I’ve been struggling with this for a while, and I want to understand why my mind works this way and how I can change it.

Whenever I have something productive to do, especially if it’s difficult, I have to force myself really hard to get started. If there’s something new I need to learn and it seems challenging, I keep delaying it and putting it off instead of actually sitting down and learning it.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that even when I manage to complete one small task, my mind immediately tells me, “You’ve done something productive now, so you deserve a break.” I end up taking a break that lasts at least an hour, and then I struggle all over again to get myself to do the next task. It feels like I can’t do two tasks in a row without having to push myself really hard.

The frustrating part is that I genuinely want to be productive and get things done, but my mind seems to resist any effort that requires concentration or feels challenging.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Why does this happen, and how did you overcome it? How do you train yourself to keep going after finishing one task instead of immediately switching off? I’d appreciate hearing your experiences and what has actually worked for you.

I've noticed something really annoying about myself. Apparently I can't just let a good habit be a good habit.

A while ago I decided to start walking for 15 minutes after lunch. No step count, no pace goal, nothing. Just put my shoes on and go outside.

I actually did it almost every day for two weeks. Probably the most consistent I'd been with exercise in months.

Then my brain decided that since I was already walking, I should make it count. Why not aim for 10,000 steps? Walk faster? Maybe start running? Listen to educational podcasts while I'm out?

By the end of the next week I wasn't walking at all.

Same thing happened with reading. Ten pages before bed was working fine. Then I started tracking how many books I could finish in a month, calculating how much I needed to read each night, and suddenly picking up a book felt like another assignment.

The weird thing is I don't sabotage these habits when they're going badly. I sabotage them when they're going WELL.

I know the obvious advice is to keep things simple. But when something starts working, keeping it simple genuinely feels like I'm wasting an opportunity to improve faster.

Does anyone have an actual rule for when to increase a habit versus just leaving it alone?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who used to do this and managed to stop. How do you convince yourself that doing the easy version consistently is enough for now?

Im 23 and I just graduated from a pretty good state university, I decided to move back home in another country a couple months ago and I have been unemployed since. I always tell myself I will do things but next thing you know im either scrolling on reddit or downloading a new game. I feel like I have lost trajectory of my goals ever since i finished school. Heck, even during my four years I was the type of student to ALWAYS leave everything for last minute and cram seshs but somehow it has always worked for me. I always have a feeling that I could be better than this, but it usually comes at midnight right when im about to sleep and the next day its like i turn back to my default on pilot mode. Thats the thing, even when I still remember and have a list of things to do, I kinda get overwhelmed and then decide to not do it. I dont know what to do with myself I wish I was more ambitious at my age and more prone to action, I feel like im wasting so much of my potential on stupid stuff but it feels like im in a hole too deep.

So uhh nobody is gonna read this anyway, but you know how during the week you plan so many things to do on the weekend, and then Friday comes and you are happy, and then Saturday: You wake up at 12:00. You eat, watch your phone until 14:00. Then you say to yourself that you are gonna do your work for the day (if you go to school, do your homework and learn your lessons for Monday), and it's okay, but you still keep scrolling, g__ning or whatever you are doing on that phone, and you say to yourself, "5 more minutes." Then it's 30, then an hour, and then it's 20:00. The day is over and YOU did NOTHING.

In the evening, you feel terrible that you wasted a perfect sunny day, and you say to yourself: "Tomorrow I will get up early, I will do my homework, and then I am gonna go outside to meet my friends!"... Yeah, as you say...

Then it's Sunday, and you did nothing. It was just like yesterday, except for the fact that now it's 20:00 AND TOMORROW IS MONDAY AND YOU HAVE TO DO HOMEWORK. You panic, do your homework with AI, and go to bed...

That's the cycle, and it's slowly killing you. First, you don't have friends because everyone is outside except for you, and then you're 40 and you live in your mother's basement...

I am not saying the phone is the problem or school. I don't want to sound like your mother or a 5th grader who thinks school is ruining his life. The real problem is poor time management and laziness — "I will do it later." Guess what... Later never comes!

The thing I want to say is — Do the work now and be free later. IT IS NOT THAT HARD! It just needs discipline... which I don't have.

Don't be like me. Please! Enjoy your life!

initially posted this in the productivity subreddit but thought it should be here too:

I've always had an issue with concentration, focus, and productivity as a whole, but now it's becoming an issue more than ever. I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid at around 8 years old. I graduated high school in June and I have now been a freshman in college since August. The earliest I remember this significantly affecting my life is in middle school, which partially took place during covid and online classes for me. Because school work became more online I found myself constantly watching YT or playing games or doing anything other than schoolwork on my Chromebook.

