Comments on: How I Conquered Being Undisciplined and Started Getting Things Done

By: make money

make money — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:58:16 +0000

When I get paralyze days I just try to remember to tell me to take one thing at a time (louder than the noise in the era of multi-tasking) and it gradually. It is inevitable, just to get a bigger thing on my plate may be afraid of everything and lead to a very productive day.

By: Camden

Camden — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:54:14 +0000

I definitely need goals (preferably written) to accomplish anything. I actually do best when I allot myself a certain amount of time for a task. Otherwise I tend to fill my day with busy activities that don’t really accomplish anything.

I try to end my day with an interesting unfinished task – that makes it easy to pick up the next day where I left off and get that first accomplishment achieved 1st thing in the morning.

By: Febap Liew | Making Money Online Today

Febap Liew | Making Money Online Today — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:12:02 +0000

Hey darren,
i bet ‘too much of something is eventually not good’..
same goes within in this context.
However, prior before i started to learn the ways of making money online, i was an architecture student.
Mind you, if you may not know, majoring in architecture is really..really…really..really tough. I have went through 3 days streak without sleep ( maybe at most one hour a day ) just so i could complete my final ‘project’ .. am i over stretching myself? you bet i was but i really don’t have a choice.it is either i do or fail!
however, because of this , my performance and productivity dropped immensely day after day. i managed to pass but it was such a ‘let down’ result.
those times were history. however, blogging can work quite like the same way. not because i have a deadline to chase after but it is just so addicting. I am striving hard to really make it online and this constantly ignites the ever burning fuel within me! well i know its not good and i may well be repeating what i ought to be during my university’s time. it is still not easy for me to ‘discipline’ myself but i will make sure that i don’t work myself out like a zombie.
No i don’t have a specific time scheduled to begin and stop but at least i would occasionally just give myself a break. Hitting the gym, go for a walk or those sort. =)
I am still able to get things done and better yet, much more productively. ;)
what can i say? life’s good, i guess.. haha
cheers

By: Linda

Linda — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:21:57 +0000

Guess it’s a case of Parkinson’s law i.e. Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

By: Gwen

Gwen — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:33:41 +0000

Most people are slackers in life. That is why if you can fight the urge, you can be very successful in life.

By: Guitar Chords

Guitar Chords — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:17:38 +0000

I guess I’m still quite indisciplined even to the extent of not posting for months. Still, when I do post, I choose quality over quantity. It works for me though, probably cz my blog is more like a website. I guess a bit more discipline will get more readers though.

By: InventingLiz

InventingLiz — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:12:56 +0000

I am definitely this way too, and I am struggling right now in a day job where I don’t have enough to do – so don’t end up ever getting anything done – especially when I would rather be blogging and running some other creative side businesses!

By: Jhay

Jhay — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:27:19 +0000

The same could said for me. We call generally call it “cramming” during college. We tend to do things only when there’s a day or two, sometimes just hours before the work is due. And amazingly, the results are of great quality. Unlike when I planned to do things way ahead of schedule, the work was just average.

Simply put, I work best under pressure.

By: Seospidy

Seospidy — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 10:10:25 +0000

I’m so excited to hear to that out of everything you do here and on your other blogs, thanks for your post.

By: Brenton Russell

Brenton Russell — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 23:00:36 +0000

This post reminds me of the management saying “If you want a task done, give it to a busy person!”

By: Dan Wedin

Dan Wedin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:07:01 +0000

I can relate to the below line although it sounds like you have these days considerably less than I do.

(I’ve had days where I’ve been completely paralysed by the overwhelming nature of it all)

thanks for your post.

By: Callum

Callum — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:23:14 +0000

Great post Darren.

The university scenario you described was exactly the same as mine (though I got it down to 1 day per week at times).

Actually, re-reading the post as I type this comment more and more hits home. At the moment I’m trying to do ‘less’ but be more productive. Will see how that works.

By: Stephanie - Home with the Kids

Stephanie - Home with the Kids — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:55:23 +0000

That’s how it goes for me too. I’m looking at homeschooling my daughter next fall, and while I’m dreading the time it will take out of my day, I’m also reminding myself that I’ll probably be more productive because I’ll have so little free time to goof off.

By: Joe | Bend Carpet Cleaning

Joe | Bend Carpet Cleaning — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:01:18 +0000

I like Zigg Ziglar’s idea of writing down the 4 most important things to do for the next day and then focus only on those 4 things. I have been doing it for 3 years now. Simple and easy.

By: Christina

Christina — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:22:29 +0000

I could not agree more with this post. The days that I don’t have mapped out tend to spiral out of control.

By: Robin Alley

Robin Alley — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:42:22 +0000

That definitely sounds like me… and a LOT of people really.

It really is just another way of reiterating the importance of goals.

Thanks for sharing.

By: Marcie Hill

Marcie Hill — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:34:42 +0000

Busyness does not always equate to productivity. It takes some of us longer to get it than others.

By: Josh Kohlbach

Josh Kohlbach — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:00:21 +0000

Sounds like you’re kicking parkinson’s law Darren! In fact this is exactly proving it’s definition:
http://www.codemyownroad.com/parkinsons-law-on-deadlines/

The more you pack in, the more likely you’ll go out of your way to get it done.

By: Dionne White

Dionne White — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:34:08 +0000

SNAP! I am at my most prolific under pressure and under stress. It is normal. I have been previously employed as a natural health practitioner and a pharmaceutical rep. There is a biological response which enhances brain/body response. Ustress is good stress, giving you your best chance of achieving deadlines.
When I have nothing to do or have just pulled off what I thought was impossible and have no immediate tasks at hand, I end up getting sick. Bloody ridiculous but probably the body giving you permission to have a fluffy slipper day/week on the sofa where the only thing pressing is accidently sitting on the remote

By: Gary Smith

Gary Smith — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 01:01:13 +0000

I think it depends on how you handle your busyness. From a programmers point of view – if you have a half dozen jobs and try to jump around between them every hour or two it tends to slow you right down. The trick is to stay focused but obviously if you have 3 jobs and they are all going to take more than a day to complete and you have 3 customers all wanting them yesterday – it can be stressful.

That raises another question though – is the stress really there or is it self-imposed stress due to an inability to make some firm short term decisions..lol. I used to have days where I felt like throwing my hands in the air and going back to bed. Nowadays I just do what I consider to be a reasonable amount of work on each job and avoid distractions like checking my email every 15 minutes!