01:11 - 1: No Tech 30 min upon waking 03:55 - 2: Less Caffeine/delay for 30 Min 07:49 - 3: Pace: Walk Back and Forth 10:33 - 4: Give Yourself Time To Think 11:54 - 5: Produce don’t Consume In short, no caffeine/tech for 30 min in morning, pace and think instead of pulling out phone, don’t engage in “productive” consumption.
@@WookieWarriorz Try it out, get some data, and then come back and revisit your current ideas and see how well they clash against your experienced reality. Have an open mind, at least try to understand.
@@WookieWarriorz who said you have to sit doing nothing for a whole hour? The premise is not to engage with technology, you can do whatever you want but checking your phone, turning on the pc/tv, etc. In other words: Take your time to go shower, get breakfast, walk around the park, buy groceries maybe, idk something
As a graduate student who works full time, I can definitely say that habits 3 through 5 are OP as hell. Slogging through a massive project is so much easier once you realize this. Habit 3: Am I hitting a roadblock? I used to open RUclips and potentially burn 2+ hours. Now? I just get up, walk out of the room, do a quick 'tour' of my home, maybe grab some water, and sit back down. Briefly detaching from something can provide a lot of clarity as you re-approach the tasks- obvious mistakes or paths forward start cropping up in short order (maybe not immediately, but certainly faster than trying to brute force your way through it). Habit 4: Don't know how to start, finish, or plan a project? Go for a walk. No headphones, just your thoughts. Maybe bring a pencil and small writing pad so you can jot some of the complex stuff down when you find a bench or something. Get distance, literally, from the task and ask yourself the questions- you'd be surprised how quickly your brain can sort things out. Habit 5: A lot of people hate to take notes from lectures or reading material, and even fewer care for stitching them all together into a coherent 'narrative'. Just read a 500 page book this week for a seminar? Sit down and write 2~3 pages on your thoughts, takeaways, criticisms, etc. After a few (related) write-ups, stitch the common elements together. None of this ever sees the light of day but its ability to aid in recall, rapidly build a database of potentially useful citations, and improve your understanding (which improves the quality of your shared work) cannot be understated.
Pacing is by far the most OP strategy to combat not just work fatigue but also performance anxiety or anxiety in general. In my case I hop on my exercise bike and just zone out for a little bit. Can always count on that to refresh myself and I can then go back to work like new.
Yeah sitting still for too long and not getting any blood circulation is the worst especially if you already suffer from depression and anxiety. Just taking a nice and calm walk is really underrated.
@@Fabi_87 aerobic activity produces nitric oxide also. Which is crucial for many things and you can get it ONLY by aerobic activity. It responsible for lowering bad cholesterol and relaxing blood vessels which leads to better oxygenation of all body and most importantly - your brain
I always feel like people are talking abosolute shit in an effort to convince themsevles things work, pacing and excercising make me more anxiouus not less and the surface level mostly psudoscience explanations people give like muh enophins just seem like more nonsense for people to convince themsevles and i just feel exhausted after regardless if i sit still or do things. It blows my mind that people with issues this easy to solve constantly need channels like Dr K and makes me feel 10x more hopeless, literally none of this shit works for me, nothing does and im way way too self aware and resistant to be able to lie to myself and pretend that doing excercise will do literally anything but make me physically tired.
It’s funny that you mention pacing, I’m autistic and one of the things I’ve noticed that I have consistently done from my teenager years until now is that I’ll pace when I’m bored. It usually weirds my family out lmao but I’ll do it if I’m snacking in the kitchen or if I’m alone. I see what you mean about how it ramps up your thoughts because a lot of the time it becomes a moment of introspection, or if I’m alone, that’s when I start to talk my thoughts out. It’s just enough stimulus while also getting your body to move a little bit and it’s nice to hear a professional talk about it being beneficial and not weird. It’s also interesting to hear as a sensation seeking autistic with adhd because it scratches an itch.
It's always very comforting to know that someone as successful as Dr. K can still struggle with these basic daily things. When I started watching this channel I thought he was a superhuman machine warlord who's dedicated his whole life to his work and seeing the human side of him makes me realise that I'm not so bad at this life thing
I do the same thing! It's kind of a "perfectionist" thing. Check yourself on that though, because it ruins relationships and your perspective of yourself. Everyone on this planet struggles. If someone doesn't deal with struggles in their life, they're either a psychopath or God. In other words, they aren't "human".
I would love to see a video on how to shift from consumer to producer! I struggle heavily with overconsumption, even though as a child, with less access to constant entertainment, I would create constantly. I haven’t been able to reach that state of mind since.
I second this. When I was a kid, my parents put me on a Windows 95 computer when I was 3 years of age, in hopes that I would become great with technology. Well, I certainly did become "the tech guy" for my entire family, but I also feel incredibly bound to tech, like computers are attached to me like a symbiote. Following a tip I read online, I started drawing "what I felt in my heart". Cheesy, but it really did bring out some wild things. However, I'm doing those drawings using a tablet, because I can't bring myself to draw without the convenience of Ctrl+Z. Life is a tough nut to crack sometimes
If you like painting/drawing you can start with mandalas. When I finished one I usually put it in a drawer and just start the next one when I'm ready. I should start again, haven't done it for a while :)
I was super productive when I was younger. I used to write stories all the time. Then at some point, I became consumed by the idea of producing for consumption, which had the effect of making me feel like everything I wrote was crap. By this point, it's hard as hell for me to produce anything.
@@Xenonia I know its like one year later, but if you see this, maybe it'll help: from an artists perspective, if you're having trouble with the lack of ctlr+Z, maybe start with painting, like, with acrylic, because if you make a mistake, you can just let it dry and paint on top of that mistake, paper is much harder to work with, it reaches a limit, and you can't do much more without ruining the paper itself and/or having to collage something on top to disguise it.
I think pacing is AMAZING for people with ADHD. I do it subconsciously while in the flow state of writing/thinking. It helps me concentrate my thoughts!
@@BOSSDONMAN Get anxious about sitting for too long. Stand up to get a drink, forget what you were getting, then walk around the kitchen for 10 minutes.
I think Dungeons & Dragons has been a really useful tool for my friends and myself in the process of creation without intent to publish. It’s all for fun and there’s no right or wrong. Usually some really great ideas come about from it because people aren’t worried about creative boundaries!
I'm not really into fantasy myself and have thus never played D&D. But I remember having always admired people who do; it always looks like a lot of fun and it's so fucking creative. I never understood how it got the bad rep it did, with people making jokes about it etc. Thank God the era of bullying 'nerds' is over (or at least not what it used to be).
@@paratame105 there are a TON of tabletop systems for a range of genres. you can basically type up any tv show you like and put "table top game" afterwards and you'll probably find something you like! i also know tons of people who applythe mechanics of games like D&D to a different genre. I mostly listen to ttrpg podcasts and haven't played in over a year but can definitely vouch for its impact on your creativity
Your channel has some absolutely life changing content. Right now, I am choosing to produce a comment rather than consume another video, and I appreciate you. I appreciate your channel. Cheers! 🙂
Thanks for telling me that it's okay to pace. I've had people say tell me that it's a weird habit and now I'm being told that I can fit this into my productivity routine.
@@infamouscha I do this every day since I was little, just at home. When we started having to wear masks outside, I started doing it in public too since no one can see you talk... but now we don't have to wear masks outside and I kept that habit lol, sometimes I'm a little embarrassed but honestly, I largely don't care
@@alvareo92 though most people associate talking to yourself as something only mentally ill people do, when I see a fellow person mumbling away I feel more comfortable with them. It's nice to know people have shit going on up there, and what they are thinking isn't so weird it can't be overheard. For example, mumbling about the shopping list and tonight's supper in a grocery store instead of mumbling about how nice that chick's ass was.
I actually have always paced around when I get pumped up thinking about something, just kinda on instinct. Interesting to hear it has an actual effect!
Same here, though pacing seems to usually just trigger my daydreaming and then I realize it's been three hours and what was supposed to be a break actually made me tired lol. I don't drink caffeine and don't use technology in the morning either but that doesn't stop me from being extremely unproductive, so this video is pretty useless :( I guess giving myself time to think is something that I have noticed was effective in the past so maybe I'll just focus on that one.
Avoiding technology is such a great way to start the day. For me a full hour feels like the sweet spot, it makes me feel like my mind is more still during the day which allows me to be more deliberate with how I spend my time rather than just waste time looking at things I don't care about.
I gotta say it's something I really struggle with. Already because the first thing in the morning is killing the alarm on my phone. Or watching(/listening to) YT while falling asleep when I have struggled to do for a bit.
@@be_cracked8212 Get a phyisical alarm clock. It will help you bypass that unnecessary temption first thing in the morning. I was having trouble waking up on time and putting an alarm clock in a separate room (even changing its location evevery day) really helped me with stopping with endulging in technolkogy use in the morning and sticking to a better morning routine since I was no longer snoozing (as much haha). Best of luck in your path, friend! I believe in you!
After watching this video a while back, I stopped going to my computer when I woke up. I drank my coffee while doing crossword puzzles--WITH A PEN. Then I would check my e-mail, but nothing else. I turned off the computer. This was definitely a good habit to put in place.
The thing about building new habits is it's really easy if you have a changed mindset that you genuinely want to do better, but for bad habits. It's so hard to change that since we've practice them for years, but the important thing is having the small progress from working on those bad habits. Thanks for these helpful habits Dr.K!
Re: building new habits, that's less true for some of us than others. I find habits extremely difficult to form, and they fall away extremely quickly for me. If I go on holiday it's very risky time for me because my brilliant habits just fall away.
I realized this today with weight management. If you've lost five pounds before and know what's needed and for how long...., you're better off than someone starting for the first time but under tens or hundreds of pounds. The rebound is too easy and real under those mental circumstances.
Pacing is THE BEST. My spouse and I rate houses we visit based on how good the pacing circuit is. I really like the idea of decoupling producing from making a product. Also it was really helpful to have a heuristic of amount to aim for: 10-20% of consumption time redirected to production time seems attainable
Haha, I haven't been that interested in healthygamer content recently but I still decided to click on this video. The consumer-producer part really struck me and it is what I actually need in life right now. I have been stuck in thinking that a hobby I start must lead to success, sounds even worse when put into words. I will start producing for the sake of producing from now on, thank you for actually giving us a helping hand.
