I do, only I've spent a lot of time the last 15 years thinking objectively about my strengths and weaknesses. I am so "lazy" that I work hard nearly every day. Let me explain.
1. Big tasks are stressful because, well, they're big. So I break them down in to components and chip away every day at them so that I am not overwhelmed. I call this taking care of my future self.
2. I love to have days where I get to wake up and do whatever I want to do that day. But I can't enjoy that freedom with bad conscious tasks hanging over my head, so I work my ass off to have those days. For example, my goal for the ENTIRE summer was to spread a yard of mulch, re-build two firewood racks, re-stack and move the logs that are in different areas to keep them seasoning, split and stack a cord of wood for next winter, lay posts for a fruit tree espalier, rebuild shed doors, cut back the wood line 10 feet. These are all already done because we had a nice weather spring. On top of that I changed the fluids on the tractor, the lawnmower, the riding lawnmower and cleaned the gutters.
3. Future proof my job. I got ISO 27001 certification in the spring during dry project spell, and I'm now doing my CCP certification. I have also made it a goal to do 2 hours of business development and networking every week.
4. I do billing on weekdays now, no longer on the weekends.
5. Exercise and sleep. Eat healthy. Don't drink alcohol. This means I wake up early and fresh and motivated to do a couple hours of early work every day. This usually means I'm done with my workday by 2:00pm.
6. Remove toxic relationships from your life. This could be friends, an employer, a client, whatever. They suck your happiness which impacts your productivity.
7. Don't keep up with the Jones's. Figure out what makes you happy. I've never cared about how people view me, I wear jeans and t-shirts mostly. Fancy cars & houses do nothing for me (I live in a great house on an amazing property in a very special area next to a city I have always loved even though it wasn't my "home", but it's not a McMansion). My car is low mileage and 10 years old.
8. Don't do ALL the hobbies. Find the one or two that you really get a lot out of and focus on those. For me it's music.
Did I know or do much of this when I was 20? no. 30? not really. Maybe some of this just comes from experience.
1. Big tasks are stressful because, well, they're big. So I break them down in to components and chip away every day at them so that I am not overwhelmed. I call this taking care of my future self.
2. I love to have days where I get to wake up and do whatever I want to do that day. But I can't enjoy that freedom with bad conscious tasks hanging over my head, so I work my ass off to have those days. For example, my goal for the ENTIRE summer was to spread a yard of mulch, re-build two firewood racks, re-stack and move the logs that are in different areas to keep them seasoning, split and stack a cord of wood for next winter, lay posts for a fruit tree espalier, rebuild shed doors, cut back the wood line 10 feet. These are all already done because we had a nice weather spring. On top of that I changed the fluids on the tractor, the lawnmower, the riding lawnmower and cleaned the gutters.
3. Future proof my job. I got ISO 27001 certification in the spring during dry project spell, and I'm now doing my CCP certification. I have also made it a goal to do 2 hours of business development and networking every week.
4. I do billing on weekdays now, no longer on the weekends.
5. Exercise and sleep. Eat healthy. Don't drink alcohol. This means I wake up early and fresh and motivated to do a couple hours of early work every day. This usually means I'm done with my workday by 2:00pm.
6. Remove toxic relationships from your life. This could be friends, an employer, a client, whatever. They suck your happiness which impacts your productivity.
7. Don't keep up with the Jones's. Figure out what makes you happy. I've never cared about how people view me, I wear jeans and t-shirts mostly. Fancy cars & houses do nothing for me (I live in a great house on an amazing property in a very special area next to a city I have always loved even though it wasn't my "home", but it's not a McMansion). My car is low mileage and 10 years old.
8. Don't do ALL the hobbies. Find the one or two that you really get a lot out of and focus on those. For me it's music.
Did I know or do much of this when I was 20? no. 30? not really. Maybe some of this just comes from experience.
But mostly, don't believe the hype.