5 Things I’ve Learned On My 6-Week Challenge
Glen / 
34 Comments / 
November 4th, 2009 / 
Subscribe via RSS
As many of you know, just over four weeks ago I started a six week challenge. My challenge came about when I found that my productivity had dramatically dropped and I wanted to try cutting out the distractions from my life. Those ‘distractions’ ended up being Instant Messaging, Facebook, Alcohol, Television and Internet gaming.
Although I’m still on the challenge, I feel that I’m far enough along to have learned some lessons about myself and I’ve been through enough to see if this type of challenge is going to help me in the future. To cut a long story short, I don’t recommend this challenge to anyone (even if you’re trying to be productive).
Cutting out some of the individual things, like TV, has been fantastic. I’m not longer faced with tons of marketing messages each day and political interruptions to try to get me to sway to certain ideas. Instead, I’m only faced with the news and marketing I want to find, online.
I will do a post on how cutting out each one has affected me individually in the future, but today I want to sort of take a birds eye view of the whole project and share my thoughts.
1. Focus On What You Want, Rather Than What You Don’t
The more I told myself that I couldn’t watch television, the more I wanted to watch it. If people tell us not to do things (even if we tell ourselves) we automatically tend to be rebellious about it and want to do it. For example, if I tell you not to click this link (don’t click it — but it will make you smile) there’s a good chance you at least hovered over it to see the URL in your status bar.
Instead of thinking about the things I couldn’t do or couldn’t have, I found this project a lot easier by focusing on what I wanted to achieve. By thinking about what I could get done in one day and how much I could achieve in a week, I naturally focused on projects that mattered to me and just got started. I would get so immersed in things that I wouldn’t even have time to watch TV, never mind think about missing it.
2. Focus on Each Day, Not Entire Timeframes / Tasks
I have written a whole blog post on this idea, but I still think it’s important enough to be included here. The premise around this is simple: instead of thinking about what I have to do for the 6 weeks, just focus on what I have to do for today. It can be difficult to think that I have to go over a month without Facebook or chatting to friends on IM, but it’s easy to do it just for today.
And, of course, it’s always today. It’s always now. If I just focus on cutting things out right now (which is easy) then I can cut things out for 6 weeks with no problems. Any goal becomes 100% easier when you focus on what you have to do today, rather than for the life of the project.
3. Don’t Cut Out All of the ‘Fun’
I noticed that for my challenge, I cut out things that I enjoyed. This wasn’t intentional, but if something is distracting from your ‘working’ life then there’s a good chance it’s because you enjoy it. Drinking alcohol, watching television, gaming and socialising are all things I enjoy doing. Essentially I made my days boring just to get things done.
Of course, I love what I do and get to work on projects that interest me each day. However, there’s only so many hours I can dedicate to writing a blog post or answering emails before I feel both physically and mentally drained. I like Albert’s idea of working hard for 48 minutes, spend time doing something you love for 12, then continuing that pattern throughout the day.
That is probably something I’ll implement once the challenge is over.
4. Things Get Far Easier in Time
The first week of this challenge was difficult. Very difficult. I found myself with far too much time that I simply did not know what to do with. My hobbies include building successful websites so I was already implementing into each day what I love to do. I did find myself reading books a lot more though and it’s nice to have that source of information and knowledge back into my life.
The last two weeks of this challenge have been far easier than the first two. I’m just used to not turning on the TV and not going over to Facebook to see what people are up to. Funnily, when I had to check the site for an event in London, I noticed I had 64 pending friend requests. Hopefully people aren’t too annoyed I haven’t accepted them ;).
If you do implement big changes in your life then they might seem tough at first but if you can get through that initial resistance, it should be easy sailing after that.
5. You Still Have to Work
No matter how many productivity systems you try to put in place, you still have to work. I’m pretty sure that most people use productivity systems as a way to procrastinate. Constantly looking to streamline their process so that they don’t actually have to get things done.
You can shuffle as many things in your routine as you like, but the computer screen (or whatever you work with) will still be waiting for you to do what you need to do. Make sure that you’re not looking for shortcuts and more time management tips simply because you don’t want to take action.
On that note, the timetable idea I have implemented has been absolutely fantastic. It says I still have 26 minutes to finish this article which should be enough for me to tidy things up and read through it a few times. The ‘system’ is very simple, but it certainly works for me.
