audio books whilst driving (i drive a lot).... all of these factors effect the long term not now in the short term.
Learn to multi-task mundane tasks so that you can focus your energy and work on your overall goal for your long term puzzle.

 

[Ayanle Farah]

Are you only accomplishing a portion of what you want because you spend time dicking around? Or does the stuff you plan to do end up taking more time than you thought?

Do you tend to quit doing things when they're going well, or when they aren't going well?

When you quit, are you sitting around and doing nothing or are you immediately pivoting to something else?

I'm dicking around too much instead of doing any work.

I don't like to think I'm quitting, I always justify it as saying I'll come back to it, even if that's not always true, I usually stop when it's not going well.

I also sit around for a time after quitting something.

 

[wade1mil]

It sounds like you need a stronger why.

 

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[Get Right]

I usually stop when it's not going well.

Once you learn that these moments (walls) are what will ultimately make you a success...the sky will be your limit

P.S. Those walls thin out the competition. I hope you learn to love them.

 

[Dunkafelics]

I struggled with work ethic for quite awhile because I was acting as a wantrapreneur. Or whatever you call it!

Once we had our newborn son (6 months ago) the fire was lit underneath me and I haven't looked back since.

I am not quite sure of the business that you are in, but you do need to eliminate all distractions while you are working.

I do find the Pomodoro Technique is pretty helpful if you are working with a computer. I mean it can really apply to anything as all you need is an egg timer. Look it up if you are unsure as to what it is. It is a pretty simple method for staying focused while working on your tasks.

Other than that, when you catch yourself being distracted or wasting time, just simply remind yourself. It doesn't matter at what point you catch yourself, the point is that you recognize it.

I could give you more tips, but I'll leave it at that for now.

 

[lowtek]

few suggestions that I don't see around here often, but may be helpful to you:

1) Act deliberately. It's OK to dick around sometimes, but it should be planned. When it's time to work, work. If you can only commit to working on something for a couple hours, then start there and just get moving. But make sure you are setting aside time for both and don't mix them.

2) Strong defaults. If you don't know what to do, then you should have a default thing you go to - and it should be productive. What it is, isn't so important as the idea that you work when you don't have something else to do. This combines with #1

3) Track your time, one of two ways. Either track your productive time and try to increase it every day by a few minutes, or track your wasted time and try to reduce it by a few minutes each day. May have to experiment with both.

4) Pay attention to your daily rhythm. Do you work best at certain times? Optimize around that.

5) Pay attention to triggers. What thoughts and emotions directly precede you quitting for the day? What precedes quitting on a project? You've gotta be more mindful of what's going on in the noggin to be able to deal with it. I can't monitor your inner dialogue, but I'm willing to bet that the answer to your problem is there.

 

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[sparechange]

Go get a job at mcdonalds and ride the bus at 7am on a Monday. Maybe that can help your motivation, Obviously you are comfortable with life if you enjoy wasting time

 

[lowtek]

Go get a job at mcdonalds and ride the bus at 7am on a Monday. Maybe that can help your motivation, Obviously you are comfortable with life if you enjoy wasting time

lol that's harsh. Job at McD?!?!?!

 

[sparechange]

Being yelled at by someone with an overinflated ego because they are a hot shot manager of a company while you make minium wage is the ultimate fastlane motivator. I recommend every person work a horrible job at least once to see what it's like.

 

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[sparechange]

This thread is insane, the book is called "millionaire fastlane " which is the basis of this forum. millionaires are 1% of the population (maybe more) Are you going to be a millionaire with a minium wage work ethic? Or be the other 99%??

 

[Greg R]

Like any habit, the more you make it apart of your daily routine, the more the behavior gets reinforced.

So my answer to build a stronger work ethic would simply be to WORK.

 

[Ayanle Farah]

Alot of good advice here, you guys are true problem solvers.

Yes, I'm trying to create an app so I work on the computer and I have used the pomodoro before and it worked to an extent.

I am too comfortable for my own good though I shouldn't be.

I'm going to apply all the advice here starting right now.

 

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[Rabelo]

"I guess it just doesn't hurt bad enough ''

 

[ZCP]

Got to want it more than you want to breathe.

 

[Dan_Fastlane]

try this

GOLD - Achieve Laser FOCUS + PRODUCTIVITY With The System Legendary Fastlaners Use...

 

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[Raoul Duke]

1. Listen - http://themfceo.com/kill-it-every-day-maximizing-productivity/

2. Listen - http://themfceo.com/win-day-andy-frisella-mfceo107/

3. Apply

 

[PureA]

Ultimately I don't think that there is any 'tip' or 'trick' that makes this happen.

