The internet is filled with blog posts and articles for that one weird or simple trick to make us more productive, more effective or whatever. Often it’s just a tip for some tool; nothing earth-shattering.
Let’s be honest, when you click on one of these articles what you’re really hoping for is some magical insight that’s going to change everything. I’ve got some great news for you. This article is it. The motherlode. The silver bullet. Read on to learn how you can achieve everything you ever wanted.
Ready for the one weird trick that actually works?
Hard Work.
Anyone who’s ever achieved anything has put in the work. It’s as simple, and as hard as that. Stop wasting your time reading those “5 ways to boost your productivity”. Start doing. Yes, there are plenty of strategies or tactics you can use to reach your goal faster but if you want to be a world-class anything you’re going to have to put in the work of a world-class anything.
As Ryan Holiday said in Ego is the Enemy:
”Work is finding yourself alone at the track when the weather kept everyone else indoors. It’s pushing through the pain and crappy first drafts and prototypes. It is ignoring whatever plaudits others are getting, and more importantly, ignoring whatever plaudits you may be getting. Because there is work to be done. Work doesn’t want to be good. It is made so, despite the headwind.”
It’s not glamorous or sexy but necessary. Don’t let your ego tell you that you’re above doing the work. If you’re struggling to start, keep in mind the words of Marcus Aurelius and get to work.
“On those mornings you struggle with getting up, keep this thought in mind — I am awakening to the work of a human being. Why then am I annoyed that I am going to do what I’m made for, for the very things for which I was put into this world?”
stoicism, productivity