Agreed - actually just had a convo with a friend about this regarding being a guitarist. Something that we hit on was that the global nature of our present times makes it hard for people to see themselves succeeding. *In centuries past you only had to be a better guitarist than those in your own county or city to be successful, but now we have to compete with THE ENTIRE PLANET for any level of success - at least it seems that way.* Wish there was a way for us to sort of bring our scope back down to a smaller, community-based level again.
I started producing a LOT more when I internalized the fact that there is actually no need for my art to be "good". No one's gonna die if I make bad art. I'm literally doing it for fun, why does it need to be good, if not to please my ego? As soon as I realized that the purpose of art is to explore and express, not to succeed, I stopped judging myself so much, which skyrocketed my productivity. The unconscious self-judgement made me afraid of making art, and now I'm excited to see what I can create and looking forward to the future.
I get you. The moment I started producing with the INTENT of being a "success", boy, it got SUPER draining for me mentally. Ultimately, I crashed and burned out. Basically stopped producing for years ( I was an artist that draw. I was addicted to drawing and never cared for the number / followers/ likes /etc but the more the "pressure" built up in me, the more I was likely to Fail. And I did. Haven't drawn a single thing in 6 years).
Same. I play the guitar and it's been hard to really enjoy it lately because I'm never happy with the music I make. And people around me always ask when I'm going to do RUclips, make albums, perform, etc. and it just makes it more stressful. But ultimately I just like playing because it's fun and I don't need an actual goal.
The time to think thing is so true. I was homeschooled and had a RUclips addiction so most of my days were spent watching youtube all day, so I literally had no time to think. I started noticing that when people asked me stuff I never had an answer because I had never though about it. In the past year or so I’ve brought my youtube consumption to only an hour or two a day and have given myself dedicated time to think and my life has improved drastically because I’ve realized so many things.
The pacing tip really hit home with me. My son has autism, and I noticed over the years that when he was solving a problem, trying to think something through or trying to find words to express a thought, he would just naturally start to pace. This is something I'm going to try for myself.
I kicked the pot recently and cut my caffine intake in half. My job naturally has me take walks between tasks. Tonight, I'm gonna get back into my creative pursuits. I've never watched a more timely video. I'm hoping I can keep this up. Thank you for your contiuned support and inspiration.
Since I started walking places and pacing in my room, it eases my anxiety, it helps my posture, helps my back pain; it even changed the way I walk and stand now (more straight and not folded). Walking is so simple yet so underrated.
What I love about Dr.K is how relatable he is. Habit 5 is probably stopping me from doing things I like because I’m so obsessed with end result. I needed to hear this. Thank you for this ❤
That last one really hit home. I was producing a lot of music, but it got to a point where I was not satisfied with anything becuase it wasn't "perfect". Another one was in competitive gaming. My mind just went to "If you're not planning to go pro, why play competitive?" I had to take a break from both of these just to get a better perspective on why I got into them in the first place.
I’ve been watching your content for a few weeks now (I’m not binge watching your content but gradually taking in your knowledge) and I have to say that your content is so valuable. To the deepest of my heart I want to thank you for putting out these long videos.
Stop “doing” in the evening. Take care of simple household tasks and set up your next day. If you find yourself working every evening you’re not doing work right and probably aren’t being productive.
On the topic of giving myself time to think: I've actually been intentionally not giving myself time to think, even listening to podcasts in the shower (or skipping showers all together), because I'm overwhelmed with intrusive anxiety inducing thoughts that make me panic whenever I'm not occupied. What do I do about that?
In my admittedly less professional opinion, that really depends on what kind of anxiety inducing thoughts you're having. If they're irrational, and about things that you either have little control over or aren't a terribly reasonable fear, then you should probably seek professional advice, i'm out of my depth. But if they're like, realistic anxieties that have to do with things that you're ignoring in your life, that's what denial + executive function disorder together look like in my experience... 😬I totally recognize the not giving myself time to think behavior because it's fucking terrifying. Sometimes the right thing to do is to sit with that anxiety and deal with the things that are causing it. Not saying that's easy or it's always right for every person, but that's what the solution has always been for me. Edit: And shit, I still do it anyways, i'm definitely ignoring some stuff in my life (massive medical debt) that i feel powerless to do anything about and I find it hard to sit with my thoughts. Yeah, if anyone else has ideas, I could use them. What to do if you don't have much control over the circumstances that are causing the anxiety.
Seconding the suggestion to seek professional advice if you struggle with the former type; my irrational anxious thoughts have gotten SO much better since I started therapy, and also since I started on anxiety medication (which isn’t for everyone, but really helps me personally). I know that Dr K really recommends certain meditation practices for helping break free from anxious thought spirals, so maybe seek out some of his videos on that and give them a shot? If you can afford it, his anxiety unit in Dr K’s Guide To Mental Health is pretty comprehensive and informative too, and contains some guided meditations (but there’s tons of free content on his/other creators’ RUclipss too if that isn’t an option for you!). I’m gonna sound like a broken record of every bit of mental health advice that has ever existed now, but exercise can really help too if you don’t do it already. I started exercising last year for the first time ever (I’m 27!), and I’ve found that doing some cardio particularly when I’m anxious (I like to run) has been a great way for me to ‘shed’ those excessive anxiety jitters and get myself in a better headspace with endorphins. I keep my routine pretty low-key and low-pressure to make it an easy and non-intimidating habit to start. Lastly, if those thoughts are really intrusive and upsetting and sometimes seem to come from nowhere, you might want to look into whether it could actually be OCD; not all OCD comes with repetitive rituals like hand washing or other stereotypes we’re always shown, it can also sometimes be purely mental and those ‘rituals’ actually exist in the form of thought spirals. Look up “Pure-O OCD” if this resonates with you and you’ll find more info. Hope this helps, you’ve got this!! ☺️💪
@@l337dta Everything you two wrote resonates with me, so know that I'm not underestimating any of this when I say: I highly recommend David Hawkin's 'Letting Go'. That technique is life-changing. Also, with regard to your very last sentence: look up Viktor Frankl and how he dealt with being put under the worst circumstances you could possibly think of (in a concentration camp by the Nazis).
I'm really glad you touched on caffeine. I never realized how much of a negative impact it's had on my energy levels & anxiety until the past few months
"Pacing is OP", is not something I ever thought I would hear, but it is definitely one of the truest things. I constantly find myself pacing & talking to myself, when I'm in a rut.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🧠 Habits for a Productive Life 01:23 ☀️ Morning Tech-Free Start 04:11 ☕ Caffeine and Productivity 07:51 🚶 Pacing for Mental Clarity 10:39 🤔 Giving Time to Think 12:02 📝 Shifting from Consumption to Production Made with HARPA AI
-🧠 Habits for a Productive Life - Building effective habits for productivity. - The challenge of building new habits. - Introduction to five transformative habits. -☀ Morning Tech-Free Start - Avoiding technology for the first 30 to 60 minutes in the morning. - The addictive nature of technology and its impact on emotional state. - Starting the day with a clearer and more focused mind. - ☕ Caffeine and Productivity - The effects of caffeine on alertness and energy. - How caffeine numbs the tiredness signal. - Strategies for reducing caffeine intake and its impact on productivity. -🚶 Pacing for Mental Clarity - The benefits of pacing as a break from work. - How pacing helps prevent getting lost in technology distractions. - Decompressing and relaxing the mind through pacing. -🤔 Giving Time to Think - The importance of creating mental space for thinking. - How modern society often lacks time for deep contemplation. - The value of allowing thoughts to naturally emerge during breaks. - 📝 Shifting from Consumption to Production - The habit of turning some consumption time into productive output. - Overcoming the pressure to always produce a finished product. - The shift from passive consumption to active creation for personal growth.
I’ve used pacing for years, especially when you get stuck mentally and momentum wise. Stand up, walk away & pace or go for a “Thinking” walk. Let your mind wonder and often when you get back, your back in the zone. “Walking Meetings” are also great while not stuck behind a table with donuts & coffee. I always found them way more effective.
This video is gold! I am a dissertating grad student and since I have implemented a similar routine I have reached days in which I had 7 hours of efficient work by 5:30pm. I love it because I still have time for other hobbies and yet I am absolutely productive. I wake up fairly late, at 7:30am, feed the kitty, play some with it, hydrate, and go for a walk. At 8:30 ready to work, 2 hours till breakfast which works as a break, then work til 1:30 lunch, which works as a break, then go for another walk because I tend to get sleepy after lunch and if I nap can't focus afterward. So at 2:30, I'm ready for another 3 hours. For most of my life, I struggled with being productive in the mornings and keeping focused in the afternoon. Now I don't take coffee until 2 hours after I wake up, and I follow a Pomodoro style of work of 25minutes -5 break -25-5-25-5-25-15break. repeat. And I pace while in the short breaks and in the long ones I either rest w my eyes closed or do a little active task like playing with my cat, tiding my desktop, something that makes me move yet doesn't require serious thinking. Sometimes if I am too focused I may skip a short break, but yeah, I count the lil breaks as work because of how focused it allows me to be when I sit down again to work. I am still polishing out some distractions and getting consistent with the routine, but man it feels good when I nail it. Makes me feel like a lil Elon Musk
I love when Dr. K talks about habits, a great read to help develop habits is "atomic habits" it is a great book! I think one of my best habits was keeping a notebook to write down both daily tasks and as habit tracker for all my other habits I wanted to form, really helps me stay on top of everything.
Literally implemented no tech in the morning. Pretty much stopped caffeine and have also been walking as a way to decompress. I can't believe you mentioned exact things as well - what a coincidence! They have definitely been great habits! The production vs consumption is a super thought provoking idea for me as well as creating things just for yourself. Thanks for the new perspectives to think about!
Great timing as always. I just had a depressive afternoon and wrote down a daily routine to get me out of it, and some of the things on it are cutting out the daily coffee and the porn and adding in a coherent daily workout (aside from what I do in the mma gym). I'll try to figure out how to not open instagram first thing in the morning though. Really difficult issue to solve.
Looking back on my most productive days, I can pretty much say they all involved most if not all of these, especially pacing. I remember in high school when I had study for AP Biology, every time I read something sort of challenging I always ended up getting up and pacing and running around my room. It really gave me time to let the idea bounce around my head, so now at least I know I was on to something.