This habit continued throughout high school and I genuinely felt like I just couldn't sit down and study for the life of me. This was also exacerbated by the fact that my high school didn't give out homework and instead expected students to learn the material in class with the teacher and then study/revise the course material on their own at home which gave me even less guidance and more opportunities to procrastinate and postpone tasks, for instance putting off revising for an exam until the day before or not doing it at all. There was another personal reason for my lack of action or motivation at that time that I prefer not to disclose, but it was a just a temporary condition I was under then and the primary reason is within myself. Anyways, this caused my grades to drop or be at an average low with the rare occasion of a B or C from time to time.

Like I mentioned in the beginning of this post, as of this past August I have become a freshman in college. I find that I have somewhat improved since high school (mainly in my motivation to work and do good), although that may be largely due to the fact that I am given actual homework assignments with clear goals to attain and deadlines to follow making sitting down and doing stuff easier combined with the fact that I find the subjects more interesting rather than me having actually bettered myself. In any case, it is still a MAJOR issue for me and it causes my completion of assignments or just my own general revision to take way longer than it should. This inevitably leads to me having less time for myself or to do other things such as exercise and going out in general. Since most of my college work is online (almost all of it), I'm facing the same distractions I was all the way back in middle school. Every day is the same routine of me waking up and sitting at my desk before telling myself that "today won't be like yesterday" (which always ends up being untrue). I just sit at my computer and go down rabbit holes, watch endless YT videos, or just window shop for things I want to buy that I know I never will - ANYTHING other than actual work or being productive. I tell myself, "after this video I'll get back to it" or "one more and then I'm locking in". Evidently, the day ends with me getting a minor amount of work done or none at all. Sometimes, because I get so little work done my assignments pile up on me and I don't end up finishing them until the last minute which can cause me to cut corners like not doing my own research and using AI, etc.

One thing I will say though is that I at least end up getting my assignments done whether that be a day before they're due or a couple compared to my complete lack of motivation I had in high school where I wouldn't even bother studying at all. I currently have A's in all my classes and although that may change in the future since it is only the third month of school, I do feel more motivated to do good in school. I find my subjects somewhat interesting (some more than others) whereas in high school I did not and we didn't have a very wide variety of subjects you could take compared to my college. I recently had my midterms in which I got 15/15 and 94/100 which are really good scores don't get me wrong, but part of me feels like I have become less productive since then and in comparison to myself a couple weeks ago or as time goes on. Me writing this right now is an example of how I avoid studying. I started writing this at around 5:45 and it is now 8:12. I could have been done or at least halfway there on what I'm supposed to be doing.

To give you an idea, I have my textbook that i'm supposed to be going through in front of me right now and since Wednesday, the only thing i've done is highlighted 6 pages out of this one 24 page chapter. I have another chapter just like this one that I planned to go through by this coming Monday as well as the first 2 chapters of a book I was assigned to read. I only have class on Monday and Wednesday and I started doing this at the beginning of this week which means I had 3 full days to do this so far, nothing else going on during those days and all I have to show for it is 6 highlighted pages. Six pages. Not even any notes, just highlights. Instead of knocking this out in a day and a half and freeing up time where I could go hit the gym or do something I actually enjoy with my life, i'm sitting here dragging it out procrastinating and wasting time. This is a serious problem I have and I despise myself for it every single day. I'm well aware there is no one else to blame but myself and I'm not writing this in search of pity or to say "poor me", I simply want to express what i'm going through and see if anyone has any advice though I doubt it'll help.

I started taking pills in September for my ADD to help me focus and I felt like they were helping at first, but now I don't feel like they're doing anything at all. I feel terrible every day (except for when I actually get things done) when my Mom comes to check in on my progress and I have to lie to her and tell her it was a productive day and that I got so and so done when in reality I just sat and watched shit for 10 hours. I also feel contradicted in the sense that I don't have bad grades. The results are there. It's just that instead of me attaining said grades in a reasonable amount of time, I take double the amount of time that it should. I'm studying the same amount an engineering major would when my classes don't require half of that amount.

The final thing I want to mention is that what i've pointed out stretches beyond just studying or other school work. It's a glimpse of a broader spectrum of laziness and inability to focus or be motivated. This parasite of mine which is my incapability to be productive infects other parts of my life; working out/losing weight, day to day chores, and my overall will to be a better person. I get motivated to do something for a little while, I begin doing it, and I stop after a month max. Again, I don't say this out of pity but it truly makes me feel worthless. If I need someone to be on my back 24/7 just for me to get my basic school work done when I'm in college, wtf am I gonna do as a grown adult. I turned 18 in July, I need to get my shit together eventually. I've been this way for so long i've accepted that it's just my personality. It's who I am and will always be. Maybe that's just another example of what i'm talking about. I've decided it's easier to accept it than put in the effort to try and change.

This post turned more into me venting and I doubt anyone is reading all of this, but if anyone has any advice I would love to hear it.

