Getting Sidetracked - How I lost focus, and how to get it back
697Getting sidetracked and losing sight of what's important is easy nowadays. I got sidetracked last year, and I'm refocusing on what's important. Here is my personal experience.
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So, those of you that follow me from the start know that I think of myself as a minimalist. I own little, I try to live with what I really need and what I really love, and I try to be intentional in most things. That's also why I use Linux: cause it's a system you have to want to install, to use, and that you intentionally pick, each component carefully selected.
Minimalism allowed me to spend less time being idle, scrolling on social media or binge watching half-decent netflix shows, and more time doing stuff I like, like exercizing, creating the videos on this channel, writing a book, or watching stuff I really enjoy.
My morning routine looked like this:
I woke up at 6AM, and spent about 20 min reading and answering youtube comments and some twitter stuff. Then I got out for a run, or did bodyweight exercises for about 30 to 45min. A nice oatmeal breakfast, some "me time", mostly reading books or playing video games, and then a shower and I was off to work.
Going back home after work, I worked on my videos, and did some chores, so that my weekends could be more productive. I also went to bed at 9:30, learned a new language for about 20 minutes, then read a bit, and lights off at 10:30.
I had voluntarily cut my salary in half moving back to Brittany, to find a job with less responsibility, less grind, and spend more time doing what I loved.
But then, I got sidetracked. During 2018, probably around my summer vacation, I stopped being as regimented. I woke up later, sometimes 30 min before I had to leave for work. I stopped cooking for myself and bought pre-made meals.
Every week, I thought to myself "next Monday, you'll get back to it". And every Monday, I was like "Nah, let's wait for next weekend". This went on for a few weeks, then a few months. And now, I realized I've been slacking off for almost a year. Never really picking smoking back again, relaxing the attention I paid to my diet, trying out a run every few weeks or so. I stopped learning new languages. I don't write as often. I don't experiment as much in my videos. I go to sleep later, and feel more tired. I wake up later.
At work, I also let things slide. The small job as a product owner I thought I'd spend a 9 to 5 at ? It turned into a Chief Product Officer job. I managed a team of 5, had a seat at the board of directors, and pressure and stress levels went over the roof, with basically no real monetary advantage.
I simply got sidetracked, blindsided by the job title, the confidence placed in me, some kind of ego trip where my skills were recognized.
And all of that, the laziness, the unhealthy eating, the occasional smoking, the ego tripping,all of it is OK.
It happens. We can't always be the best version of ourselves. Sometimes, we let things slip, because life got in the way, or because we get lazy. The important thing is not to keep resenting ourselves for failing, but to realize that we had the willpower to start working on ourselves at one point, so we can do it again. Focusing on getting back in the saddle is more important than lingering over what made us trip, and what kept us there.
First, don't wait for tomorrow. If you're motivated to start running on a sunday night, don't tell yourself "I'll start tomorrow". Do it now, when your willpower is high, and your motivation at its peak. It's easy to be motivated and feel good about ourselves when we think "tomorrow's the day". We didn't commit anything, we just moved it back.
Second, start small, or resume each activity bit by bit. Don't put too much on your plate, or on thing will lead to another, and you'll trip again.
Finally, don't be too hard on yourself. Just because you missed one day of exercising, or you ate something that you know you shouldn't have, is not a reason to completely stop trying to get better at things. Just pick everything back up the next day, and carry on.
We are human, we are flawed, and modern life is full of pitfalls and traps we will fall into at some point. And that's okay. Just get your bearings again, and move step by step towards the end goal.