Now then, what about you guys? I know many of you tried a similar challenge, so how did things work out for you?
If you enjoyed this post, I would appreciate if you share it on Twitter, Facebook or Delicious!
That’s great you are sharing your results with us. Especially the last point is really important in my opinion. Even if you have the most sophisticated productivity system, you still have to work!
Did you click the link Oscar?
Nope, I hadn’t, but now I have
Fortunately I do a different martial art
I clicked the link.
I have failed you.
Hahaha – at least you’re honest.
Nice article. I like the honesty of your 6 week challenge and I can relate to this experience.
I think that everything we do with our time can serve a useful purpose in some way. We tend to see things like randomly browsing the internet or socializing too much with friends as a poor way to spend our time. Personally, I think there are transferable skills that can be taken away from these things. For instance, I find that surfing the internet is a big distraction for me but I am pretty good at researching subjects to a comprehensive level in a relatively short amount of time, which makes me more productive and efficient when I set myself projects to do. Even socializing has it advantages. It can help you unwind after a tough week, which can recharge you and allow you to focus twice as much on your projects later on.
I think productivity is cyclical in that there are certain times that I am more productive and other times when I just can’t seem to get anything done. I’d be interested to see whether other people relate to this experience as i suppose you can leverage this cyclical process to maximize productive cycles to get work done and use non-productive cycles to unwind or do something else that may be beneficial in other areas.
Saw your video man – been reading your blog for a while and I honestly thought you would be a massive fucking chode in video. YOU AREN’T.
Props and respect
- pat
Hahahah, wow.
Good to hear, I guess.
– Glen
Lol wtf, who leaves a comment like this???
Pat does! Duh
Pat, I make videos, too. “Chode” wow…that’s a new one!
Thanks for sharing this Glen. Although it’s nice that you trying to maximize productivity, I think going cold turkey on the little things you like to do can be overwhelming and well, not so fun. It’s always nice to have some fun every now and then.
Sorry for the typo: you’re*
Hey Glen, these are some awesome points you are making here. The one that really stood out to me big time was your first point…”Focus On What You Want, Rather Than What You Don’t”. That is SO true. If most of us could just do that, we would really make more progress in our lives.
Thanks for sharing!
Dayne
First of all, I haven’t read the post yet because I thought I’d give you my update before I read your conclusions.
1. Don’t beat yourself up about it.
I did this to improve my productivity, but I think that from the beginning I was trying make a total shift from procrastination to productive. This rarely works, and didn’t this time either. I like how Leo Babauta puts it: “Start small”.
Change takes time, so let it.
2. I need the cookie.
After writing a few articles, running some errands, helping people with projects, working on a few webpages, why in Gods name wouldn’t I allow myself to watch 1 episode of Entourage late at night before bed?
3. Just because you have a to-do list doesn’t mean every little thing should be on it.
This one struck me around a week back.
When first starting out with personal development I did it, amongst a lot of other things, to get more efficient and be able to do all the exciting things I wanted to do/achieve.
Until recently I had tried lists, complex systems and schedules to do stuff, but I never thought of, even though reading about it multiple times, to actually apply the 80/20 rule in every day life.
When I see an exciting thing I feel like doing it. It could be some form of ADD (I don’t think it is), but sometimes I just get so excited out of life.
The truth is, not EVERYTHING is possible to accomplish in the time frame we have been given, but a great deal is, so use your time wisely.
To sum up:
I’m not into personal development to become an 100% efficient robot with perfect skills in all areas of life. It’s all a journey, with no definite end goal.
Biggest thing I’ve gotten out the challenge:
Prioritize BUT don’t exclude things just for the sake of that it CAN be used as procrastination.
Next step for me:
Continue pushing myself for the better, BUT have fun in the meanwhile.
If this comment seems contradictory at some parts, it might be.
Have a great week Glen and all of you others out there!
Peace,
Jonas
I not only clicked the link, I made it my desktop background because I’m ninja like that.
Where’s Diggy when you need one of these
Anyway, Glen, glad you’re allowing yourself some fun. All work and no play makes for a boring day!
Happy Hump Day
GREAT post – and great advice.
I’ve failed I clicked the link too, but it made me laugh I feel that it was worth the failure.
Things get easier in time is a point I can atest to, working on my blog gets easier with every word I write and thought I organize, it just takes working at it. Eventually I’ll get happier with what the final drafts look like.
