After spending 16 months living on my own in Cape Town, South Africa, I came to a stage where I really felt like it was the right time to leave and return to England. I was having an amazing time in the country and had tons of friends, but I really wanted more time to focus on my own projects instead of renting my mind to a boss (as my friend Jonathan likes to call it).
In my very last night in the country, I was hanging out with my “girlfriend” and one of my best friends who basically told me how jealous he was of my opportunity but how much he looked up to me even though I was 4 years younger. I remember saying to him before we said our goodbyes that “I really, really hope I make the most of my chance and don’t waste it or take things for granted.”
I have been back in the UK for almost 4 months now and it is the first time in my life that I’ve really been able to get a solid run going of working for myself. In terms of whether or not I’ve made the most of those four months though…I’m really not sure. Maybe my uncertainty is the answer.
I’ve been able to launch 4 successful websites, PluginID has close to 100 posts (which is well over 100,000 words) and I have managed to grow this site from 700 subscribers to over 3,000. My income goal for June is a hefty $15,000 and if I make it I have promised to give it all away – $5,000 each to my brother and sister, and $5,000 to charity.
While things are looking good, I know things could be going much, much better. The last couple of weeks I have been getting up late, spending full days out with my friends and generally just procrastinating. I’m definitely my harshest critic, as I’m sure is the same with all of you reading this, but I’ve decided to make a drastic change.
7 Days of Self-Discipline
This is where the 7 day self-discipline challenge comes in. For the next 7 days, I’m going to literally cut out of my life all the things that aren’t necessary to my income / business success and see how well that works out for me in terms of difficulty and more importantly, productivity.
I didn’t want to say cutting out all the time-wasters in my life because some of the things most people would view as time-wasters may actually beneficial for me in the long run. For example, if I spend 30 minutes on Twitter or Facebook in a day, then that could be seen as 30 minutes of being unproductive. However, I know that my connections on Twitter and Facebook very often become new blog readers, so in a sense the time on those sites is productive.
Needless to say, for the next 7 days, I’m only going to focus on things that are very important to me. I’m going to get started on a new eBook which will help people build and grow their own blog like I’ve done here. I’m also going to continue to promote some of my lesser known websites and hopefully round up all the tasks that I have been putting off.
So, what am I going to be cutting out? Let’s see…
- No Twitter, Facebook or Instant Messaging
- No TV
- No waking up late or staying out until 2-3am
- No sex or anything related (yes, I’m taking this seriously
- No email or website stats checking
The way I have set-up my internet business, I could work 5 hours per week and still maintain my current income. While email is usually a large part of what I do, I feel that I can safely cut it out for 7 days without disrupting too many of my operations.
It takes around 21 days to form a new habit, so I really don’t know what to expect after this challenge. 7 days is long enough in that it will be challenging, but not too long in that I will be neglecting areas of my life on a large scale.
Are You In?
I know something like this will be far too difficult and drastic for other people to do as well. The only reason I’m doing this challenge is because I have high standards for myself and large goals I want to reach. I want to be in a position where none of my close family have to work and that is only going to happen if I take responsibility for my actions.
That being said, you should not cut out things which you can’t cut out. For example, if I stop promoting my websites my income will dry up fairly quickly, so that is not something I would do. That would just be stupid.
Instead, you should be smart but serious about the things you cut out. Identify the things that you could be wasting time or even the things that you do just because you don’t feel like doing your real tasks. This is for seven days and seven days only; I’m sure I will go back to a number of things after the 7 days are up. As should you.
Before you consider joining me, maybe you should look at what I hope to get out of this.
What I Want Out of This
I’m not doing these 7 days purely for the sake of it; I’m doing this for a number of reasons.
First of all, I want to push myself. I know for a fact I will struggle with this, especially the last two items on my list and that is why I’m doing it. I want to work on my own self-discipline and stop wasting time on things that don’t deserve or require the amount of time I’m giving them.
Secondly, I want more time and energy directed at productive activities. I’ve already stated I want to get started on a new eBook but I also have websites that deserve some more of my time and I want to write more great articles for you all over here at PluginID.
Finally, I’m interested in the results. After the 7 days I want to see whether I go back to the social media sites where I procrastinate, whether I still compulsively check email and whether I start going out till crazy hours of the morning with my friends.
If you’re joining me, I would love to hear from you in the comments. Note that I actually wrote this article on Saturday to start on Sunday so by the time you are reading this I should be on Day 4, but it’s never too late to start!
Link Love: I pride myself on being a blogger who actually interacts in the community so some link love goes out to Andrew, Adam, Sean, Lisis and Jonathan
As the end of the article states, I am on day 4 right now and I started this on Sunday. I have been able to stick to everything so far and I have had the most productive 3/4 days in the last 4 months, really.
I’m often tempted to check my email or look at traffic stats while I’m writing, but it has been fun to notice how distracted I really do get throughout the day.
