Is your self-discipline pointed at the right targets?
Many of us are convinced that we need self-discipline to be successful/productive/valued/valuable. Self-discipline IS important, but not in the way you think.
This is a familiar story: we tend to believe that we need to be disciplined in order to get our work done and to be high achieving. If we weren’t self-disciplined, wouldn’t we just be lazy? Wouldn’t we fail more often? Wouldn’t we lose our edge?
What I’ve found is that self-discipline usually carries a negative overtone, one in which you think you need to really be a disciplinarian in order to succeed. BUT the most effective self-discipline is that directed toward stripping away the negative judgment that attaches negative emotions to the things we need to do.
What do I mean by this?
Well, if you think you need self-discipline to write, you may find you’re forcing yourself to sit down to write, and forcing the words out. This can be effective, but it’s also tiring, full of resistance, and focuses on an internal battle.
If your self-discipline is aimed toward consistently creating the conditions under which you work best without guilt/shame/force/resistance, you’ll consistently create an environment—both internally and externally—that invite productive work without the negative overlay of emotions.
In my experience the best self-discipline is indirect; rather than pointing it at the work that needs done, point it at things that make the work feel good.
Point it at going to bed earlier, because being well rested is one of the key predictors of both positive mood and productivity.
Point it toward a healthy and nourishing breakfast, or whatever morning ritual brings about a clear head and relaxed body that help you work best.
Point it toward clearing obstacles that prevent or distract from work.
Point it toward recognizing the negative internal narrator that cuts down your ideas before you can even get them written to explore further.
In essence, use self-discipline to take a gentler approach that allows for you to be a human first, and a worker second. Self-discipline pointed toward effectively relaxing is much more challenging that you may think, but THIS is where you’ll actually find the biggest gains in terms of improving workflow and satisfaction. Effective relaxation is the secret ingredient in using self-discipline to your advantage in a way that shifts your work and time away from work to improve balance.