Thanks for the advice on focusing on what I want instead of what I don’t I’m going to apply it to the project I’m working on.
Heya Glen
Interesting to hear how you go on. I like what you said about working and not just using productivity systems, I read somewhere the other day about focussing less on productivity and more on actual value, good tips…can be easy to get too focussed on the systems and not the goal.
glen – i almost wrote a post kind of like this after reading your original 6-week challenge post. this new line of thinking is better.
john
Sounds like you learned some really great lessons by doing this challenge. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Very good points Glen, it all comes down to managing our lives
Like others, I too clicked the link and got a good laugh. So thanks.
I like what you had to say about focusing on one day. This is so important to my productivity as well. If I think too far ahead I get all jumbled up and focusing is nearly impossible.
Man, I actually didn’t click the link… until I read the damn comments. Hah!
This is a great post, especially no.2. I’m trying to cut out some of the crap in my life too, and it is quite difficult (I’ve been drinking 2 bottles of soda a day since I was like 5, and for health reasons I gotta stop now). But I’m finding no.2. is very helpful for me, would recommend it to anyone!
Finally, thanks for the link!
Nice post Glen. I really liked “Don’t Cut Out All of the ‘Fun’”. When I tried to go into “workaholic” mode, I noticed it didn’t really help productivity. I found keeping things I enjoy in my schedule really refreshes me and helps do the best work.
Hey Glen,
The most effective productivity system is a balance of all elements.
Humans can’t consistently work at top-level performance – we need breaks. So interspersing fun in between work constantly re-energizes us.
It makes no sense to tough it out through a whole day if we could accomplish the same work in 1/3 of the time, but with breaks. And we enjoy those breaks too, so we’re maximizing our time with effectively getting results and having fun.
Of course, like you mentioned (and why you started your challenge), you cut out the non-essentials first. Analyze what’s really important to you–things you get maximum enjoyment and results from–and only focus on those while ignoring the rest. Pretty soon you won’t be missing things you thought you enjoyed but actually just got into a routine of doing them, nothing more.
So, by only working on things that are important to us and brings maximum results, and taking breaks by doing fun things that we enjoy the most, we’re maximizing our day with filled-to-the-brim fun and effective results.
Thanks for sharing your 6-week challenge update. Awesome that you’ve been able to cut out internet and TV distractions. That’s been huge for me to free up time to get more work done and have more time to have fun with things I actually enjoy.
Best,
Oleg
Thought of sharing with you things that I usually do when I find some of my tasks boring…i.e. Don’t Cut Out All of the ‘Fun’
I keep a small interesting thing at the end of the boring tasks… i love to read pluginid. So, I keep a target that once i complete that boring task, i will read 2 posts on pluginid…this makes me do my boring task with a smile on my face as i am quite keen to do my interesting task once my boring task is done. It also helps me to do my boring task easily… I know this may sound silly but it works for me…
Great post. Sounds like a worthwhile challenge.
I find that if I really want to be able to focus and be productive, I have to shut everything down on my computer besides what I’m working on (this seems to be especially true if I’m writing).
Along those same lines, here’s a Psychology Today article you might find interesting. It’s on the brain science behind why it’s so hard to stay focused.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-work/200910/easily-distracted-why-its-hard-focus-and-what-do-about-it
Enjoy!
Hey Glen,
Excellent post. Its a few days later, but you really spoke to many of my struggles…especially in my fuull time job. I love the job and work from home, but it is hard to stay focused and disciplined. I’m a college recruiter by trade, but I am re-designing my website, keeping updated on two blog sites, AND trying to squeeze in writing a book about college and careers. I like to stay busy, but I don’t want to get in over my head.
Any other advice?
Hahah Darn it. I clicked the link. Luckily I am used to these kinds of comments from doing it so long!
Vince
Damn! I clicked the link. Great post and thanks for sharing your results
Hi Glenn,
I just gave a speech to 200 high school students in Indianapolis on a very similar topic…being themselves and realizing their own talents and abilities. I love being in the same wavelength as someone MUCH more fluent in this category.
Thanks
Fabulous. You wanted my comments. I love the way your site is setup, its clear love the pics, graphics and you have a great mind.
I will add you as to follow.
I couldn’t resist the temptation– I clicked on the link.