How makers stay productive

Realize it's ok to break the routine. I try to focus on outcomes i.e. what I need to get done for the day/ week/ month. As long as I keep working towards the outcomes I'm ok. Life happens don't beat yourself up over it. :)

I always need to clearly define daily, weekly, monthly and long term goals, otherwise I get anxious to miss something obvious, and my head can't concentrate on one task, but is busy thinking about what could possibly go wrong. Still, there are many days where I don't manage to fully stay on that track… Mostly when I fail to focus, it's because I'm doubting if I've set myself the right goals. Also, ambient music/sound is my wonder weapon when I see focus decreasing.

Small rewards using something that i REALLY like. For example: "if i make coffee at 6:30am, i get to go on twitter for 15mins".

If i fail to wake up up on time > i start breakfast late > no twitter for this sad boi…

You know, something I'm really proud of is my routine. It's taken a lot of time (used to have a really bad work ethic in school).

Now, I work out every day so when I miss a day, I can't sleep. The same thing with work, if I don't work, I feel unproductive. Now, this isn't the way to build a routine, but it's important to keep in mind how good you feel when you're on a routine. We're humans, though! We often do things that are against our best interest. That's why, like making that first push, creating that momentum is the hardest part. For me, it's actually pretty easy to keep in a routine once that momentum is there.

My routine is garbage and I need to work on it… After I launch.

Some days it's easier and some days it's tough. My iPhone has a Siri shortcut playing the audio of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft_DXwgUXB0 (Will Smith), when I stop the alarm in the morning. This usually is enough to make the first step. And then things flow most times. I think it's also important to remind yourself why you do something. My longest streak is on Duolingo (542), but also there I used maybe 5 streak freezes. I was traveling, sick, or distracted. Things happen and then I start again.

Some habits can be easier by using the principles from Hooked. I don't want to check my phone in the bed and sleep instead. Instead of using discipline I leave my phone in another room. Which also means I need to get up and walk a few meters for stopping the alarm.

I have been working on my routine since lockdown. I was not working when lockdowns started and it was very hard for me start any productive task. I was also getting weight as well. Being online all the time and watching youtube/netflix really ruined my routine. I used to wake up till 4 a.m. and sleep most of the day time.

I knew I need to get back to being productive but instead of doing everything all together or trying to start a perfect routine, I worked one thing at a time. First running 1km in evening(could not wake up early in morning) and start programming just 1-2 hours a day. Little by little I added other activities as well like reading, learning about history, exercising and learning new thing 1 hours each day.

I also totally cut the social media. Logged out fb, insta and twitter.

Now I don't have any issue waking up early(at 6am ) and doing things but trust me it was super hard for me. Now I don't need motivation to keep going. It just happens. But sometimes situation does not allow to follow routine and that's ok. Even if you are doing one thing which you thought to do, you are already ahead in the game.

Habitica – I mostly use the "Dailies" to keep the strikes alive because the "Habits" tab feels more "optional". We have a small party with friends & family and fight quest bosses together. ⚔️