I was skeptical at first with the title but there’s a lot of value in the explanations especially because the intention is not to prove that those habits fits everyone but rather to explain how that helped him and to help us ask the same questions to find solutions. great video
The last part you talked about really resonated with me. I write fanfiction because I love writing. I also write original stuff but so far I've never published in an official way (I have wattpad and an ao3 account but that's not considered real publishing.) So this is always at the back of my head. I know fanfic writing is a great way to explore other genres and try your hand at tropes that perhaps you'd normally not do with your original stories, as well as applying all that you know about storytelling (deconstructing an existing story and reshaping it into something new does require you to kind of "see the matrix" lol,) but there's always a little voice in my head that tells me I'm wasting my time, that I should instead be working on an original story so I can turn it into a book and publish it and sell it... I hate that. Thank you for your videos, they're helping me a lot🙏
In regards to producing- I've been creating art and writing one book for years and simply seeing my skills improve and seeing it come to life has been very gratifying. It's something that makes your life more interesting as time goes by. Sure, it's great to get published but the experience of creating is tough to beat. I like Dr. Kanojia's perspective here.
The food poisoning-to-no caffeine pipeline is real. I went through a whole semester of college without caffeine after severe food poisoning. (Unfortunately, while I had more energy in general, I’d been self-medicating undiagnosed ADHD with caffeine and my grades tanked. So I ended up back on the daily caffeine drip and have been on it ever since.) Kind of want to try a caffeine detox again. Edit: I also pace. One thing I like about WFH is that there’s no one to stop me from pacing while on phone calls. Edit 2: I’m actively working on producing rather than consuming this month. I used to write, like, all the time. I have thousands of pages of writing that’s never been published for anyone; these stories were just for me me. And then I started passively consuming content, video games, etc, and my writing dropped down to almost nothing. I’ve been trying to remind myself what it felt like by manually digitizing some of my old writing notebooks from when I was younger.
Ohhh a lot of this spoke to me; little things I had suspicions about, like my mindset towards writing was actively sabotaging my efforts… It’s nice to hear not just a validation but supportive steps on how to improve 🥰 thank you!
I was skeptical to even click on a title like this, but it's the first time I watched a video like this and didn't think it was a waste of time. A lot of what you said actually aligns with how I've felt in the past (particularly the time to think part). I've always thought of Caffeine like Tryndamere ultimate (league of legends). It ignores the fact you're out of HP/Energy and allows you to keep going, but at some point it's going to stop working and you're going to need to heal/recharge (or die/crash).
Definitely believe that creating and be proactive is the way to get a better life. I struggle a lot doing it, when I do it the value gain is quite visible !
Ugh. Tell me about it. It's like doing laundry. You put it off so long, then when you do it it's no big deal and you wonder why it took so long to get there.
Man, I used to always scold myself a little when I would catch myself pacing because I have always been taught its not normal and its just a waste of time, but I see now that its actually an incredible decompression method I had defaulted to!
In my second of med school and just starting to change these things. I lived two years without technology as an missionary in Brazil and I feel like that structure and lack of distractions helped my mind immensely
Oh my gosh..... I had naturally gravitated towards habit 5 over the past 2-3 years and thought it was because something was wrong with me. I used to spend hours a day watching anime and playing video games until I realized that I didn't feel like I was gaining anything out of it anymore and wanted to actually tap into my creativity... I too wanted to produce something that I could show to the world (via music and/or streaming). I feel so much better now knowing that it can actually be a good thing 😭
Habit 5 is definitely one I need because I have been stuck in the mindset that if I will never be the best or even good at something, then I won't even try.
After I became producer, I'm addicting to producing something and sometimes I overworked myself and laid down spent doing nothing for days. Talking about quitting cafeine, at first I kept sleeping like 12 to 15 hours a day. It's not straight up that time but rather sleep a lot of sessions here and there, and the biggest session would usually 6 - 10 hours. I realized not long after that that my life in the past was full of actions and I had a lot of sleep substitutes(coffee, energy drink, etc.). I had that sleep habit for like a year before it's getting back to normal(only sleep 6-12 hours a day instead of 12-15). I had a lot of time to think after sevral emotional shocked from bad stuffs in life. Then I have a habit of getting myself some space when I feels like everything is messy, just like when my desk bacome too messy I'd try to clean up or move stuffs here and there. I used to watch motivational videos and read a lot of books(buy new ones and keep reading). At some point in time, I realized that they're all the same. Once you get the core concept of self-improvements, then you must start working on it instead of wasting your time watching those videos or reading those books. I'm bloated with self-improvement knowledges and it's only required you to just acknowledge your own goods and bads then work on that. I counter-balanced my consumptions by providing my own perspective and experiences that relevant to the topic, such as this video. I also have my fair share of transitioning and doom scrolling then wasting my time on nothing productive. Most of the time I spent looking for new ideas or research for topics I got interested in. I spent some time without any distraction on my thoughts, I might spent a bit too few because a lot of time it's hard for me to sleep and my head keep spinning with info dump. The most peaceful moment for me is when I reached the total blank state, nothing in my mind and one thing I only feel is nothingness. After that it's like you got into cold shower after intense exercise or extreme hot day, it's refreshing. I think it's not that hard to be a gamer and still be productive. You just need to quit games that demand you to login daily or games with hard grind with limited time events to trigger your FOMO nature. It's no longer a game when you have to do something, it's a job and you don't want another job in your life to disturb your productivity. I'm writing nearly everyday, writing this comment is also considered one. Though most of my writings are in a form of diary or random notes that started from random ideas, I just worked on those ideas to form a more solid concept or at least note them clear enough so later on I still got the feeling of the ideas. The nature of my job(or rather the requirements for me to work on my personal project) is that I have to make a lot of decisions while finding new options, that's why the writing became my natural habit. It's also hard when you believe in something that your friends don't get it, there is nobody to talk to and apparently it's also hard to stay connect with them when your attitude toward things shifted drastically compared to when you're still playing with them. My advice would be just keep the loose connection, let them be and only join them once in a while or when something interesting comes up. A lot of thing that you can work on yourselves, but the most important thing is you should stay healthy or at least getting less unhealthy. I still drink soda and eat sweets, still eat fast food or instant noodles, still not exercise enough since I got injury on my toe, and suffering from my own psychological drama. But at least I'm getting a lot calmer, care about distractions less, and move on from dilemma that doesn't matter no matter how things change.
"just keep the loose connection" yes! Sometimes you're not as close to a friend as you used to be, or you start picking up more on their bad habits or opinions that differ from your own, but as long as you still have some good times that don't end up weighing too much on you or set you back, it's better to keep those occasional interactions than replace them with complete solitude. It's good every once in a while to talk to people you have some things in common with, but many others definitely not in common, you see that even though you may see some things very differently, you can still enjoy their company!
@@alvareo92 after some experience with friendships, I've actually come to realize that quality time is superior to quantity time in building a solid friendship. Few but truthful interactions create a better connection than shallow but constant ones. The only factor I'm still working on is that I tend to ghost people after opening myself up, feeling I'm burdening them, even though I'm not. Definitely building friendships is an area I need to work more on.
The last tip was very helpful. Deep down I know about it but couldn't make myself to do it. That perfectionist and what people will think have stopped me from doing lot of things that I wanted to do.
This has been very encouraging, because these are all things I have thought for myself and am in various stages of experimenting with. And the reason I have thought about this stuff is because I developed the habit of going on long walks. There's nothing else to do but think. I'm still thinking about other ways to work in dedicated time for thinking throughout the day which I'm sure would be very good for me.
The point you made about people linking creative production with success (leading to all kinds of I needed pressure, writers block, etc) is really really good. I’ve been thinking the same thing. Creative work is its own reward, it doesn’t matter if it’s successful or not.
To my autistic friends who "get the zoomies" as they say: I turn on some "nightcore songs" (probably not helping my attention span but whatever) and run around in circles and finish any unfinished trains of thought. All that running makes my mind clear, it is a vestibular stim along with music as an audio stim and I feel refreshed afterwards :D Another autism tip: write fanfiction. Not only does it sharpen your creativity, it is a fun way to learn more about your feelings while engaging your special interests aka connecting what you consume with what you produce. It snap isn't monetized so there's no pressure for it to be more than a hobby
There’s a creator I watch called Elizabeth Filips, who has basically sworn off habits because she realised that they don’t work for her. I think she’s really interesting and the way she works is super cool!
I really related to the final habit where he talked about writing to produce but getting fixated on being a author versus just the habit of writing. I feel as if that's held me back in certain ways. I've always thought about learning how to make music but I start comparing myself to the musician and think of how I don't see myself ass a musician even though the only goal was simply to learn how to play the keys. Who gives a damn if I'm so great at it. The internet just makes me feel like I'm competing with the world whenever I see videos of other musicians when in reality I'm just playing the keys for the sake of learning an instrument for myself .
I'm very intrigued by the last point of producing instead of only consuming. Writing something seems like a very obvious solution to this, but I'm no wondering what other ways to become a bit of a producer people can come up with. The first things that spring to mind for me are drawing and playing/improvising music. If anyone has other ideas I'd love to hear! Let's make a little list of suggestions.
If you like puzzle games (video games or not, math, sudoku, anything like that count) you can try to design puzzles, either for a new kind of game you create, either for games that already exist, I know lots of people who does that, you only need some paper or even just a notepad on your computer depending on the kind of puzzle.
Picking up litter on your walk, asking elderly neighbors if they need any help, weeding the park nearby, watering a tree, fixing your old lamp-bike-broken object…
I enjoy having time to think, letting my mind wander. Driving back and forth to work is an awesome thinking time. It's also a time for intrusive thoughts and ruminating. So once the ruminating/intrusive thoughts creep in...now it's podcast time!
The pacing habit sounds great and it's so simple! So simple actually that I have to wonder why I didn't think of it myself 😂 Anyway, these habits speak to me because I have a hard time implementing new habits into my daily life and these sound so easy to do. Great video and nice change from the usual style :)
I've always been insecure about my habit of pacing around the house. My family always tells me to settle or sit down somewhere so I thought it was a bad habit. Never knew it had a positive effect..
