work Archives - Hope With Anirban

The Secret: How To Overcome Procrastination

The author writes about his experience with procrastination and how he overcame it. He refers to it as a secret.

I’m not saying that I’m an expert on procrastination. I’m just saying that I have struggled with it a lot my whole life and I have some ideas on how to overcome it.

And I can overcome procrastination through action. Small actions.

It doesn’t have to be some big action step. It can be a simple act of getting started.

My Story

When I was in class 11, I couldn’t sit down to study. So I avoided it.

But if I had known that I could overcome procrastination with small action steps, I would have started with 5 mins of sitting down to study.

And now I know the secret to overcoming procrastination and I am studying daily.

But it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. I struggle with other things like commitment issues, trying new things, overthinking, etc.

I need to work on them too.

I’m reading a book called “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and I find it very helpful.

The ideas are practical and I can easily apply it to my life.

Conclusion

So yeah procrastination can be overcome with small imperfect actions.

Thank you for reading this line! It means a lot.

Say “Yes” to Life

The author writes why saying “Yes” is as important as saying “No” to life.

Daily writing prompt

How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?

View all responses

I don’t usually say “No” but I wish I had said it more.

I think I’m not clear about what I want.

Sure I want to buy a house, buy a car, a bike, and have a certain net worth. But I don’t think I’m clear on my purpose in life.

I mean I don’t value money or any kind of scarce resource more than time.

I value relationships, time, people, etc. more than money.

In fact I say “Yes” more than I say “No”.

I want to meet more people, have more interactions, go out more, read more books, learn more courses, etc.

I don’t want to work more to earn money. I want to do what’s best for me.

And earning money isn’t the only thing in the world.

It is important but it’s not everything.

I think being a good human being is what’s most important. And to be a good person, we need to interact more, talk to more people, understand ourselves, write more journals, etc.

So yeah I don’t say “No” much but I do say “Yes” to things that might interfere with my goals.

I mean what is life more than a journey towards your goals.

And if you say “No” to the things that would enrich your life in the journey, there’s no point in living such a life.

So I say “Yes”.

Thanks for reading this line! It means a lot.

I will not name anything after me

If you could have something named after you, what would it be?

I will not name anything after me except my blog and business.

That’s because I believe that your work and deed make you worthy of remembrance than your name.

Great people like Gandhi, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar are still remembered because of their work, not because their photo and name are printed on paper money or books.

Why bother naming something after you?

Focus on humility and hard work.

There’s no need to attempt to prove to people that you are great.

If you are great, people would know it automatically.

I’m glad you read this line. Thanks a lot!

I wish I could study and work more every day

What do you wish you could do more every day?

Study and Work

I wish I could study and work more every day.

I study and work on projects sometimes related to my MBA Data Science degree.

But I get tired and get mood swings.

I bet everyone gets these mood swings when sitting down to study.

But they study regardless of their mood.

I need to work on my “study regardless of their mood” aspect.

Relation to mental health

My bipolar disorder is also responsible for my difficulties in studying long hours.

It’s not like I don’t want to study and work. It’s just that I can’t.

Writing helps me tremendously to cope with the frustration of being unable to study.

But I guess I need to draw a line between what I can do and what I expect myself to achieve.

Satisfaction

What I can do is – study for 2 hours.
What I expect myself to achieve is – study 4-5 hours.
What I can do is – go out with family, friends, relatives, etc. and sometimes alone to the barber’s saloon.
What I expect myself to achieve is –
- to travel from my town to the city by bus, or
- take a public transportation facility,
- to talk to strangers,
- to make friends,
- to go to regular/offline university, etc.
What I can do is – be satisfied and work hard for uplifting genuine values like honesty, integrity, generosity, etc.
What I expect myself to achieve is – to achieve external success that has no meaning expect earning more money.

What I can do and what I expect myself to do are two different things. They are not the same things.

Conclusion

Sure I can aim to study more but I need to be satisfied with what I have.

I can try to study and work for 3 hours next time. Or may 2.5 hours.

Because my circumstances are different.

Wanting more isn’t always necessary because we don’t need to compare ourselves with others.

I need to take it slow.

I’m glad you’re reading this line. Thanks a lot!

About “Perfect” Social Media Photos

The reason I am writing this is to show you a unique perspective on comparing yourself with other people.

Social media is full of the perfect moments in the lives of us but sometimes when you are down in the drain these perfect moments seldom empower you.

Instead they make you feel like a failure.

Comparing myself with my friends and college mates who have girlfriends/boyfriends, perfect slim bodies, and happiness makes me feel like I am missing out on life.

And if you feel like same way when you scroll your social media feed, you are not alone.

But we know how it goes. They probably feel as empty inside as me or maybe more. But the truth is my social life is not what I want it to be.

And I am not blaming anyone.

Ok ok I am blaming my past. But I am learning to see past these superficial comparisons.

So what is the solution?

I noticed that as soon as I focus on what I love, that is self-expression, I feel good about myself. I am even planning to go all in.

As soon as I write I feel like I am doing something unique to me. I am sharing my unique life story and gifts to the world.

I don’t know what the phd psychologist will recommend as a solution but this one solution, doing your passion works for me.

I follow a guy whose name is Grant Cardone, New York Times best-selling author and the founder of the 10X Rule and I love his ideas. One of his ideas is to swim in the kool-aid than just drinking it. It means to immerse yourself in an activity or learn about something so much that you forget everything else and fully commit to it in order to be a master in it.

In Grant’s own life he is busy all the time and tells his viewer that if you want to meet the devil, have blank space in your calendar. It is a good example for comparing the negative thoughts and comparisons to the devil in your head.

So I hope you liked this little post and see you every Monday. I say Monday but I am posting a new blog post everyday and it gets old when I say “see you every Monday”. So see you tomorrow!