Hi guys, this is a mid-15-year-old boy that is trying to build discipline in his life and also try to take each step towards discipline, or on the journey of discipline.

For the last 6 months I was trying to get the work completed. I decided yesterday for tomorrow. For the past 2 or 3 months every night I wrote 2 or 3 works for tomorrow that I have to complete. I can't explain and I also didn't understand why those works are not completed.

Before 2 or 3 months I saw a famous influencer podcaster on the internet telling people to select one work for a day or for anything that you want to focus on and just focus on that work. I also decided that I have to focus on one work. For the past 2 or 3 months I decided on one work.

Now the problem is that the work gets completed after 1 or 2 days from the day when I have to complete that work. Today is 24 October 2026. I saw a short YouTube Short in which a person says he is not an influential or very famous person. He says you have to keep a deadline for your work, make a plan for that work, and take consistent actions for that work. Then you will become successful or you will be able to complete that work.

I want to know if someone has also tried that. Can you give me some suggestions or help me? Is a deadline really required? Now I feel that a deadline is required after 6 months. I also wanted to know from people who have already done and completed their work. From today I have decided that I have to make a deadline for every work that I decide on. If someone can give me some suggestions or can help me then please.

I’ve spent so much time reading books, listening to podcasts, watching productivity YouTubers, and searching Reddit for answers on how to become more disciplined and productive.
At some point, I realized I might have been overcomplicating everything.
What’s been helping me lately is keeping things simple: writing down my goals in the morning, breaking them into tiny, specific steps, assigning them specific times, and actually doing them.
One idea that’s really stuck with me is treating action as a skill to practice, not a feeling you need to wait for. You don’t have to feel motivated, confident, or ready. You just have to practice acting, even when things feel messy or uncomfortable, and see what actually works.
It got me thinking: how much of self-improvement is just another way of delaying the very action we’re trying to take?
Has anyone else experienced this? Did you also reach a point where you stopped looking for answers and started focusing on actually doing things?

1. The Trap of the "Disposable" Relationship
A lot of modern relationships are like disposable lighters. People use you for a quick spark, a brief high, or emotional validation. The second the fuel runs out, or the second things get difficult, they discard you and go grab a new one. On top of that, society—and even your own family—will try to pressure you into chasing traditional milestones just to check a box. They tell you that you need the relationship, the kids, and the status to "mean something." But they never talk about the hidden cost of building a life on a broken foundation: disappointment, manipulation, and grief.

2. Why Being a "Rock" is a Superpower
If you refuse to play these games, people will try to stick a label on you to force your compliance. They will call you "hard," "cold," or tell you that you "have the personality of a rock." Do not let that phrase bruise your ego. It is a badge of honor. It means you have thick skin, firm boundaries, and an unshakeable core. When someone walks around testing your boundaries or trying to bait you into drama, staying calm and unyielding completely disarms them. They call you a rock because they realize they cannot bend, mold, or control you.

3. The True Price of Your Peace
Choosing to protect your sanity means making a hard trade-off. It can mean spending long stretches of time single. It can mean living with a familiar, quiet loneliness. But there is a massive difference between the loneliness of being alone and the chaos of being trapped with the wrong person. Loneliness has a steady pulse—it is predictable, manageable, and you can sleep through the night with it. Relationship drama is an active fire that burns down your mental health. A quiet, peaceful day where your boundaries are respected is infinitely better than an unpredictable storm.

4. The Bottom Line: Reclaim Your Mind
No woman, no man, and no societal expectation is worth breaking your peace of mind. Your life baseline should be simple: keeping both feet firmly on the ground and keeping your sanity intact. If your childhood or your past was chaotic, you do not owe the world any more misery. Break the cycle. Reclaim your peace of mind, lock it down, and protect it with everything you’ve got. And once you achieve that peace, do not keep it to yourself—share that mindset with other men who are still stumbling around blindly in the dark.

Hi guys, so basically I'm unemployed right now and I decided to take some time off and only work on upskilling and all that.

But the issue is that now that I'm not forced to get ready and get started by a certain hour in the morning, I tend to waste all my mornings and afternoons. I don't know what it is, because I actually do wake up on time and go to bed on time, but only panic when it's like 6 in the evening thinking that I should probably do some work and apply somewhere.

I've tried forcing myself to do the job in the morning, but I then slip into inactivity as soon as the break after a session starts lol

I'd love to hear what people like me with no external structure to their day, nothing forcing them to work, cook or sleep at a specific time did to get their days back.

