[SatvikBeri]

I've found that thinking of the next 5, 10, and 50 years is a useful mental trick. It puts me in a frame of mind that helps me make better decisions: will working myself to death on feature X help me 10 years from now? (Very rarely, the answer is yes.) Does it make sense to spend more time socializing, studying, or working? I don't want to exercise now, but how will going to the gym affect me in 5 years?

The funny thing is that I make better decisions even with extremely short term projects. If I'm working on a 1-month software project, I'll get it done better and faster if I have the perspective that I'll be using it for 10 years than if I have the perspective that I'll be using it for 6 months.

So it may be worth putting yourself in a long-term state of mind, even when it's not necessarily true.