I have found this quite tough, but I’ll do a separate post next week going through my findings
(One of them is golden and will triple my productivity).
AWESOME post – amazing challenge – I’m starting this week on my own!
Glen, you are one crazy Mofo. I can’t wait to hear what you think about it after day 7. I assume you’ll do a full out blog post, but if not you’ll at least have to sit down with me and let me know!
Good luck on your remaining 2-3 days!
(Thanks for the link-love!)
Haha definitely mate. I will be writing an update of how it all went
Cheers!
Wait a minute, I came here through a Tweet. Pure self discipline fail?
You could be set up to auto-tweet new posts I guess.
Pretty hardcore none the less.
Haha, I knew somebody would say that. Yes any tweets on my account right now are automated through Twitterfeed. I may have had my account hacked of course, but I’m not going to check
Glen, this is just what I need! I’m in, but I’m not starting today, but on Monday June 1st. That week, I’ll be home alone (my wife and son are visiting the grandparents) so I think I can pull this off
Following your example, here are my main goals for the time: I’m going to write one article that I can propose to a Finnish business magazine, and one new tutorial. If I have time for more (I’m also doing my day job and Train for Humanity training during the time), I’ll focus on blogging and finishing a customer web site project.
Thanks for the inspiration, Glen!
You’re welcome Jarkko, it sounds like you have the perfect opportunity to pull this off. I can imagine this would be infinitely harder if you live with your family and support them
Hello.
Glen: very inspiring. I hope you all the best in this endeavor.
But as much as I would like to follow your example, I just can’t afford to ignore my family. Problem is: they consume (and I enjoy) every drop of time I don’t *have* to work.
Any ideas, anyone, about alternative approaches to the time-reserving mechanism Glen is illustrating? A better –as in more intelligent- way to balance the work and personal interests?
In the end, it seems to me, this is a problem which solution depends on the way one perceives his/her world and, as such, a philosophical rather than a merely productivity one.
Best regards.
Your ending comment is very possible Bruno, thanks for stopping by.
Maybe you can find things in your workplace that are holding you back. Such as chatting to colleagues, being on the phone, obsessing over emails and so on.
This kind of task isn’t for everyone, but I think it helps develop a strength of character (or at least I’ll see).
I respect that you want to make the most of your family time, I would do the same. I do realise that my situation (working from home just in order to afford to travel) is quite different to that of most readers.
Glen, this is a great idea. I would love to join you know but I’m on a two week vacation. I think I’ll try something like this when I’m done.
The idea of going all out and then taking a break, I guess you could call it “Interval Work”, seems to me to be a great idea anyway. Once you get into the flow you probably get more done. Let us know how it goes. Thanks!
I will do Stephen, thanks a lot for your comment. I definitely wouldn’t do this on a vacation, make the most of it!
Glen, I’m in!
But I think it would’ve been more fun if you had posted this *before* you started, so we can go through the 7 days together!
I believe it’s important to distinguish between time-wasters and sensible, recreational breaks.
I’m definitely gonna take my projects more seriously and stop checking emails/twitter every 3 minutes, but some things on your “time-wasters” list are just too crazy for me to cut out.. You know which one!
Will let you know how it turns out.. I’ll prepare for this challenge today and will start tomorrow!
Hey Haider,
I had actually thought about doing that, but to be honest when I started this I was very prepared for it at the time so wanted to get going straight away. If anyone starts now though, their 7 days will end on the same day that I post up my own results so it works out in that respect.
Regarding the time wasters, I didn’t say all the items were wasting time, email and you know what are actually pretty important to me
Thanks for the comment and good luck. Make sure you let me know how it goes!
Wish you well on this Glen, but I have to strongly disagree with the 21 day habit thing mate. It’s simply not true.
Habits are usually things we do at an unconscious and unquestioning level and can take months to build up. It also depends heavily on how much time you use of those 21 days.
I know lots pf people that started going to the gym for 2 or 3 months. Then they got sick and had to stop going for a while and never went back, or at least not for a long time. It’s because even after 2 or 3 months it still wasn’t a habit it was a conscious undertaking.
Hi Tim,
It is scientifically proven that for a task or ritual to become a habit it takes around 21 days. The reason for this is that is how long it takes to form new connections or pathways in the brain.
This is why it takes around 3 weeks to get used to a new home or environment and so on. I’m guessing that your examples probably didn’t stick to their schedule, or there was too much of a gap between each gym visit.
Habits can change or disappear as well, remember.
21 days is thought to be the minimal time which is why most bloggers (the likes of Steve Pavlina and Scott H Young) recommend 30 days to form new habits in order to ensure that they stick.
One more thing. I know SP gets a lot of credit with the 30 day habit thing, but to be fair he took it from Robin Sharma’s ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari that came out several years prior to Steve’s blog.
I have read that book and don’t recall anything about a 30 day habit. Anyways, I was just using him as an example, not so much as a pioneer.
