| > Just do it I think this is a little dismissive. The most successful people I know all learned to be productive and to break apart tasks. I don't think it's unreasonable for people who don't have that skill/muscle for whatever reason to try and figure out how to build it. It is possible to get better at this. And the "there's nothing to learn, just do it" argument that pops up so often in these kinds of threads to me ends up reading as a kind of moral/essentialist reduction of discipline and executive function. It's just super-unhelpful when going to someone and telling them "I don't know how to do X" to get a response back of "well you'd better learn." The whole point is that they don't know how. > There’s no secret, shortcut, magic pill. Highly agreed, but I think this is also part of the reason why "just do it" is such bad advice; it assumes that there is some kind of switch in someone's brain they can just flip to change their behavior. In reality, getting better at productivity is the result of a long, difficult, everyday effort to learn about yourself and to learn what strategies work and what strategies don't. Most people can not decide to "just do it." They can't just make a resolution to not struggle with something. They have to instead take an inquisitive attitude about themselves and daily work on getting better little by little. And part of that process involves asking questions and getting tips. Even advice like exercise and sleep is not really useful if someone is struggling with getting the motivation to do that stuff in the first place. > magic pill. There is no universal magic pill, but medication in conjunction with therapy for some people does unlock additional strategies that would not be available otherwise. Half of the productivity strategies I use would not work if I was unmedicated. Keep a calendar so I don't miss events? The only reason I can do that is because I'm medicated. Medication doesn't magically solve problems, it doesn't mean you don't have to care about the other stuff, but for some people, medication is an important part of the process. At its best, medication prompts a kind of spiral of success. If medication helps you eat/exercise more often, that gives you more willpower to do even more stuff. If it removes enough anxiety to get rid of insomnia, that can be a game-changer for motivation. So not exactly a magic pill, but definitely occasionally a process that can kick-start other processes. Very individually dependent though. > nobody else will look out for your well-being except you. I guess as long as I'm quibbling; asking for help and taking proactive steps to better yourself is looking out for yourself. You owe it to yourself and to the people around you to take your mental state seriously and to take your problems seriously, and if that means asking for help, then that's better than staying where you are and struggling to handle that entire process on your own. Do what you have to do to better yourself, and let go of any ego about self-reliance. Don't let embarrassment about where you are prevent you from moving to a better place. |