You know I always thought I had actually gotten worse productively as I aged from child to adolescent to young adult as I am now. I think it's because overtime I lost these habits I used to have I gave them up all under the same stress-logic of "I can't waste time, I have to be doing more" Which ended up backfiring because it just led to me consuming more and harshly judging myself when I inevitably didn't get what I wanted done. Which led to more consumption and more judging causing the vicious loop that I'm in now. I guess it's time build those habits again... I say watching this the hour I woke up, drinking coffee, and with an essay I'm trying to make up
I've been watching RUclips videos on self-help for a long time. This is the most powerful video, if one wants to truly change their life. I know this from experience. Yes- eat healthy, sleep, etc. But more importantly, changing the lifestyle and ridding the addictions will lead to these healthy habits naturally. It's akin to how you mentioned that a vision naturally produces alignment. This is also true, from experience.
My life has transformed in ways unimaginable after I quit 4 habits and implemented 4 new habits. These are : 1-) I quit alcohol completely. 2-) I quit social media completely. 3-) I quit smoking cigars completely. 4-) I quit going to bed late completely. Then I started : 1-) Meditating DAILY 2-) Going to the gym DAILY 3-) Doing OMAD 4-) Waking up at 5 .30 am DAILY Building an AMAZING life is just a matter of implementing GOOD habits and getting NEW skills.. Cheers ! 😊😊
I have never thought I'd see you talk about the value of PACING. It's the activity that made me productive and creative, enough that i was able to write an entire novel.
Fully agree on caffeine. However, having a cup of coffee is a very important ritual for many people - in the morning, or as a break at work, or whenever. My solution is to mix normal coffee with a decaf 50/50. I still have my ritual, I get my favourite drink (I love the smell and taste of it), in my preferred strength, but I only get half the caffeine I would normally get. I tried going full decaf, but this does not trick my brain into thinking I had my fix and I end up drinking twice the amount of coffee I normally would. I am however drinking full decaf in the evening.
The ritual is still a scam, just one thats hard to break because you're so used to being productive on it. Replace it with full decaf over time if you enjoy a hot coffee or tea-like beverage.
@@cory99998 I already wrote that full decaf didn't work for me. And tea also contains caffeine, so this is also not really a solution. I am absolutely fine with my "scam" rituals, thank you very much. Rituals around writing (which is a majority of what I do for a living) actually help me get in the work mindset, and I will never get rid of them. Scamy or not, they work.
@@cory99998 I don't. However, your unsolicited "advice" that was de facto a snarky judgement, was uncalled for. If you wanted to convince me, you failed miserably. All you achieved is annoying me. So, go be annoying somewhere else.
thank you for explaining the reason caffeine is bad, i never knew! i tried to cut back on coffee by moving to matcha and hopefully cutting that off later!
Dang iv been pacing for years to deal with my own anxiety and thought it was an issue of avoidance. But I see it has its benefits within limits. But would like some more info on the being a producer part. I like making art but I stop myself most of the time due to fear of not producing anything to provide a guaranteed ROI.
Outstanding. I've stopped drinking coffee altogether. I find my afternoon/evening energy levels, not to mention my energy level throughout the day is SO much more consistent.
I try to go on short walks several times a day. Especially when I get stuck on a problem. Just 10 minutes of walking and my brain figured it out. Cardio helps with thinking.
Dr K, these tips make me want to cry with joy/relief/happiness. Knowing that these kinds of habits are backed by research I fully trust your input and feel so excited to get out of my rut that I've felt stuck in. Even though I've been sober for 4 years now, I've still been quite addicted to caffeine and sugar, where I think my nervous systems stays overloaded. Today is a new day to take new first baby steps. 🙏
All great habits. I'd say one thing that really helps me be more productive is to go somewhere that you can force yourself to work on the task. For me this involves going to a coffee shop and sending out job applications and writing cover letters. If you know you can't distract yourself/get a cheap dopamine hit then I find your mind is surprisingly good at getting yourself to do your desired task.
Your video reminded me that I actually used to pace when I hit a road block at work or needed to cool off during studying. Somehow I shifted into tech distractions (like watching YT videos, wink, wink) and indeed it exhausts me. Thank you for the great advice! Re: the caffeine bit - I'd add sugar in there too, for the same reason: it's a short-lived boost of energy that makes you even more hungry in no time.
The last one about taking a bit of the time spent consuming to produce, and the emphasis on not producing a product was mind bogglingly good advice. I mean, I like to create, I think we all do, but I always get into the headspace that what if I published this, and freeze. When I do stupid but fun projects like a bitsy-game or spinning 3-d donut for my wife, just for fun of it, I feel at ease.
Thanks, these are great, and they came into my feed at just the right time! Already off caffeine but I’ll try adding the rest of them starting tomorrow.
The pacing thing is interesting. I have been doing this since I can think. It helps so much when I am in deep thought. I also automatically do it when I explain stuff to other people, which was one of the reasons why I had less trouble doing presentations in highschool.
Being creative is SO satisfying. I go through long periods where I don't do anything creative, just watch movies/play games etc and it really weighs on my mental health. The moment I start writing music again I feel so much more satisfied
📱 Avoiding Technology in the Morning - Not using technology for 30-60 minutes upon waking up - Technology addiction leads to emotional overwhelm and decreased productivity - Starting the day without technology improves mental state and willpower ☕ Cutting Back on Caffeine - Caffeine numbs tiredness signal, leading to increased fatigue - Rapid effect of caffeine makes it addictive - Cutting back on caffeine improves mental alertness and productivity 🚶♂ Pacing for Mental Breaks - Pacing back and forth as a break from work - Prevents getting distracted by technology - Decompresses the mind and improves focus 🤔 Giving Yourself Time to Think - Lack of time for mental processing in modern society - Taking breaks to think improves productivity and mental well-being - Shower thoughts as an example of productive thinking time 📝 Shifting from Consumption to Production - Being a consumer leads to passivity and lack of value creation - Becoming a producer improves creativity and offers value to the world - Focus on the process of creation rather than the end product
Thank you very much 🍀🌺🙏 very good advices. I used to write diary very regular, at least once a week, from when I was 11 until my thirties.. it was my therapy. I just put every thought on paper and it was always a relief, a release and the possibility for insights. Then I started doing yoga and meditation so I did not need the writing anymore, it got less and less... now sometimes it was months that I did not write in my diary. But in the last couple of months (I'm in my forties now) I realized that I missed this kind of expression. Even if no one reads it (at least I hope so) it's an expression, it's creative and it feels so good... it can shift my mood entirely.. it can bring back my humour and hope when it's all too dark. I write now more regularly again. Sometimes on my meditation cushion, using my time for meditation as writing time. Love to everyone, keep on moving and trying ❤
This is the first online mental advice I’ve seen that actually works. Most RUclips channels try to tell you these complicated methods to be more productive, but Dr.K just told me to walk back and forth 😂. Thank you Dr.K
I quit smoking about 2 years ago and I always used to take a walk the the office parking lot when I had a cigarette and it helped clear my mind. Now after I’ve quit I struggle to stay focused for long periods of time. Now that you mention pacing it sort of makes sense, I’ll give this a shot!
holy shit, probably one of the best self help videos i've watched in a long while. and trust me i've watched alot of self help videos. thank you so much for this!
Thanks dr.k. Today i discovery from you that pacing and pretend from people time to think about stuff etc. is something worthly and is the main root cause of my productivity. I'm not addicted to caffeine in fact in saturday don't take caffeine. On the working day i take 1/2 coffee until 2 PM. The only stuff that i need to manage better is the technology on the morning. I go 3/7 on gym at 7 AM but other day waste a lot of time on the morning with this stuffs.
There is very strong neuroscience backing pacing (along with sleeping, meditating, exercising, or showering, etc.) as a method of recovery between sessions of exertion. An ebb and flow between production and recovery helps enable flow state while you're working. Engaging in mentally stimulating activities such as reading, scrolling social media, watching videos, or playing video games actually reduces your energy and makes it more difficult to work meaningfully.
01:11 - 1: No Tech 30 min upon waking
03:55 - 2: Less Caffeine/delay for 30 Min
07:49 - 3: Pace: Walk Back and Forth
10:33 - 4: Give Yourself Time To Think
11:54 - 5: Produce don’t Consume
In short, no caffeine/tech for 30 min in morning, pace and think instead of pulling out phone, don’t engage in “productive” consumption.
Thank you.
Hero, thanks
aka sit all morning bored shitless with no energy and hope it helps
@@WookieWarriorz Try it out, get some data, and then come back and revisit your current ideas and see how well they clash against your experienced reality. Have an open mind, at least try to understand.
@@WookieWarriorz who said you have to sit doing nothing for a whole hour? The premise is not to engage with technology, you can do whatever you want but checking your phone, turning on the pc/tv, etc.
In other words: Take your time to go shower, get breakfast, walk around the park, buy groceries maybe, idk something
As a graduate student who works full time, I can definitely say that habits 3 through 5 are OP as hell. Slogging through a massive project is so much easier once you realize this.
Habit 3: Am I hitting a roadblock? I used to open RUclips and potentially burn 2+ hours. Now? I just get up, walk out of the room, do a quick 'tour' of my home, maybe grab some water, and sit back down. Briefly detaching from something can provide a lot of clarity as you re-approach the tasks- obvious mistakes or paths forward start cropping up in short order (maybe not immediately, but certainly faster than trying to brute force your way through it).
Habit 4: Don't know how to start, finish, or plan a project? Go for a walk. No headphones, just your thoughts. Maybe bring a pencil and small writing pad so you can jot some of the complex stuff down when you find a bench or something. Get distance, literally, from the task and ask yourself the questions- you'd be surprised how quickly your brain can sort things out.
Habit 5: A lot of people hate to take notes from lectures or reading material, and even fewer care for stitching them all together into a coherent 'narrative'. Just read a 500 page book this week for a seminar? Sit down and write 2~3 pages on your thoughts, takeaways, criticisms, etc. After a few (related) write-ups, stitch the common elements together. None of this ever sees the light of day but its ability to aid in recall, rapidly build a database of potentially useful citations, and improve your understanding (which improves the quality of your shared work) cannot be understated.
appreciate the advice man
You became the ultimate shower-thoughts power machine, congrats
I would watch a video of advice like this for grads man, thanks!
Beautifully said
especially habit 3, that's what i was doing in uni, even without watching this. it works.
Pacing is by far the most OP strategy to combat not just work fatigue but also performance anxiety or anxiety in general. In my case I hop on my exercise bike and just zone out for a little bit. Can always count on that to refresh myself and I can then go back to work like new.
exercise bike is fucking OP. Bought it 2 weeks ago and my life has changed.