The scientific process behind developing a habit is called Neuroplasticity. It basically means, if you do something repetitively for long enough (21 days is minimum) your brain will actually form new connections to allow that action to occur subconsciously. The longer you do it the more solid those connections will become. It may take longer if you are trying to break a very old habit that is ingrained into your thought patterns.
To make a long story short, forming a new habit depends on how deeply rooted the habit trying to break is in your mind.
Thanks for your thoughts Project
Well, Glen… you had me until the sex thing.
I’m with Tim on this habit issue. I keep hearing that it takes about a month, but that has never worked out well for me. I had a treadmill schedule that I kept religiously every day for 3 months, but then I just lost interest and never went back to it. (I even gave away the treadmill). I would LOVE for it to be true… but I just haven’s seen that to be the case.
Perhaps it’s ME that’s defective, instead of the theory?
If you did it for three months, that sounds to me like it became habitual?
Either way, from my own experiences and that of scientific evidence, I continue to believe this is the case. I have too many personal reference experiences to doubt it.
This wasn’t really what the post is about, it is more about testing your own self-discipline and see how you handle things after 7 days of doing so.
Thanks for the comment!
You are using anecdotal evidence for yourself which isn’t very reliable.
Also most peoples belief in this myth stems directly or indirectly from Covey’s 7 Habits. It’s like The Emperors New Clothes, say it enough times and people believe it.
You may have had personal experience that it works for you, but I have worked with hundreds of clients and know it’s simply not true. And if it doesn’t work for some people than that isn’t how it is, it’s just how it is for a few or even many.
Habits are difficult to break, but as I said with the gym example there are many things we do for extended periods of time that do not become habits. To me, a habit is something that is at an unconscious level such as getting ready to go to the gym without having to pump your self up for it and have an internal battle every time. The latter is a task and not a habit.
As for the research, well it’s kinda sketchy at best. Yes new thoughts can be formed in the brain if repeated battering takes place for 21 days, but that’s not enough on its own. If there is a contrary thought that is established then the habit never fully takes hold.
I’ll weigh in on this. The science about how long it takes for the wiring to take place in the brain is pretty solid – 21 to 40 days. But that’s not the whole story. The fact is you don’t really ever lose your bad habits. That wiring is still there too. So you can establish a new neural path, but the old one is still there and is likely stronger.
So say you establish a habit of working out at a certain time each day. Every day you follow that it becomes easier and more automatic. But the old habit of not doing it at the same time is still there and probably stronger. As soon as you go down it again by not exercising you are reinforcing it.
So to truly become almost automatic takes a long time. I have been on a very healthy diet for about 3 months that includes eating virtually no sugar. This has become very much a habit for me, but in the presence of a stimulus, the old habits tug at me strongly. So it is very important to strengthen the new habit and resist the old at that point of weakness. Every time I pass by the donuts at work, my habits are getting stronger.
Finally, if you ever fall off the wagon, even once, you have to reinforce the new habit repeatedly again just to get back to where you previously were. So the stronger you are for the longest period of time possible, yields the best results for making a pattern of activity a habit.
Actually Tim I’m not just referring to anecdotal evidence, I’m also looking at scientific fact.
On top of that, I have yet to read that book so this isn’t where my ideas come from.
I’m actually surprised that part of the post got such a reaction, but thanks for the debate. It’s just a shame to me that you seem to have such a closed mind about this or anything.
P.S. If you don’t have your own references for a belief, then why have one at all?
Lol, Glen let me say this. If you think I am close minded about such things then you obviously don’t know me very well. It would be pretty hard to do what I do without being open and adaptable to change and new ideas. In fact it would be impossible to do it successfully.
You wont have to go far back to find me admitting in the comments section of my own blog to getting stuff wrong, I have done it many times. Recently I thanked a commenter that pointed out when talking about stacking the deck, my idea could have the reverse effect on a raging perfectionist. Something I hadn’t thought of and should have.
I wasn’t suggesting you got your information from 7 Habits although it is probably the seminal book on self development. I was merely pointing out how things develop a mind of their own when repeated enough times and start to be seen to be ‘facts’ rather than opinions.
I agree in large part with what Stephen says, (and btw, we have had one or two dust ups, but I have a lost of respect for him) other than I believe eventually the bad habits if not regular reinforced will weaken.
I don’t remember you saying I was close-minded when I jumped to your defense recently. The fact is Glen, I will add stuff if I think there is value. I will say what I think and I love being challenged to explain myself because it makes me a better coach and a better writer. I never ever get upset or annoyed by people telling me I’m wrong because every single time it makes me stop and think, and thinking is good
I wasn’t in anyway shape or form criticizing you, I was criticizing an idea and the two are not connected.
Not sure I understand the last question.
Hi Tim,
Maybe I worded myself wrong.
When I said:
I meant that it’s a shame it seems possible for you to be close minded about anything (i.e. this one thing), not that you are close minded about everything.
I got that idea from you saying things like “It’s simply not true.”
