How I Get Stuff Done, Even When I Don't Feel Like It
One method for motivating myself that I saw some success with is to list out the positives and negatives of the thing I want to do. Perhaps it would be best described as an algorithm:
Make a list of what you want to do in life
for thing in list:
figure out how much time you need for it each day
while not dead and new day and list not empty:
pick something from list that you feel like doing the mostgenerate positives and negatives of the chosen thing
For example:
list = [‘Exercise’, ‘Help as many people as possible’,…]
Exercise = 90mins, helps as many people as possible = 16hrs - duration of other things
Say I picked exercise because I just woke up and want to claim its benefits early
Generation of positives:
Better circulation so better cognitive function and health overall
Anti-mortality especially doing it for 90 mins1
Fat loss and more muscles so better feeling about oneself
Reduces the effects of anxiety and depression by release of happy hormones
Better sexual function, more testosterones and better erections2
The food tastes so f*cking good after a solid workout
By this point I don’t need to go over any negatives because the positives are already motivating enough. Just doing this for the sake of the example
Generation of negatives:
Risk of injury if not done right like: no warmup, going too hard too quick, not stopping when feeling like it
Notice how looking at the causes of the negatives helps us in a positive way
Over time, the positives and negatives will be stored in the long term memory from the everyday repetitions of generating them. So, after a while this process will become effortless, and whenever a task gets harder and dull, you’ll remember the positives and suddenly you’re more motivated to do it. After some time, this process becomes a habit, and thus becomes automatic.
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https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/massive-study-uncovers-how-much-exercise-needed-live-longer
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-31587-4