Yeah sitting still for too long and not getting any blood circulation is the worst especially if you already suffer from depression and anxiety. Just taking a nice and calm walk is really underrated.
@@Fabi_87 aerobic activity produces nitric oxide also. Which is crucial for many things and you can get it ONLY by aerobic activity. It responsible for lowering bad cholesterol and relaxing blood vessels which leads to better oxygenation of all body and most importantly - your brain
@@Fabi_87 walking is the best for me when I’m anxious especially when it’s a nice day
I always feel like people are talking abosolute shit in an effort to convince themsevles things work, pacing and excercising make me more anxiouus not less and the surface level mostly psudoscience explanations people give like muh enophins just seem like more nonsense for people to convince themsevles and i just feel exhausted after regardless if i sit still or do things. It blows my mind that people with issues this easy to solve constantly need channels like Dr K and makes me feel 10x more hopeless, literally none of this shit works for me, nothing does and im way way too self aware and resistant to be able to lie to myself and pretend that doing excercise will do literally anything but make me physically tired.
It’s funny that you mention pacing, I’m autistic and one of the things I’ve noticed that I have consistently done from my teenager years until now is that I’ll pace when I’m bored. It usually weirds my family out lmao but I’ll do it if I’m snacking in the kitchen or if I’m alone. I see what you mean about how it ramps up your thoughts because a lot of the time it becomes a moment of introspection, or if I’m alone, that’s when I start to talk my thoughts out. It’s just enough stimulus while also getting your body to move a little bit and it’s nice to hear a professional talk about it being beneficial and not weird. It’s also interesting to hear as a sensation seeking autistic with adhd because it scratches an itch.
I an the same, I just love to randomly walk around with my thoughts lol
It's always very comforting to know that someone as successful as Dr. K can still struggle with these basic daily things.
When I started watching this channel I thought he was a superhuman machine warlord who's dedicated his whole life to his work and seeing the human side of him makes me realise that I'm not so bad at this life thing
yes! we all have common problems. Some just dont have the tools to deal with them. very important distinction to make (:
I do the same thing! It's kind of a "perfectionist" thing. Check yourself on that though, because it ruins relationships and your perspective of yourself. Everyone on this planet struggles. If someone doesn't deal with struggles in their life, they're either a psychopath or God. In other words, they aren't "human".
I would love to see a video on how to shift from consumer to producer! I struggle heavily with overconsumption, even though as a child, with less access to constant entertainment, I would create constantly. I haven’t been able to reach that state of mind since.
I second this. When I was a kid, my parents put me on a Windows 95 computer when I was 3 years of age, in hopes that I would become great with technology. Well, I certainly did become "the tech guy" for my entire family, but I also feel incredibly bound to tech, like computers are attached to me like a symbiote. Following a tip I read online, I started drawing "what I felt in my heart". Cheesy, but it really did bring out some wild things. However, I'm doing those drawings using a tablet, because I can't bring myself to draw without the convenience of Ctrl+Z. Life is a tough nut to crack sometimes
If you like painting/drawing you can start with mandalas. When I finished one I usually put it in a drawer and just start the next one when I'm ready. I should start again, haven't done it for a while :)
I was super productive when I was younger. I used to write stories all the time. Then at some point, I became consumed by the idea of producing for consumption, which had the effect of making me feel like everything I wrote was crap. By this point, it's hard as hell for me to produce anything.
what youre looking for is a dopamine detox
@@Xenonia I know its like one year later, but if you see this, maybe it'll help: from an artists perspective, if you're having trouble with the lack of ctlr+Z, maybe start with painting, like, with acrylic, because if you make a mistake, you can just let it dry and paint on top of that mistake, paper is much harder to work with, it reaches a limit, and you can't do much more without ruining the paper itself and/or having to collage something on top to disguise it.
I think pacing is AMAZING for people with ADHD. I do it subconsciously while in the flow state of writing/thinking. It helps me concentrate my thoughts!
How do you pace subconsciously?
@@BOSSDONMAN Get anxious about sitting for too long. Stand up to get a drink, forget what you were getting, then walk around the kitchen for 10 minutes.
@@Psyda so trueXDDDD
@@Psyda I get actively doing it, but I was wondering how someone could subconsciously/mentally do it without actually pacing.
@@Psyda reading me like a book haha
I think Dungeons & Dragons has been a really useful tool for my friends and myself in the process of creation without intent to publish. It’s all for fun and there’s no right or wrong. Usually some really great ideas come about from it because people aren’t worried about creative boundaries!
I cannot agree with you more. Perfectly said.
Very much agreed!
I'm not really into fantasy myself and have thus never played D&D. But I remember having always admired people who do; it always looks like a lot of fun and it's so fucking creative. I never understood how it got the bad rep it did, with people making jokes about it etc. Thank God the era of bullying 'nerds' is over (or at least not what it used to be).
@@paratame105 there are a TON of tabletop systems for a range of genres. you can basically type up any tv show you like and put "table top game" afterwards and you'll probably find something you like! i also know tons of people who applythe mechanics of games like D&D to a different genre.
I mostly listen to ttrpg podcasts and haven't played in over a year but can definitely vouch for its impact on your creativity
Playing a board game is not "creating"...
That expression at 14:17 after he says "stop being a passive consumer" just before the cut, is gold.
he ded
deadge
@@Cats777 nono he braindead
Hahaha I watched it at 0.25x speed 😂
That must've slipped by in post editing lmao
Your channel has some absolutely life changing content. Right now, I am choosing to produce a comment rather than consume another video, and I appreciate you. I appreciate your channel. Cheers! 🙂
Thanks for telling me that it's okay to pace. I've had people say tell me that it's a weird habit and now I'm being told that I can fit this into my productivity routine.
This and talk alone are very helpful to think but very weird lol. Who cares
@@AlissonWololo yeeup. Don't let unnecessary judgement hold you back.
@@AlissonWololo oh yeah, I used to go on walks and talk to myself.
I would practice answering interview questions on my walk. Helps out a lot.
@@infamouscha I do this every day since I was little, just at home. When we started having to wear masks outside, I started doing it in public too since no one can see you talk... but now we don't have to wear masks outside and I kept that habit lol, sometimes I'm a little embarrassed but honestly, I largely don't care
@@alvareo92 though most people associate talking to yourself as something only mentally ill people do, when I see a fellow person mumbling away I feel more comfortable with them. It's nice to know people have shit going on up there, and what they are thinking isn't so weird it can't be overheard. For example, mumbling about the shopping list and tonight's supper in a grocery store instead of mumbling about how nice that chick's ass was.
me watching this right after I woke up: 😶
@@eyes1168 and still in bed 😭
I actually have always paced around when I get pumped up thinking about something, just kinda on instinct. Interesting to hear it has an actual effect!
Same. I just randomly get up from my computer and pace in my room out of instinct usually when I'm happy or nervous about something.
Sameee + i always used pacing around time to replfect upson stuff and sometimes i have pretty deep thoughts
Same here, though pacing seems to usually just trigger my daydreaming and then I realize it's been three hours and what was supposed to be a break actually made me tired lol. I don't drink caffeine and don't use technology in the morning either but that doesn't stop me from being extremely unproductive, so this video is pretty useless :( I guess giving myself time to think is something that I have noticed was effective in the past so maybe I'll just focus on that one.
@@user-sf7fm1bi1p I hate how much I relate to this, how do you deal with maladaptive daydreaming on a daily basis?
@@user-sf7fm1bi1p Holy shit, this exactly
Not me watching this in the first 30 mins of my day..
Avoiding technology is such a great way to start the day. For me a full hour feels like the sweet spot, it makes me feel like my mind is more still during the day which allows me to be more deliberate with how I spend my time rather than just waste time looking at things I don't care about.
I gotta say it's something I really struggle with. Already because the first thing in the morning is killing the alarm on my phone. Or watching(/listening to) YT while falling asleep when I have struggled to do for a bit.
@@be_cracked8212 Get a phyisical alarm clock. It will help you bypass that unnecessary temption first thing in the morning.
I was having trouble waking up on time and putting an alarm clock in a separate room (even changing its location evevery day) really helped me with stopping with endulging in technolkogy use in the morning and sticking to a better morning routine since I was no longer snoozing (as much haha).
Best of luck in your path, friend! I believe in you!
After watching this video a while back, I stopped going to my computer when I woke up. I drank my coffee while doing crossword puzzles--WITH A PEN. Then I would check my e-mail, but nothing else. I turned off the computer. This was definitely a good habit to put in place.
Walking, thinking, cutting caffeine, and relaxing my expectations of myself have been collaboratively life-changing for me
For programmers with adhd, I recommend pacing but also having a standing desk. Both complement each other well in day to day remote work.
Thank you for not telling me to start my day at 5 am as I've heard so many times, and for giving actual easy tips 🙏🏻
The thing about building new habits is it's really easy if you have a changed mindset that you genuinely want to do better, but for bad habits. It's so hard to change that since we've practice them for years, but the important thing is having the small progress from working on those bad habits. Thanks for these helpful habits Dr.K!
Almost always easier to "crowd out" and old bad habit with a new good or neutral habit.
Re: building new habits, that's less true for some of us than others. I find habits extremely difficult to form, and they fall away extremely quickly for me. If I go on holiday it's very risky time for me because my brilliant habits just fall away.
@@Elspm that's a very common issue for many of us especially those of us with ADHD, it's almost universally a problem for people with ADHD
@@VioletEmerald yeah, I'm an ADHD bunny
I realized this today with weight management. If you've lost five pounds before and know what's needed and for how long...., you're better off than someone starting for the first time but under tens or hundreds of pounds. The rebound is too easy and real under those mental circumstances.
Pacing is THE BEST. My spouse and I rate houses we visit based on how good the pacing circuit is.
I really like the idea of decoupling producing from making a product. Also it was really helpful to have a heuristic of amount to aim for: 10-20% of consumption time redirected to production time seems attainable
Haha, I haven't been that interested in healthygamer content recently but I still decided to click on this video. The consumer-producer part really struck me and it is what I actually need in life right now. I have been stuck in thinking that a hobby I start must lead to success, sounds even worse when put into words. I will start producing for the sake of producing from now on, thank you for actually giving us a helping hand.