Regarding my last question:
That is because you said “You are using anecdotal evidence for yourself which isn’t very reliable.”
Maybe I’m wrong in this, but my definition of anecdotal is that something is based on personal accounts. Maybe you were using it in a more scientific / medical way.
The reason I know it’s true Glen is because it doesn’t apply to everybody and for it to be a rule or a law or to be stated as a fact it would mean it applied to everybody.
There are lots of self development bloggers (and I’m not referring to you here) saying ‘this is how it is’ or ‘that is how it is’. And they base their opinion purely on ‘this is how it is’ or ‘that is how it is’ for THEM. It’s not the same thing.
I’m not saying I know how it is, in fact just the opposite, I’m saying experience has helped me understand we are all very different in the rate at which we change and how we can best change. What may work with one client will completely fail for another because they think differently and have different motivations, beliefs and values.
I meant anecdotal in terms of info being passed down. One person says this is a fact and somebody else repeats it and before you know it it is taken as a fact when nobody has bothered to research it.
I know a few well known self development gurus that tell stories that are folklore and only loosely based in fact. I’m talking about the big boys, not the likes of us.
I go out of my way to say to people this may be different for you, because I feel I have a duty of care and if I say ‘this is how it is period’ and they do what I say and it fails, they think they’re a complete #### up and there’s something wrong with them.
I don’t like people thinking that way.
I would understand your argument if I had wrote a whole blog post about developing a habit in 21 days, but it was just something I loosely stated. It has very little to do with the focus of this blog post.
The section I have bolded is in response to your examples of someone going to the gym. My guess is that it was not a daily ritual.
Again, I will repeat what I said above:
Your response is as if I have forced this on people. You must know that your own arguments your using against me then are perfectly applicable against those of NLP and the techniques I’m sure you use.
If we are going to go into such scientific fact, then nothing is real or a law or a rule. It is said that chocolate improves our mood because it increases the amount of phenylethylamine in our system. (I didn’t Google this so spelling may be wrong).
This may be the case for 99.9% of people, but I’m sure there is someone out there who wont react to chocolate in the same way. Does that mean nobody should ever write that chocolate will enhance your mood?
If you can’t share your beliefs based on personal experiences and scientific evidence then there is something wrong with that logic.
“I’m talking about the big boys, not the likes of us.”
You actually motivated me a lot with that statement, thank you.
Glen,
I’ll say this and then bow out.
I never meant to suggest you were forcing anything on anybody, so you’re seeing stuff that isn’t there. And this has kind if developed a mind of it’s own. I can honestly say I didn’t set out to hijack your post, I was merely making an observation that you ‘appear’ to have taken offense to. Certainly none was intended, but when we throw ideas out there, we should expect this kind of thing to happen from time to time.
The chocolate example if irrelevant imho. I have seen this with dozens and dozens of people. We’re not talking .01% of the population here, but a high percentage.
I thought you might reference Matz because that was all I could find backing up this theory too. The fact that the guy has been dead almost 35 years and the research was done almost 50 years ago is fairly important. As is it seems there’s very little else out there.
Latest brain research using MRI’s and thermal imaging has revealed a lot we didn’t know within the last few years. In fact I just read some recent work at MRI that supports what Stephen says about habits reoccurring easily. Of course they don’t know for sure because the research is in mice. Which is kinda my point, we just don’t know and when we indicate to people that we do, it causes confusion.
I have had clients that have come to me and told me what #### ups they are because the saw The Secret and it’s all their own fault, or they read this book or that book and it didn’t work.
As for the big boys I was thinking of Brian Tracy and Jim Rohn in particular and I’m glad it has inspired you!
Finally, the post is a good idea as I have said with a lot of your stuff and will do so again I feel sure.
PS: Thanks for the link love. =-)
Hey Glen,
Best wishes with your 7 day challenge!
I think it’s a good thing that sometimes we are our toughest critics. We know ourselves the best and it’s easier to get started on changing bad habits when we confront ourselves.
Thanks for the link love, appreciate it.
-Andrew
Hey Glen
I love this idea and often do things very similar much to the confusion of friends and family.
With the 30 day trials I have been doing them for about a year or two now and I find some of them I am motivated to go all the way through and nothing can stop me and then sometimes I find out they just aren’t for me.
I deliberately quit the ones I don’t have a real passion or motivation to finish and make sure I learn something from it, take the rest of the month off and then get ready for next months trial.
I set up a reminder in my Google Calendar that reminds me at the end of each month to review and record my current trial and explain how I did in and what I learnt from it, etc.
I then create a new trial for the upcoming month and document all of this in a yearly goals Google Document which is great to read back on later down the track.
Hope this helps someones
Andy
Hey Andy, thanks a lot for stopping by.
I once started a version of a 30 day trial but it ended up being far too impractical to do it every single day so I stopped it after about 2 weeks.
