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My Motivation Problem

I have a problem with motivation. Well, I suppose that's not totally accurate. I really have a problem with discipline. Let me explain.

My Motivation Problem
Photo by Drew Beamer / Unsplash

I have a problem with motivation.

Well, I suppose that's not totally accurate. I really have a problem with discipline. Let me explain.

My information diet tends to be focused around health, technology, productivity, and psychology. And in each of them, there are public figures talking about the latest trends or different ways of approaching a problem you may have.

The catch is that all these people have neat ideas, and I want to try them. And trying all of these ideas means adding more to my life. I'm like a Magpie, constantly distracted by something shiny, except instead of shiny rings and valuables, I'm distracted by new tech and ideas.

Here's the thing, though: you can't keep adding more and more to your life without also removing things. If I decide to work out for an hour each day, that's one hour less I have to do something else like sleeping or working on another project. Trying some new development framework out means I'm not spending time working on any of my existing side projects.

The challenge is finding a balance between continuing to focus on what you're already doing, and trying new things so you don't get stuck in your old ways. And continuing with what you're already doing continues to be hard when you need to cultivate the discipline to keep focused.

I'm not there yet, and I'll never be perfect at it, but it's something I can keep working at each day.

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