There gets to a point where you just become disgusted with yourself, and not working is just too painful. It's that moment when you have been action faking for years, time is ticking, and you realised all you've been doing is f'ing around. The pain of continuing to act this way hurts.

And so you change, driven by the pain that your life isn't going to work out the way you planned unless you 'do the work'.

Alternatively, I have seen attempts to manufacturer this experience. Could work. I remember @AndrewNC had a cool post about this. I can't find it, but I'm sure he'll be kind enough to leave a link.

 

[AndrewNC]

It sounds like you need a stronger why.

Why?

 

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[AndrewNC]

Ultimately I don't think that there is any 'tip' or 'trick' that makes this happen.

There gets to a point where you just become disgusted with yourself, and not working is just too painful. It's that moment when you have been action faking for years, time is ticking, and you realised all you've been doing is f'ing around. The pain of continuing to act this way hurts.

And so you change, driven by the pain that your life isn't going to work out the way you planned unless you 'do the work'.

Alternatively, I have seen attempts to manufacturer this experience. Could work. I remember @AndrewNC had a cool post about this. I can't find it, but I'm sure he'll be kind enough to leave a link.

I'm sure I've written many many posts on here on the topic.

The thing that comes to mind is to turn "I need to" into "I want to"

Shift the goal from the result to the task

 

[Ayanle Farah]

I'm sure I've written many many posts on here on the topic.

The thing that comes to mind is to turn "I need to" into "I want to"

Shift the goal from the result to the task

What a gem.

As I was reading your post I asked myself "shouldn't it be the other way around?"

I thought "I need to" was more powerful than "I want to" but "I want to" is infact much more sustainable and grows with time which makes it easier to do stuff because it's intrinsic motivation.

 

[AndrewNC]

What a gem.

As I was reading your post I asked myself "shouldn't it be the other way around?"

I thought "I need to" was more powerful than "I want to" but "I want to" is infact much more sustainable and grows with time which makes it easier to do stuff because it's intrinsic motivation.

I just sent this email to two clients of mine who I went through this technique with.

Turning "I have to" into "I want to" and turning distractions into "I don't want to"​

Magnetism: Think in terms of emotions. When you get distracted by whatever you do instead of working, in the past, the distraction was like a magnet that unconsciously draws you in, emotionally. it pulls you to automatically do it. Working during that time, on the other hand, might push you away (feeling tired, overwhelmed, etc.).

So the process for changing this...

The Negative: Turning bad habits and distractions into a repulsive thought.

Imagine your worst-case scenario of how bad things can be if you business never moves forward. Whatever specific emotions you're running away from. Really bring up the pain.

But what you want to do is see, hear, and feel as if that is happening now. The purpose is to fill your body with the negative emotions so they are a 12/10.

When you do this, bring up a full-sized picture in your mind seeing yourself (doing whatever distracted you from work in the past). And make the picture black and white, and a little dark. When you do this, imagine a ball of energy coming from your body, so the feelings of your worst fear fill up that picture and thought of you playing the video game.

The positive: Turning work into something you not only want to do, but crave doing.

Now, get up, walk around, feel good.

Now, float into your ideal goal scene...Something that brings up the emotions you're going for. The specific emotions you'll feel when you achieve your goal. What specific emotions are you striving for? Security, comfort, happiness, accomplishment, etc.?

Ramp them up to a 12/10.

Now, look at the positive replacement habit (working on business). Imagine a white flow of energy move the positive emotions you have from your body into the picture of you working on your business (the positive habit).

Fill your body with the positive emotions again. This time Float into your body in the scene of you working, looking through your own eyes as you work. Fill this entire picture and habit with the positive emotions.

The result: Think back to the magnetism example.

A lot of business owners are drawn to the goal (the result of the hard work) and the emotions the result will bring to them. The problem is when the goal is so far into the future, it doesn't result in motivation right now.

Remember, it's the specific emotions you chase after, not the goal. Think of how you will feel when you already have that big business. What specific emotions are theres

So when you do this, it supercharges the behavior with the positive emotions. This way, in the same way most entrepreneurs are drawn to the cars, money, mansion, etc.

You are magnetically drawn to the actions it takes to get there.

Same thing with the negative habit (distractions). This turns it into a magnetic repulsion. because the emotions you run away from are now associated with the thought of watching television.

I checked in with a past client and noticed a significant improvement from using this technique alone. She reported a few nuances to work out, but 90% there. There are other techniques to create the long-term shift, but this will help.

 

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[Ayanle Farah]

I'm going to implement this and report back.

Thanks for taking the time to share.