Have you ever thought of forcing yourself to continue a trial, even if you’re struggling to stay motivated? I wonder what the results of that would be…
Hi Glen,
This is great! I’m totally in! Things I’m going to cut out:
1. Reading posts (sorry…everyone)
2. Commenting
3. Aimlessly surfing the net
4. Limit twitter to 3 minutes 3 times a day
I will focus on writing posts for me and guest posts, brainstorming ideas and thinking of different (better?) ways to promote myself and my site. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while to get more focus and to see if it really makes a difference, so thanks for putting it out there! (I’m starting tomorrow)
Hey Sherri, really awesome to see people actually taking part!
If you are more than likely, you will be very tempted to stray, but do try to stick to it if you can.
I look forward to your results and congratulations for taking action.
So far I’m failing miserably…read a couple of posts and commented on a few and am getting sucked into Twitter…but I did get a couple of post written yesterday so not a total waste and tomorrow is a new day. I really like the dialog between you and Tim interesting to see both of your points of view. I’ll leave it at that
I have had absolutely no problems leaving Twitter, Facebook and even Instant Messaging. I’m pleasantly surprised and certainly not thinking “I can’t wait until Sunday to check them out”
I think you’ll benefit from some of the realisations I have had during this challenge, especially the second one so stay tuned for that. I’ll probably write the post to go live on Wednesday.
As for the discussion with Tim, I want to make it clear that we’re actually pretty good friends and talk quite a lot so there is no love lost. It’s good to have discussions like that to make you think now and then.
I’ll send him an email on Sunday if he hasn’t sent me one already
I think you’ll start to become more aware of your actions now, like you might develop a bit of doubt or restraint the next time you want to open Twitter, or ‘break’ another one of your ‘rules’
Thanks for your update!
I’ve done challenges like that myself back in the day. Now, I don’t need them yet I’m productive. You’ve given me an idea for a blog post about what are really time savers and how to solve that.
Looking for the update. Keep it up.
Good to hear buddy, I look forward to the post.
Wow Glen, you`re so admirable, I really should do something like that because I have NO self-discipline, I need something drastic too. It`s like…I hardly ever obey myself. I got used to work on inspiration, so it gets really hard to do something when I have to, but anyway, I`ll try and cut out ¨useless habits¨ for a couple days and see how it goes and will let you know. Good luck!
Hey Rose, this has been pretty difficult. Especially checking email, I had to remove all my bookmarks to make sure I wasn’t tempted.
I think you can do it! Thank you
Hey, Glen… when you do a 7 Days of Pure Indlugence experiment, you can count Rosa and me IN. Self-discipline is our nemesis.
(Apparently spelling is too!) IN-DUL-GENCE.
Haha. I know for a fact Rosa would be keen, I’m not so sure your husband would approve though…
Edit: Wooah, I realise I read that very, very wrong. Don’t hate me. (Literally laughing out loud here)
Who says he gets a vote?
I was referring to something very differently. Ignore me.
Must be lack of item number 4 getting to me.
Lisis, let’s US do that experiment you said, Glen you’re not invited.
Lisis indulges every day anyway moobs based on her first comment.
She’s just waiting for you…
I`m on my way to kill you glenny
I’m just glad you’re showing the world the real you moobipples.
Sweet Lord… what have I started? How easily we are distracted from the original purpose of this post! Are you sure you’re going to make it the full 7 days, Glen.
And Rosa, it’s ON… we’re back to planning our Vegas trip again!
Haha, yeah I was forgetting too. This idea is actually great, im amazed because one of the main reasons why I haven`t done some of my goals is my lack of self-discipline, so after reading this and the comments, this is my plan:
I`m going to choose the things that make me less productive each day (MSN, twitter, facebook, listening to music, and phone) and cut them out for 7 days (haha reminds me of ¨The Ring¨), see how it goes. Before I start, I`ll make it public on my blog to have some sort of commitment. I`m sure this will help a lot.
After that, I`ll get together with Lisis for the Pure Indulgence Experiment (well deserved after all the productivity) and then finish planning the Vegas trip, and THEN, i`ll go and kick Glen`s butt.
Awesome Plan! VERY Balanced. Work hard for 7 days, then play hard for 7 days (virtues & vices?).
what about stones?
LOL, grow up Ally. Oh, and put the h***ish down.
serious though!!
no ways you can give up stones. not even for a 7 day pure discipline challenge!
i mean, discipline is one thing… but STONES?!?! :p
Dude people are gonna think you’re talking about drugs or something.
Hi my brother,
I’m in as well! Things I’m going to cut out:
1. Facebook & Twitter
2. iPhone games
3. Excessive RSS reading
4. Late nights
Adam,
Hahah hey Adam, I see you got the memo!