Agreed - actually just had a convo with a friend about this regarding being a guitarist. Something that we hit on was that the global nature of our present times makes it hard for people to see themselves succeeding. *In centuries past you only had to be a better guitarist than those in your own county or city to be successful, but now we have to compete with THE ENTIRE PLANET for any level of success - at least it seems that way.* Wish there was a way for us to sort of bring our scope back down to a smaller, community-based level again.
I started producing a LOT more when I internalized the fact that there is actually no need for my art to be "good". No one's gonna die if I make bad art. I'm literally doing it for fun, why does it need to be good, if not to please my ego?
As soon as I realized that the purpose of art is to explore and express, not to succeed, I stopped judging myself so much, which skyrocketed my productivity. The unconscious self-judgement made me afraid of making art, and now I'm excited to see what I can create and looking forward to the future.
I get you. The moment I started producing with the INTENT of being a "success", boy, it got SUPER draining for me mentally. Ultimately, I crashed and burned out. Basically stopped producing for years ( I was an artist that draw. I was addicted to drawing and never cared for the number / followers/ likes /etc but the more the "pressure" built up in me, the more I was likely to Fail. And I did. Haven't drawn a single thing in 6 years).
Same. I play the guitar and it's been hard to really enjoy it lately because I'm never happy with the music I make. And people around me always ask when I'm going to do RUclips, make albums, perform, etc. and it just makes it more stressful. But ultimately I just like playing because it's fun and I don't need an actual goal.
@@Meraxes6 Thank you for your helpful comment! 🙂👍❤️
The time to think thing is so true. I was homeschooled and had a RUclips addiction so most of my days were spent watching youtube all day, so I literally had no time to think. I started noticing that when people asked me stuff I never had an answer because I had never though about it. In the past year or so I’ve brought my youtube consumption to only an hour or two a day and have given myself dedicated time to think and my life has improved drastically because I’ve realized so many things.
The pacing tip really hit home with me. My son has autism, and I noticed over the years that when he was solving a problem, trying to think something through or trying to find words to express a thought, he would just naturally start to pace. This is something I'm going to try for myself.
I kicked the pot recently and cut my caffine intake in half. My job naturally has me take walks between tasks. Tonight, I'm gonna get back into my creative pursuits. I've never watched a more timely video. I'm hoping I can keep this up.
Thank you for your contiuned support and inspiration.
Since I started walking places and pacing in my room, it eases my anxiety, it helps my posture, helps my back pain; it even changed the way I walk and stand now (more straight and not folded). Walking is so simple yet so underrated.
What I love about Dr.K is how relatable he is. Habit 5 is probably stopping me from doing things I like because I’m so obsessed with end result. I needed to hear this. Thank you for this ❤
That last one really hit home. I was producing a lot of music, but it got to a point where I was not satisfied with anything becuase it wasn't "perfect". Another one was in competitive gaming. My mind just went to "If you're not planning to go pro, why play competitive?"
I had to take a break from both of these just to get a better perspective on why I got into them in the first place.
Same wirh music production
Mental health took a deep dive
So taking a break was the best thing
I’ve been watching your content for a few weeks now (I’m not binge watching your content but gradually taking in your knowledge) and I have to say that your content is so valuable. To the deepest of my heart I want to thank you for putting out these long videos.
Stop “doing” in the evening. Take care of simple household tasks and set up your next day. If you find yourself working every evening you’re not doing work right and probably aren’t being productive.
On the topic of giving myself time to think: I've actually been intentionally not giving myself time to think, even listening to podcasts in the shower (or skipping showers all together), because I'm overwhelmed with intrusive anxiety inducing thoughts that make me panic whenever I'm not occupied. What do I do about that?
In my admittedly less professional opinion, that really depends on what kind of anxiety inducing thoughts you're having. If they're irrational, and about things that you either have little control over or aren't a terribly reasonable fear, then you should probably seek professional advice, i'm out of my depth. But if they're like, realistic anxieties that have to do with things that you're ignoring in your life, that's what denial + executive function disorder together look like in my experience... 😬I totally recognize the not giving myself time to think behavior because it's fucking terrifying. Sometimes the right thing to do is to sit with that anxiety and deal with the things that are causing it. Not saying that's easy or it's always right for every person, but that's what the solution has always been for me.
Edit: And shit, I still do it anyways, i'm definitely ignoring some stuff in my life (massive medical debt) that i feel powerless to do anything about and I find it hard to sit with my thoughts. Yeah, if anyone else has ideas, I could use them. What to do if you don't have much control over the circumstances that are causing the anxiety.
Seconding the suggestion to seek professional advice if you struggle with the former type; my irrational anxious thoughts have gotten SO much better since I started therapy, and also since I started on anxiety medication (which isn’t for everyone, but really helps me personally).
I know that Dr K really recommends certain meditation practices for helping break free from anxious thought spirals, so maybe seek out some of his videos on that and give them a shot? If you can afford it, his anxiety unit in Dr K’s Guide To Mental Health is pretty comprehensive and informative too, and contains some guided meditations (but there’s tons of free content on his/other creators’ RUclipss too if that isn’t an option for you!).
I’m gonna sound like a broken record of every bit of mental health advice that has ever existed now, but exercise can really help too if you don’t do it already. I started exercising last year for the first time ever (I’m 27!), and I’ve found that doing some cardio particularly when I’m anxious (I like to run) has been a great way for me to ‘shed’ those excessive anxiety jitters and get myself in a better headspace with endorphins. I keep my routine pretty low-key and low-pressure to make it an easy and non-intimidating habit to start.
Lastly, if those thoughts are really intrusive and upsetting and sometimes seem to come from nowhere, you might want to look into whether it could actually be OCD; not all OCD comes with repetitive rituals like hand washing or other stereotypes we’re always shown, it can also sometimes be purely mental and those ‘rituals’ actually exist in the form of thought spirals. Look up “Pure-O OCD” if this resonates with you and you’ll find more info.
Hope this helps, you’ve got this!! ☺️💪
@@l337dta Everything you two wrote resonates with me, so know that I'm not underestimating any of this when I say: I highly recommend David Hawkin's 'Letting Go'. That technique is life-changing. Also, with regard to your very last sentence: look up Viktor Frankl and how he dealt with being put under the worst circumstances you could possibly think of (in a concentration camp by the Nazis).
I'm really glad you touched on caffeine. I never realized how much of a negative impact it's had on my energy levels & anxiety until the past few months
"Pacing is OP", is not something I ever thought I would hear, but it is definitely one of the truest things. I constantly find myself pacing & talking to myself, when I'm in a rut.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 🧠 Habits for a Productive Life
01:23 ☀️ Morning Tech-Free Start
04:11 ☕ Caffeine and Productivity
07:51 🚶 Pacing for Mental Clarity
10:39 🤔 Giving Time to Think
12:02 📝 Shifting from Consumption to Production
Made with HARPA AI
-🧠 Habits for a Productive Life
- Building effective habits for productivity.
- The challenge of building new habits.
- Introduction to five transformative habits.
-☀ Morning Tech-Free Start
- Avoiding technology for the first 30 to 60 minutes in the morning.
- The addictive nature of technology and its impact on emotional state.
- Starting the day with a clearer and more focused mind.
- ☕ Caffeine and Productivity
- The effects of caffeine on alertness and energy.
- How caffeine numbs the tiredness signal.
- Strategies for reducing caffeine intake and its impact on productivity.
-🚶 Pacing for Mental Clarity
- The benefits of pacing as a break from work.
- How pacing helps prevent getting lost in technology distractions.
- Decompressing and relaxing the mind through pacing.
-🤔 Giving Time to Think
- The importance of creating mental space for thinking.
- How modern society often lacks time for deep contemplation.
- The value of allowing thoughts to naturally emerge during breaks.
- 📝 Shifting from Consumption to Production
- The habit of turning some consumption time into productive output.
- Overcoming the pressure to always produce a finished product.
- The shift from passive consumption to active creation for personal growth.
Man I love this guy! My son has ADHD and I stumbled upon his videos recently and such helpful content! Thank you!
I’ve used pacing for years, especially when you get stuck mentally and momentum wise. Stand up, walk away & pace or go for a “Thinking” walk. Let your mind wonder and often when you get back, your back in the zone. “Walking Meetings” are also great while not stuck behind a table with donuts & coffee. I always found them way more effective.
Yeah I try to go on walks during conference calls.
This video is gold! I am a dissertating grad student and since I have implemented a similar routine I have reached days in which I had 7 hours of efficient work by 5:30pm. I love it because I still have time for other hobbies and yet I am absolutely productive. I wake up fairly late, at 7:30am, feed the kitty, play some with it, hydrate, and go for a walk. At 8:30 ready to work, 2 hours till breakfast which works as a break, then work til 1:30 lunch, which works as a break, then go for another walk because I tend to get sleepy after lunch and if I nap can't focus afterward. So at 2:30, I'm ready for another 3 hours. For most of my life, I struggled with being productive in the mornings and keeping focused in the afternoon. Now I don't take coffee until 2 hours after I wake up, and I follow a Pomodoro style of work of 25minutes -5 break -25-5-25-5-25-15break. repeat. And I pace while in the short breaks and in the long ones I either rest w my eyes closed or do a little active task like playing with my cat, tiding my desktop, something that makes me move yet doesn't require serious thinking. Sometimes if I am too focused I may skip a short break, but yeah, I count the lil breaks as work because of how focused it allows me to be when I sit down again to work. I am still polishing out some distractions and getting consistent with the routine, but man it feels good when I nail it. Makes me feel like a lil Elon Musk
when do you watch RUclips then
awesome keep it up!
I love when Dr. K talks about habits, a great read to help develop habits is "atomic habits" it is a great book! I think one of my best habits was keeping a notebook to write down both daily tasks and as habit tracker for all my other habits I wanted to form, really helps me stay on top of everything.
Terrible, idiotic book for idiots.
Literally implemented no tech in the morning. Pretty much stopped caffeine and have also been walking as a way to decompress. I can't believe you mentioned exact things as well - what a coincidence! They have definitely been great habits! The production vs consumption is a super thought provoking idea for me as well as creating things just for yourself. Thanks for the new perspectives to think about!
Great timing as always. I just had a depressive afternoon and wrote down a daily routine to get me out of it, and some of the things on it are cutting out the daily coffee and the porn and adding in a coherent daily workout (aside from what I do in the mma gym).
