My wife turned the camera on as I was thinking out loud. My schedule just got a lot busier with the start of the semester, I’m finding it more difficult to get uninterrupted hours of focus. This a problem for me because it takes me an hour or two to get into a really nice focused state where I can get things done.

This video was filmed while I was concerned about that and thinking out loud. Filming this helped find the solutions I was looking for. This will help you make the best out of the time that you have. I wrote these rules mostly for me, I hope this career advice is helpful to you too.

First, Don’t complain about being busy too much. And stop feeding the feeling that you’re overwhelmed. Even if that is true, the time you spend worrying and obsessing about that is lost forever. complaining only adds to the problem you’re complaining about!! So a good strategy would be to stop complaining, seriously, I know we think it’s helping but it’s not. stop it 🙂

Second, A thing that might help you feel less overwhelmed is to lower your standards. Another we to say this is that consistency is king. Instead of saying “I must do this big awesome thing everyday”, I say “everyday I have to open the note book and right one little thing that I did that day”. It could be anything, even something that you can do drunk at 2a.m. after a party.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t work hard, everyday do some little bullshit and you’re good. Surprising you this has the exact opposite outcome, you end up doing more than if you had such a high standard. Some days, you just can’t meet your high standard and you will feel like you’re failing and that you’re behind. Even though it’s not your fault. Eventually, I gave up on all the projects where I made such high standard for what I will do. You will also end up spending a lot of time worrying, than just doing.

If you commit to doing a little everyday no matter what. Then you can keep this up for years without giving up. It’s easier to keep track of an easy to specify goal. And if you keep doing something for years, then you’re unstoppable. Time and momentum will be on your side!

Third, don’t think of downtime, when experienced in moderation as a bad thing. You need downtime to have better ideas, to regroup, and your brain needs to consolidate what you’re learning. When you slow down, different parts of your brain can be getting things done.

I hope this helps you. Until next time, stay positive.