Good stuff man, and make sure you come back to let me know how it worked out
It’s nice to have a family member involved
Wow! I’m impressed with your dedication to self-discipline. I’m not sure if I could go without some of those things for seven days! Have you seen the movie “40 Days and 40 Nights”? Seven days seems like a lifetime!! Haha
To me, that is like the most difficult goal to achieve, Self-discipline, I get more things done if I have someone pushing and reminding me to do stuff….like now, I said to myself: stop checking comment updates today (for a start) yet I couldn`t resist checking, weak, huh? *head down in shame*
Hey Chica,
Maybe set yourself a challenge and then make it public. One of my biggest motivations for this is that I wanted to honestly show people I could do it, and ethically share the results without cheating anyone.
Everyone has it in them!
Muchas Maracas
Self-discipline can be really difficult. Saying no computer to me would kill me because it seems like my life is on the computer. I think it would just kill me to not have twitter. I guess we’ll see. I’m in.
This isn’t meant as an insult, but can you see how ridiculous your last sentence may seem?
I can relate to it, I used to be semi-addicted to a website I owned, but it is something you should be able to “stop” without too much hassle.
I wish you luck
– Be sure to stop by and let us know how you are getting on.
OK Glen, I am totally inspired and motivated by your example. Actually, this couldn’t have come at a better time. While I have been working really hard lately, I have still felt somewhat scattered and unorganized. For some reason I resist scheduling my day, and yet I fully realize how important it is for optimal productivity.
I see your “7 days of self-discipline” not as a habit maker or breaker, but more as a giant pattern interrupt. This is exactly what I need right now, so I am in. I am going to put together a rather demanding 7 day schedule to start next Monday. It will include everything that needs to be done, including getting up super early. I have fallen into some comfortable habits that aren’t getting it done.
Thanks for the inspiration and the link love. I am looking forward to hearing your conclusions when your 7 days is completed.
Thanks Jonathan!
Make sure to try and cut things out as well, and not just implement new routines like waking up earlier.
You’re welcome, it was deserved.
This is such a great idea. I’d been thinking of something along these lines, as I’ve recently been thinking about how my career hasn’t advanced at all, and I’m like, what have I been DOING the last couple of years????? Procrastinating and frittering away time, mostly.
It’s really time to whip myself back into shape….
I’m in!!
Hey RB, I can really relate to that. I had a lot period of time when I just thought “What was I doing instead?”
Good for you, I look forward to seeing your results as well
Glen, you’re awesome for a whole host of reasons, but this post has a couple of handfuls. Self discipline for me is a constant battle between the devil on my left and the angel on my right. Usually I win, sometimes I don’t, but I never fool myself into thinking I’m doing my best when really I’m not.
Thank you Sean, I really appreciate that.
Very well said, I definitely think I’ve done the opposite in that I tell people I’ve had a really hard day at work when I know I haven’t done much.
Honesty, at least internally, is the best policy
Glen,
Congratulations on your achievements in the last 4 months and moreover on this decision. I keep hearing that comment from Anthony Robbins: “It is in our moments of decision that our destiny is shaped”.
As long as the important people in your personal and business life are aware of what you’re doing (it may be important to have their support?).
Something I heard on the radio last year: In making his last album (Home Before Dark), singer/songwriter Neil Diamond revealed in an interview with BBC Radio 2′s Johnny Walker that he took some 14 months away from many of his his nearest and dearest in personal and business life. People that would normally have taken contacting him for granted were apparently unable to do so.
Success with it and maybe absence from some things will make your appreciation for them even greater. On the other hand, you may realise you can abandon some things altogether as they don’t serve you sufficiently.
Thanks for your comment Shaun and the great quote from Tony.
You’re so true, I’m going to keep as many of these habits adopted as possible.
Just emailed this to you but got your autoresponder vacation message in lieu of this discipline sabatical so figured you’d still check your comments. – just delete this one after you’ve read it
hey man.
can’t tell if you’re being serious or not in your typical ambiguous glenny humour style =D about the comment ‘you make me sick’ i mean.
just googled the phrase “do i really want this” on your site and found a goal setting post in which you also talk about that question. didn’t read it so didn’t know or i prolly wouldn’t have written it. just added a link to your article at the bottom of the post.
rishan broke down his goal setting process to me loooong time ago, to be honest i never found the rest helpful (the stuff you spoke about) – well it’s helpful in theory but never practically saw it work for me, too regimented i guess… except that question and now with exams at university i’ve been procrastinating a lot so i wrote about it.
hope you’re not pissed off that we both wrote about the same thing – albiet a mutual friend’s technique that he probably got from somebody else who prolly got it in a fortune cookie back in ’89.
haven’t heard from you in ages
hope you’re cool. and driving that lotus :p
a
Dude my comment was nothing like that, was all the creepy comments you leave hear about “the game” and “stones” LOL. Nothing to do with your post.
lollerskateroflcopterbomb :p
got taken by your ambiguous serious humour again
thought you were starting a turf war
i’ll leave stones alone, it’s not the same without you hennyway
keep well man
alex
Good grief, if you have to cut out sex and any related stuff as one of your goals, I suggest you ADD to your list to visit a therapist. I find that you stating that you think highly of yourself and this issue on your list to be an oxymoron.