I'll try to figure out how to not open instagram first thing in the morning though. Really difficult issue to solve.
This is amazingly useful and one of the best advice I got on the internets... thanks Dr. K
Looking back on my most productive days, I can pretty much say they all involved most if not all of these, especially pacing. I remember in high school when I had study for AP Biology, every time I read something sort of challenging I always ended up getting up and pacing and running around my room. It really gave me time to let the idea bounce around my head, so now at least I know I was on to something.
I was skeptical at first with the title but there’s a lot of value in the explanations especially because the intention is not to prove that those habits fits everyone but rather to explain how that helped him and to help us ask the same questions to find solutions. great video
The last part you talked about really resonated with me. I write fanfiction because I love writing. I also write original stuff but so far I've never published in an official way (I have wattpad and an ao3 account but that's not considered real publishing.) So this is always at the back of my head. I know fanfic writing is a great way to explore other genres and try your hand at tropes that perhaps you'd normally not do with your original stories, as well as applying all that you know about storytelling (deconstructing an existing story and reshaping it into something new does require you to kind of "see the matrix" lol,) but there's always a little voice in my head that tells me I'm wasting my time, that I should instead be working on an original story so I can turn it into a book and publish it and sell it... I hate that.
Thank you for your videos, they're helping me a lot🙏
In regards to producing- I've been creating art and writing one book for years and simply seeing my skills improve and seeing it come to life has been very gratifying. It's something that makes your life more interesting as time goes by. Sure, it's great to get published but the experience of creating is tough to beat. I like Dr. Kanojia's perspective here.
The food poisoning-to-no caffeine pipeline is real. I went through a whole semester of college without caffeine after severe food poisoning. (Unfortunately, while I had more energy in general, I’d been self-medicating undiagnosed ADHD with caffeine and my grades tanked. So I ended up back on the daily caffeine drip and have been on it ever since.)
Kind of want to try a caffeine detox again.
Edit: I also pace. One thing I like about WFH is that there’s no one to stop me from pacing while on phone calls.
Edit 2: I’m actively working on producing rather than consuming this month. I used to write, like, all the time. I have thousands of pages of writing that’s never been published for anyone; these stories were just for me me. And then I started passively consuming content, video games, etc, and my writing dropped down to almost nothing. I’ve been trying to remind myself what it felt like by manually digitizing some of my old writing notebooks from when I was younger.
Ohhh a lot of this spoke to me; little things I had suspicions about, like my mindset towards writing was actively sabotaging my efforts… It’s nice to hear not just a validation but supportive steps on how to improve 🥰 thank you!
I was skeptical to even click on a title like this, but it's the first time I watched a video like this and didn't think it was a waste of time. A lot of what you said actually aligns with how I've felt in the past (particularly the time to think part). I've always thought of Caffeine like Tryndamere ultimate (league of legends). It ignores the fact you're out of HP/Energy and allows you to keep going, but at some point it's going to stop working and you're going to need to heal/recharge (or die/crash).
Pacing also helps with my OCD. It forces my brain to restart and prevent it from overthinking.
Avoid your phone first thing in the morning
Pace back and forth
Produce instead of consume. You don't have to publish it.
Give time to think.
but keep consuming caffeine
Definitely believe that creating and be proactive is the way to get a better life. I struggle a lot doing it, when I do it the value gain is quite visible !
Ugh. Tell me about it. It's like doing laundry. You put it off so long, then when you do it it's no big deal and you wonder why it took so long to get there.
Man, I used to always scold myself a little when I would catch myself pacing because I have always been taught its not normal and its just a waste of time, but I see now that its actually an incredible decompression method I had defaulted to!
In my second of med school and just starting to change these things. I lived two years without technology as an missionary in Brazil and I feel like that structure and lack of distractions helped my mind immensely
Oh my gosh..... I had naturally gravitated towards habit 5 over the past 2-3 years and thought it was because something was wrong with me. I used to spend hours a day watching anime and playing video games until I realized that I didn't feel like I was gaining anything out of it anymore and wanted to actually tap into my creativity... I too wanted to produce something that I could show to the world (via music and/or streaming). I feel so much better now knowing that it can actually be a good thing 😭
YES! Tap in to that creativity! I think so much talent is lost because people don't produce something, anything.
yep same for me
Habit 5 is definitely one I need because I have been stuck in the mindset that if I will never be the best or even good at something, then I won't even try.
After I became producer, I'm addicting to producing something and sometimes I overworked myself and laid down spent doing nothing for days. Talking about quitting cafeine, at first I kept sleeping like 12 to 15 hours a day. It's not straight up that time but rather sleep a lot of sessions here and there, and the biggest session would usually 6 - 10 hours. I realized not long after that that my life in the past was full of actions and I had a lot of sleep substitutes(coffee, energy drink, etc.). I had that sleep habit for like a year before it's getting back to normal(only sleep 6-12 hours a day instead of 12-15).
I had a lot of time to think after sevral emotional shocked from bad stuffs in life. Then I have a habit of getting myself some space when I feels like everything is messy, just like when my desk bacome too messy I'd try to clean up or move stuffs here and there.
I used to watch motivational videos and read a lot of books(buy new ones and keep reading). At some point in time, I realized that they're all the same. Once you get the core concept of self-improvements, then you must start working on it instead of wasting your time watching those videos or reading those books. I'm bloated with self-improvement knowledges and it's only required you to just acknowledge your own goods and bads then work on that.
I counter-balanced my consumptions by providing my own perspective and experiences that relevant to the topic, such as this video. I also have my fair share of transitioning and doom scrolling then wasting my time on nothing productive.
Most of the time I spent looking for new ideas or research for topics I got interested in. I spent some time without any distraction on my thoughts, I might spent a bit too few because a lot of time it's hard for me to sleep and my head keep spinning with info dump.
The most peaceful moment for me is when I reached the total blank state, nothing in my mind and one thing I only feel is nothingness. After that it's like you got into cold shower after intense exercise or extreme hot day, it's refreshing.
I think it's not that hard to be a gamer and still be productive. You just need to quit games that demand you to login daily or games with hard grind with limited time events to trigger your FOMO nature. It's no longer a game when you have to do something, it's a job and you don't want another job in your life to disturb your productivity.
I'm writing nearly everyday, writing this comment is also considered one. Though most of my writings are in a form of diary or random notes that started from random ideas, I just worked on those ideas to form a more solid concept or at least note them clear enough so later on I still got the feeling of the ideas.
The nature of my job(or rather the requirements for me to work on my personal project) is that I have to make a lot of decisions while finding new options, that's why the writing became my natural habit.
It's also hard when you believe in something that your friends don't get it, there is nobody to talk to and apparently it's also hard to stay connect with them when your attitude toward things shifted drastically compared to when you're still playing with them. My advice would be just keep the loose connection, let them be and only join them once in a while or when something interesting comes up.
A lot of thing that you can work on yourselves, but the most important thing is you should stay healthy or at least getting less unhealthy. I still drink soda and eat sweets, still eat fast food or instant noodles, still not exercise enough since I got injury on my toe, and suffering from my own psychological drama. But at least I'm getting a lot calmer, care about distractions less, and move on from dilemma that doesn't matter no matter how things change.
"just keep the loose connection" yes! Sometimes you're not as close to a friend as you used to be, or you start picking up more on their bad habits or opinions that differ from your own, but as long as you still have some good times that don't end up weighing too much on you or set you back, it's better to keep those occasional interactions than replace them with complete solitude. It's good every once in a while to talk to people you have some things in common with, but many others definitely not in common, you see that even though you may see some things very differently, you can still enjoy their company!
@@alvareo92 after some experience with friendships, I've actually come to realize that quality time is superior to quantity time in building a solid friendship. Few but truthful interactions create a better connection than shallow but constant ones.
The only factor I'm still working on is that I tend to ghost people after opening myself up, feeling I'm burdening them, even though I'm not. Definitely building friendships is an area I need to work more on.
The last tip was very helpful. Deep down I know about it but couldn't make myself to do it.
That perfectionist and what people will think have stopped me from doing lot of things that I wanted to do.
This has been very encouraging, because these are all things I have thought for myself and am in various stages of experimenting with. And the reason I have thought about this stuff is because I developed the habit of going on long walks. There's nothing else to do but think. I'm still thinking about other ways to work in dedicated time for thinking throughout the day which I'm sure would be very good for me.
The point you made about people linking creative production with success (leading to all kinds of I needed pressure, writers block, etc) is really really good. I’ve been thinking the same thing. Creative work is its own reward, it doesn’t matter if it’s successful or not.
To my autistic friends who "get the zoomies" as they say: I turn on some "nightcore songs" (probably not helping my attention span but whatever) and run around in circles and finish any unfinished trains of thought. All that running makes my mind clear, it is a vestibular stim along with music as an audio stim and I feel refreshed afterwards :D
Another autism tip: write fanfiction. Not only does it sharpen your creativity, it is a fun way to learn more about your feelings while engaging your special interests aka connecting what you consume with what you produce. It snap isn't monetized so there's no pressure for it to be more than a hobby
How about training to become a runner for something like the 5K race?
14:06 I love this as an artist. Basically any of my extra production can be product but I’ll enjoy the process way more.
There’s a creator I watch called Elizabeth Filips, who has basically sworn off habits because she realised that they don’t work for her. I think she’s really interesting and the way she works is super cool!
And all those comments under the video that she sounds ADHD xd
@@Spleemce I suppose she could be 🤷♀️ but it’s a cool method she’s come up with either way
I really related to the final habit where he talked about writing to produce but getting fixated on being a author versus just the habit of writing. I feel as if that's held me back in certain ways. I've always thought about learning how to make music but I start comparing myself to the musician and think of how I don't see myself ass a musician even though the only goal was simply to learn how to play the keys. Who gives a damn if I'm so great at it. The internet just makes me feel like I'm competing with the world whenever I see videos of other musicians when in reality I'm just playing the keys for the sake of learning an instrument for myself .
I'm very intrigued by the last point of producing instead of only consuming. Writing something seems like a very obvious solution to this, but I'm no wondering what other ways to become a bit of a producer people can come up with.
The first things that spring to mind for me are drawing and playing/improvising music.
If anyone has other ideas I'd love to hear! Let's make a little list of suggestions.
