| This may be an unpopular opinion, but I stopped making even close term plans/goals a few months ago because I was obsessively over planing. After a few months of this strategy I can say I'm better off than I was. Here's another unpopular opinion about staying motivated or productive because this question is on HN almost every day: reach out to a private practice psychiatrist on Zocdoc that has very good reviews where patients literally worship the doctor, but avoid clinics. Make an appointment and be assertive when you talk with the doctor and be honest that you lack the motivation to perform at work for whatever reason (treatment resistant depression, chronic fatigue, ADHD, anhedonia, etc). Wait a few months while they put you on SSRIs or whatever nanny state meds the doctor tries and then say X or whatever isn't working or all have the same side effect and then ask if you can try a stimulant (never take an antipsychotic, they are impossible to get off of and are overprescribed by doctors these days). You would be surprised that your doctor will actually give you what you ask for. However, I don't recommend amphetamines such as adderall until a few months on ritalin, because ritalin is kind of hard on your heart. You may have to try Wellbutrin first since it's technically a mild stimulant but just say it didn't work for you because honestly it's only good for quitting smoking. You only get about 10 minutes each month to talk to your psychiatrist and you'll have to commit to that each month. If you do get narcotics then the first thing to do is go buy a ksafe to put them in. This advice is obviously for those reading whom have tried everything in terms of motivation without results, but I feel that there are many among us for whom this is the case. Lastly, I'll say that you don't have to be mentally ill to be a better you and there are plenty of doctors who would agree. |
What a coincidence I also stopped making even close term plans when I reached 36/37. I felt that I needed to drastically reduce my focus instead of trying to make plans that I had never been able to follow for more than two months.