We have a saying in America ‘all work and no play, makes John a poor boy.’ Here’s hoping you learn to have balance in your life.
Blessings,
Kimberly
I think suggesting that I may need a therapist is a bit extreme. Which part do you define as me thinking highly of myself?
As stated near the intro, I’m just giving myself an honest self-assessment and know that things could be going much better.
Either way, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment
I would agree with you here but in my opinion, what Glenn is trying to say is not to go excessive. The point is about self discipline.
Other than that, I would agree with you 100%
Glenn, I am In. But as you are already on day 4, midway to the week, I will start my challenge from next monday. Here’s what I am going to do
1) Wake up at 5:30am sharp every morning
2) Spend atleast one hour taking ACTION on self development
3) No RSS, Twitter, Peronal mails
Second thing I wanted to mention is.. I had been big fan of steve pavlina since few years. Since last few months however, i see that the things have gone in different direction.
I have been reading this blog since last few months and I have to say, you are taking place of Spavlina in my favorite authors who really inspires me in taking action.
Keep it up, You rock.
Hey RB,
Thanks a lot for the kind words. It’s great to see other people taking part in the challenge. Stop back and let us all know how it goes
Nothing can be done without discipline.
Well good luck with that! I think I will be joining you, but only on tv, the couple of days before my last high-school exam!
After it, I am leaving to Rome for a vacation, and I don’t want any restrictions in that week! So I won’t turn on the tv for 6 days, that’s good enough for me!
Good luck with it Glen, I like what you are doing!
Stefan,
http://StudySuccessful.com
Thanks a lot Stefan, good luck with your exams and your own self-discipline challenge!
This is a great idea for battling against procrastination. I have no doubt that you will not feel as compelled to over-do the tasks you listed above at the end of the week.
I see where some of the skeptical perspectives are coming from in the comments section however. I have personally done the same thing as you’re doing here Glen and I’ve found it really clears my mind. Yet my unconscious mind will still start coming back to those habits afterwards.
The second half of the process is the real trick in my opinion. Once you’ve got some clarity you can stop yourself from falling back into bad habits much more consciously than you’re able to when you’re already stuck in them.
Best of luck with this.
Btw what you’re planning to do with the profits from your websites is very admirable.
Hey Alex,
Thanks for the comment.
Well said, I think this is key. You start to become more aware that you are going back into something differently and it is this awareness / consciousness which allows you to stop.
Good luck on your 7 day goal buddy!
Seems like a good idea, I think many people have the problem of procrastinating online, myself included. damn facebook
hehe
I think you have a very bright future in front of you:)
have an awesome day!
Haha definitely man, you always seem to be on Facebook whenever I am there
Thanks man, I appreciate it!
Ok, look what I´m doing: I ignored my email, twitter and facebook most of the morning, and checked just now….this way it`s not so drastic, and I`ll be more prepared for the drastic times. (Have used my time very efficiently so far
) Whadya think??
PS i like ur expression Muchas Maracas, doesnt make any sense but its funny
Going into it slowly is definitely an option for some people, I think doing it cold turkey (en seguida) is probably the best in terms of honing your self-discipline though.
Congrats, nice to see people taking action on this.
P.S. I’ll explain muchas maracas later, from some Lynx banners on the web. Estoy orgulloso de ti!
Yeah, probably cold turkey produces better results, I’ll let you know later on.
Yo estoy más orgullosa de tu español, te ganaste un premio!
Espero que el premio implique los planos
I don`t understand
you mean plans??
Hah. No, I mean planes. As in, aeroplane.
Do you have two days left now? I think I’ll join you on the last day.
Hey Lisis, I started on Sunday so Saturday will be my last day. Feel free to join me then
I was thinking of doing something similar. It’s crazy how much you can get done in a week if you really focus.
Have you thought about extending the duration of your experiment? A week seems a bit short in my opinion.
Looking forward to seeing the results!
Hey Bud (in both forms of the word).
I had thought about doing something longer but I really don’t think I could do the last two items on the list for that long. The last one just would not be a good idea for business reasons.
I might do some form of 30 challenge in the near future though.
Why no sex? That could actually make you more productive:)
The same reason I’m not doing any of the other items. It’s funny how everyone seems to see sex as something far mroe important and much bigger than the others.
Glen,
Perfect timing for me but you got a head start! I completely agree with the 21 days, however it’s the 1st day that I can’t seem to commit to! I have the same issues as Bruno and almost have to separate the family time from the 7 Day challenge time. We can’t give up the kids and spouse, however we may be able to harness an energy that we didn’t know existed and spend the remaining time in the zone that you describe. My business partner is away which seems to ease the challenges in the office. I have 7 1st days left! Since I have clients that are tied to the market, email is a tough one. I guess I could focus on decluttering my office, starting an exercise discipline, and focusing only on those revenue generating activities/people? Any thoughts?