@ladykookosmile other tactile projects like crafts, baking, woodworking, sculpture, gardening
If you like puzzle games (video games or not, math, sudoku, anything like that count) you can try to design puzzles, either for a new kind of game you create, either for games that already exist, I know lots of people who does that, you only need some paper or even just a notepad on your computer depending on the kind of puzzle.
Making games, making plans, DIY projects, 3D modeling
Picking up litter on your walk, asking elderly neighbors if they need any help, weeding the park nearby, watering a tree, fixing your old lamp-bike-broken object…
I enjoy having time to think, letting my mind wander. Driving back and forth to work is an awesome thinking time. It's also a time for intrusive thoughts and ruminating. So once the ruminating/intrusive thoughts creep in...now it's podcast time!
The pacing habit sounds great and it's so simple! So simple actually that I have to wonder why I didn't think of it myself 😂
Anyway, these habits speak to me because I have a hard time implementing new habits into my daily life and these sound so easy to do.
Great video and nice change from the usual style :)
I've always been insecure about my habit of pacing around the house. My family always tells me to settle or sit down somewhere so I thought it was a bad habit. Never knew it had a positive effect..
You know I always thought I had actually gotten worse productively as I aged from child to adolescent to young adult as I am now.
I think it's because overtime I lost these habits I used to have
I gave them up all under the same stress-logic of "I can't waste time, I have to be doing more"
Which ended up backfiring because it just led to me consuming more and harshly judging myself when I inevitably didn't get what I wanted done. Which led to more consumption and more judging causing the vicious loop that I'm in now.
I guess it's time build those habits again... I say watching this the hour I woke up, drinking coffee, and with an essay I'm trying to make up
The vicious loop is too real. But habits can be built.
I've been watching RUclips videos on self-help for a long time. This is the most powerful video, if one wants to truly change their life. I know this from experience. Yes- eat healthy, sleep, etc. But more importantly, changing the lifestyle and ridding the addictions will lead to these healthy habits naturally. It's akin to how you mentioned that a vision naturally produces alignment. This is also true, from experience.
My life has transformed in ways unimaginable after I quit 4 habits and implemented 4 new habits. These are :
1-) I quit alcohol completely.
2-) I quit social media completely.
3-) I quit smoking cigars completely.
4-) I quit going to bed late completely.
Then I started :
1-) Meditating DAILY
2-) Going to the gym DAILY
3-) Doing OMAD
4-) Waking up at 5 .30 am DAILY
Building an AMAZING life is just a matter of implementing GOOD habits and getting NEW skills..
Cheers ! 😊😊
I have never thought I'd see you talk about the value of PACING. It's the activity that made me productive and creative, enough that i was able to write an entire novel.
Fully agree on caffeine. However, having a cup of coffee is a very important ritual for many people - in the morning, or as a break at work, or whenever.
My solution is to mix normal coffee with a decaf 50/50. I still have my ritual, I get my favourite drink (I love the smell and taste of it), in my preferred strength, but I only get half the caffeine I would normally get. I tried going full decaf, but this does not trick my brain into thinking I had my fix and I end up drinking twice the amount of coffee I normally would. I am however drinking full decaf in the evening.
The ritual is still a scam, just one thats hard to break because you're so used to being productive on it. Replace it with full decaf over time if you enjoy a hot coffee or tea-like beverage.
@@cory99998 I already wrote that full decaf didn't work for me. And tea also contains caffeine, so this is also not really a solution.
I am absolutely fine with my "scam" rituals, thank you very much. Rituals around writing (which is a majority of what I do for a living) actually help me get in the work mindset, and I will never get rid of them. Scamy or not, they work.
@@berlineczka well dont feel the need to convince me about it
@@cory99998 I don't. However, your unsolicited "advice" that was de facto a snarky judgement, was uncalled for. If you wanted to convince me, you failed miserably. All you achieved is annoying me. So, go be annoying somewhere else.
@@berlineczka no need to convince me that you werent trying to convince me
thank you for explaining the reason caffeine is bad, i never knew! i tried to cut back on coffee by moving to matcha and hopefully cutting that off later!
Dang iv been pacing for years to deal with my own anxiety and thought it was an issue of avoidance. But I see it has its benefits within limits. But would like some more info on the being a producer part. I like making art but I stop myself most of the time due to fear of not producing anything to provide a guaranteed ROI.
This is so nice and short and easy to fallow! THANK YOU!
Bruh y does the thumbnail look like dr k's about to teach us how to purchase and take cocaine.
That’s the secret tip no. 6
Outstanding. I've stopped drinking coffee altogether. I find my afternoon/evening energy levels, not to mention my energy level throughout the day is SO much more consistent.
I try to go on short walks several times a day. Especially when I get stuck on a problem. Just 10 minutes of walking and my brain figured it out.
Cardio helps with thinking.
Dr K, these tips make me want to cry with joy/relief/happiness. Knowing that these kinds of habits are backed by research I fully trust your input and feel so excited to get out of my rut that I've felt stuck in. Even though I've been sober for 4 years now, I've still been quite addicted to caffeine and sugar, where I think my nervous systems stays overloaded. Today is a new day to take new first baby steps. 🙏
Dr k would u wanna talk with a blind viewer, sry I'm not on reddit
These are so key and yet delivered in a very chilled way. Cool, thank you for this.
All great habits. I'd say one thing that really helps me be more productive is to go somewhere that you can force yourself to work on the task. For me this involves going to a coffee shop and sending out job applications and writing cover letters. If you know you can't distract yourself/get a cheap dopamine hit then I find your mind is surprisingly good at getting yourself to do your desired task.
Hi dr k I love you
Your video reminded me that I actually used to pace when I hit a road block at work or needed to cool off during studying. Somehow I shifted into tech distractions (like watching YT videos, wink, wink) and indeed it exhausts me. Thank you for the great advice! Re: the caffeine bit - I'd add sugar in there too, for the same reason: it's a short-lived boost of energy that makes you even more hungry in no time.
The Title indicates that Dr.K is gonna write a self help book soon
With the "Dr k guide to..." he doesn't need it
Can’t wait to read it so I can feel accomplished by daydreaming
His whole channel is basically already that in a good way
@@ordinarypigeon6918 good comment
Every single thing you say in your videos feels like such a call-out. Exactly what I need to hear. Thanks!
The last one about taking a bit of the time spent consuming to produce, and the emphasis on not producing a product was mind bogglingly good advice. I mean, I like to create, I think we all do, but I always get into the headspace that what if I published this, and freeze. When I do stupid but fun projects like a bitsy-game or spinning 3-d donut for my wife, just for fun of it, I feel at ease.
And I immediately saw the word "stupid" after hitting send. It's not stupid. It's best that I can give myself.
To add to pacing: it helps your blood pump and flow, which has a ton of compounded benefits physically and biochemically
Thanks, these are great, and they came into my feed at just the right time! Already off caffeine but I’ll try adding the rest of them starting tomorrow.
The pacing thing is interesting. I have been doing this since I can think. It helps so much when I am in deep thought. I also automatically do it when I explain stuff to other people, which was one of the reasons why I had less trouble doing presentations in highschool.
Very good thumbnail! 💚
Edit: amazing editing also~
Being creative is SO satisfying. I go through long periods where I don't do anything creative, just watch movies/play games etc and it really weighs on my mental health.
The moment I start writing music again I feel so much more satisfied
📱 Avoiding Technology in the Morning
- Not using technology for 30-60 minutes upon waking up
- Technology addiction leads to emotional overwhelm and decreased productivity
- Starting the day without technology improves mental state and willpower
☕ Cutting Back on Caffeine
- Caffeine numbs tiredness signal, leading to increased fatigue
- Rapid effect of caffeine makes it addictive
- Cutting back on caffeine improves mental alertness and productivity
🚶♂ Pacing for Mental Breaks
- Pacing back and forth as a break from work
- Prevents getting distracted by technology
- Decompresses the mind and improves focus
🤔 Giving Yourself Time to Think
- Lack of time for mental processing in modern society
- Taking breaks to think improves productivity and mental well-being
- Shower thoughts as an example of productive thinking time
📝 Shifting from Consumption to Production
- Being a consumer leads to passivity and lack of value creation
- Becoming a producer improves creativity and offers value to the world
- Focus on the process of creation rather than the end product
Thank you very much 🍀🌺🙏 very good advices.
I used to write diary very regular, at least once a week, from when I was 11 until my thirties.. it was my therapy. I just put every thought on paper and it was always a relief, a release and the possibility for insights. Then I started doing yoga and meditation so I did not need the writing anymore, it got less and less... now sometimes it was months that I did not write in my diary. But in the last couple of months (I'm in my forties now) I realized that I missed this kind of expression. Even if no one reads it (at least I hope so) it's an expression, it's creative and it feels so good... it can shift my mood entirely.. it can bring back my humour and hope when it's all too dark. I write now more regularly again. Sometimes on my meditation cushion, using my time for meditation as writing time. Love to everyone, keep on moving and trying ❤
I'll put my sign under Doctor. K's advice about pacing. Vbeen doing it intuitively - helps a lot in various ways
I appreciate the reminder to build good daily habits. Discipline=freedom:) I will begin implementing no screen time again.
This is the first online mental advice I’ve seen that actually works. Most RUclips channels try to tell you these complicated methods to be more productive, but Dr.K just told me to walk back and forth 😂. Thank you Dr.K
I quit smoking about 2 years ago and I always used to take a walk the the office parking lot when I had a cigarette and it helped clear my mind. Now after I’ve quit I struggle to stay focused for long periods of time. Now that you mention pacing it sort of makes sense, I’ll give this a shot!
holy shit, probably one of the best self help videos i've watched in a long while. and trust me i've watched alot of self help videos. thank you so much for this!
Thanks dr.k. Today i discovery from you that pacing and pretend from people time to think about stuff etc. is something worthly and is the main root cause of my productivity. I'm not addicted to caffeine in fact in saturday don't take caffeine. On the working day i take 1/2 coffee until 2 PM. The only stuff that i need to manage better is the technology on the morning. I go 3/7 on gym at 7 AM but other day waste a lot of time on the morning with this stuffs.
There is very strong neuroscience backing pacing (along with sleeping, meditating, exercising, or showering, etc.) as a method of recovery between sessions of exertion. An ebb and flow between production and recovery helps enable flow state while you're working. Engaging in mentally stimulating activities such as reading, scrolling social media, watching videos, or playing video games actually reduces your energy and makes it more difficult to work meaningfully.