How To Get Shit Done
Congrats on surviving to March.
Before we talk about goals and productivity, let’s ground this in reality:
Whatever you give attention to grows.
That doesn’t mean you ignore what’s happening. That’s avoidance — and avoidance increases anxiety. It means you choose where your energy goes. Toxic people thrive on validation. They don’t feel shame when you call them evil. They feel significant.
Less words. More actions.
If the world feels chaotic, regulate your nervous system first. Go outside. Put your feet on the ground. Sunshine helps. Dirt helps. Music helps. Movement helps. Caffeine doesn’t help anxiety. Sleep matters. Stabilize the body before you try to optimize your life.
Now let’s talk about productivity.
Humans Aren’t Designed to Be Productive
We are big mammals with enormous brains that burn massive energy just existing. Historically, humans hunted or foraged for a few hours a day. The rest of the time was spent resting, connecting, raising children, being in community.
You’re not broken because you don’t want to grind 12 hours a day.
And if you’re in shame about not being productive, you’ll become even less productive. Shame is energetically draining. It shuts down action.
Here’s the real paradox:
Being “ready” isn’t a feeling. It’s a decision.
The act of starting is often the most motivating part.
But the fastest way to kill motivation is to attach your identity to the outcome. When failing at a task becomes failing as a person, your brain avoids the task entirely. That’s ego involvement. And it’s exhausting.
The solution isn’t caring more.
It’s caring less.
Detachment isn’t apathy. It’s clean energy.
Busy Isn’t Productive
Busy work is procrastination.
Meetings are often procrastination.
Learning more can be procrastination.
Even self-help can be procrastination.
Action is the goal.
But here’s something most productivity advice ignores:
You can’t consume and produce at the same time.
Learning and creating are opposite energies. If you’re in expansion (learning), don’t expect peak output. If you’re in production mode, reduce intake.
Switch phases instead of fighting yourself.
Strategy vs Force
There are tools:
Focus on your most important actions (usually one or two per day).
Do the big rocks first.
Use Pomodoro timers.
Eat the frog.
But no tool works all the time.
Sometimes you need a dopamine hit from a small task.
Sometimes you need rest before a draining task.
Sometimes you need urgency.
Two laws matter here:
The Backwards Law: Forcing outcomes produces the opposite result. The more you strain, the more resistance you create. Relaxed attention is often more effective than aggressive effort.
Parkinson’s Law: Work expands to fill the time available. If you give a meeting an hour, it takes an hour. If you give it thirty minutes, it takes thirty.
Productivity is less about intensity and more about structure.
Think of it like watering a garden. You don’t force the harvest. You tend the soil.
But real jobs have deadlines. So you use structure — not panic — to meet them.
Indecision Is a Self-Trust Problem
Indecisiveness rarely comes from lack of information.
It comes from lack of trust.
When you don’t trust yourself, you outsource your intuition to other people — or to the internet. Underneath that is fear of failure. Sometimes fear of success. Sometimes perfectionism.
The antidote isn’t more data.
It’s a clear moral compass.
If you have unshakable standards and values, decisions become filtering processes. You don’t debate endlessly. You measure alignment.
Your body also has different decision centers:
Head — logic, data, analysis. Useful but limited. You’re only seeing what’s conscious.
Heart — emotion, connection. Important, but love alone doesn’t override facts.
Gut — instinct. Wordless knowing.
Problems happen when you overuse one and ignore the others.
And yes — some people make decisions with their libido. That’s not a strategy.
Awareness of which center you’re using matters.
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Goals
There are two types of goals:
Intrinsic goals are soul-driven. Internally motivated. They feel sovereign.
Extrinsic goals are ego-driven. Externally validated. They depend on approval.
The object doesn’t determine the category.
You can get a doctorate because you love the subject and want to serve people.
Or you can get it for status and power.
Same degree. Different energy.
You can buy a motorcycle to feel free.
Or to impress your friends.
Same object. Different motivation.
Intrinsic people are self-led. They act in alignment with values, not applause.
Some Goals Are Side Effects
You cannot control finding your soulmate.
You can control being ready for one.
You can heal your trauma.
You can develop standards.
You can build integrity.
The same applies to weight loss, career growth, strength, skill.
You don’t control the timeline.
You control the trajectory.
If you start eating healthier, weight loss becomes inevitable. You don’t need to obsess over every metric. Once you’re on the right trajectory, the future outcome already exists.
Focus on direction.
Not speed.
The Real Theme
This isn’t really about productivity.
It’s about sovereignty.
Stop forcing outcomes.
Stop outsourcing authority.
Stop attaching identity to results.
Stop chasing goals that don’t align with your values.
Stabilize your nervous system.
Clarify your standards.
Act from intrinsic motivation.
Trust your trajectory.
Less force.
More alignment.
And cleaner energy behind your actions.