Best regards,
Georgia
Hi Georgia, thanks for the comment.
First of all, remember this isn’t about cutting out things you shouldn’t. For example, it would make no sense to desert your family for 7 days just to test your self-discipline.
Regarding email, can you limit it? In other words, restrict yourself to only checking and processing it once per day.
What are the areas that you think are wasting time? If you don’t have any, you don’t have any, but remember to be honest with yourself. Email is one of those things we tend to do to feel busy, especially when it doesn’t need to be checked so compulsively.
An exercise discipline sounds great, a nice addition for the free time you will generate
I love your interaction Glen! That’s one of the reasons why your blog has come so far! I should follow in your footsteps
Check it out! http://rozanina.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/productividad-productivity/
Hi Glenn,
How you doing?
Good idea for a challenge. I have always wanted to stay away from few things but in the end I fail. But seeing you do it is inspiring. I’ll take up this challenge from 2nd June (it is 1st June night at the time of writing this comment). This time I’ll blog about it so that I will not quit in the middle.
How did your challenge go? It should have been over by now right?
Hey Ramkarthik, I’m awesome.
I respect you for taking action, I definitely recommend you blog about it so that you hold yourself accountable. Yes my challege is finished, I have wrote about my experiences and they will go live on Wednesday (2 days from now).
Sounds great. Looking forward to read your post.
I’ll post my challenges here in short.
1. No twitter (I want to see if I can do it. This should be the hardest since I have become a twitter addict.)
2. One blog post a day (I have been posting rarely in my blog and I think I should start posting often)
3. Sleep for not more than 6 hours a day (From 11PM to 5AM)
Those are my challenges. Let’s see how it goes. I plan to extend the 2 and 3 for 21 days so that it will become a habit (the 21 days rule).
Well, this post has been pretty interesting and all I wanna say is that there is no hard and fast rule for self discipline because what works for one wont work for the other. So the best thing would be to find your unique “habit changing period”
Really interesting post and idea, Glen. I’m definitely going to try it. But first, since I just moved somewhere completely new for the next 3 months, I’d like to see if it would take me 21 days to settle in.
Sounds like a lot of goals there, you’ve really got a lot ahead of you.
Good luck with the eBook.
P.S. Lol @ beginning of 2nd paragraph. (“)
Hey “Shanzy”
You left the 115th comment, whcih is my door number…freaky.
Yeah you’ll have to let me know how it goes, see if that theory is pretty right.
Dankie
Hahah, I never thought you would stop by
Glen,
I guess when we don’t think about it and just do it, it makes all the difference in the world. It took me more than 21 days to start but so far pretty amazing! It began by dropping the blackberry into a puddle ~ OOPS! then disconnecting my work email from the bb and reconnecting it to my personal email, which receives great messages from blogs like yours and other motivational tidbits.
I took it a step further and had a first in 22 years ~ ran 2 miles, limited junk food and anything white and focused on only that in which I want to perpetuate in business, family and self.
It also gave me energy and renewal to step out and redefine myself (went to a Populist barn dance, presented an outreach and education program to women at a Fortune 500 company, completed a rfp for a major hospital).
What a breakthrough! Thank you is not enough! I am continuing on this path – office email in am ~ noon ~ pm. Strange how when you let go, things flow!
Wow…
I’ve come across this post really late, but had to take a minute to say THANKS! As much as I want to focus on my passion full time, I don’t have that option at the moment. Seems like a catch 22 of sorts. My goal is to write full time so I can quit my government job, but I can’t quit my government job until I teach myself enough about topics such as coding, seo, e-commerce, networking, etc…
I end up spending 75% more time learning than actually doing, which seems to push my time frame back. I’ve never thought about this process in the terms you set. Instead of focusing so much on what I can put IN my brain, IN my schedule, IN my agenda, I really feel I need to take some time to reorganize my way of thinking and vow to REMOVE a lot of things that are slowing me down! I work from midnight to 8am, so I’m going to use that time to map out my daily routine to find problem areas and make a schedule.
I will start tomorrow, which is a Monday, by vowing to cut out the following:
1. No igoogle homepage as my start-up.
2. No “downtime” when I get home from work. Straight to sleep,
earlier to rise.
3. No surfing. Only writing posts or articles.
4. I will only allow myself:
1 caffeinated drink per day
1 check of email, facebook, and reader per day
I already feel the anxiety coming on. Not at what I’m cutting out, but because my mind won’t stop trying to INPUT NEW DISCIPLES. For example, as much as I want to be diligent in my yoga routine again, I know it can’t happen until my TIME battle is won. It can only be won by reorganization.
Whooo…Is it hot in here to anyone else? How come it’s already hard for me to breathe at just the thought of restructuring my time? And for only 7 days…geez!
Thanks for this. I truly hope this challenge of making a NOT-TO-DO LIST, will give me some clear thoughts on actually being able to accomplish some of the items on my TO-DO LIST!