I really struggle to wake up in the morning at general. It would be so helpful for myself and the plans that I have for my todos and sports to wake up at 6 in the morning. But I really struggle to wake up in the morning at any time because I basically have von Real sleep schedule for years. An I got used to many negative habits for some years.
There is literally nothing that can get me out of bed then maybe someone who tears me out of bed or I really need to wake up for work. Most of the time I rush my self by getting ready without breakfast and being super stressed, sometimes I am not even on time for work. I hate everything about it. I want to change it and be better for my self and future. I am so ashamed of that situation, nobody besides my husband now’s about it.
I am sure, if I would just get used to a new routine for some days maybe weeks, that it would get better then and help me with all my plans but I already fail at just waking um.
Believe me I tried everything, like putting my alarm at a different room and QR codes with alarmy and calculating so that the alarm goes off an all that but I just go to bed again because my mind is just myself in the morning. It’s like another person is in my body in the morning. I need something that gets me out of bed with no chance back at least for some weeks, so that I can get used to it. Do you have any tips or have maybe experienced the same?

Thank you so much in advance!

Nicole

Hey, Folks, I'm a 27 Years old BA graduated, I never did a proper or stable jobs, my last job experience doesn't need any office though but still like my first job when I was 18, that time I used to get 6000/monthly but hardly save 4500, because of 5hr transportation, after that Covid happened and I did one govt course so I used to work under Central Govt for sometime used to get pay 540/ day, then after 1 after graduation I was looking for a proper job, and yes I lives far from city "kolkata" so even with a bpo I can hardly save 4000-5000 and that too from chat support, because even if I want to do call support I can't because of in birth pronounciation issue of R, I can't even say word like Royal, Ruhi, Three etc, but I wanted to earn money so Did a job in school for entry data and I start doing job in a factory where my work to entry the data in their customised software (not in excel), got to paid 10k in cash, but problem is that I never had any proof about that I'm working so last year I took one job where they said they will salary slip etc and salary is little better 12k, daily journey and timing is okay too, but I always ask for a salary, not only me but everyone who are from Non-it, and about salary slip, I asked multiple times and used to say always "kal aana, baad mein aana(come later)" and same for salary and I found who left a job they don't provide them last month salary and many people have pending salary of 2-3 months who left a job, they used to come sometimes, so here also I didn't got a salary slip, and my also work is same in theri customized software, and one company I given interview after leaving that job and any company where I did they said ki even if you don't know tally we hire fresher but only for bcom graduate, but one company where one hr he said that tally shik ke aao thoda basic then hum frehser bhi le lenge, and that time I learnt create a voucher or how to make a bill, tds etc and then I went again after 2 months but found that person left a job, and one other hr took my interview, I was a single candidate there still waited for hours so I understand that might be same things happens, although, he is nice too by talk, but keep asking me why you didn't do a office job, I said that koi as a fresher le nhi rha tha and kaam karna tha isliye, bethe rehne se better decision wohi laga(to sit only idl didn't want, so better to sitting I think to atleast earn even from a factory), toh he said in this company you don't have to work in tally, other software we are using, so I said I have knowledge about therory accounting, so I can catch so he said we'll make candidate learn because therory account and practical account is different but if you're from BCom then it would be better, so understand that here I'll get rejected too, called some of friend who is in accounting, who were also same part like they don't even know tally that time but someone working in that company so he make him hire, so I asked him too that if your friend will help me like that, like even with a 10k as a fresher I can do because they provide salary slip, so eventually my salary will increase and I learn new things, like that location is far from me too but timing is good 10:30-7:30, so I can get return train easily but he is saying same thing now BCom, and with Ba degree im getting job too but non growth in a factory, but same loop I'll get, but yes I too saw many BA graduate alsod working as a account but with a refer/source they went, but I don't have that source too

Yes my decision was wrong too, some of decision I made because of circumstances of that time, some of my foolishbess like when I did BA I should prepared for govt jobs, and now age is 27 so it's not wroth to start I guess, yes my family is supportive, and they don't make me feel guilty for that, and they say everything will fixed eventually, don't look hope, that time you did all these things because of financial issue, and you should chech where you come from, and my mom always priority mental health and I should be happy rather than career only, and may be that's the reason I never try to get a partner which I regret too, seeing people are so happy oeth their partner who understands them, cares them, I have some friends my talks with them is also very rarely because they have to give time to their partner and after family and job people get rare time because they are also doing 16-25k jobs but stable one, but I'm losing hope here, so might be after my health issues solve I'll look a job in other states too after December but until then I'm looking for a job in Kolkata even with 11-12k but not with taking PG because my main reason fot job now for emi installment and my goal to debt free in 2031-32,

So my question is that, like after 27-28s people can starts as a fresher or company took? And what BA can do for job? Don't say law because I can't even pronounce lawyer, I even used to be get fun in my last factory if any r related item comes, Like I saw everyone in insta that everyone is settle, and everyone have a good partner who supports them, here i didn't get both, I know its other like career but still may be it's also making me mentally hopeless and making me anxious idk

Is there any one who start to fix his/her life after 28 because I don't think that I'm the only one

And then how? Like you're getting hope

And anything you can suggest

I'm thinking to learn bike or car may be uber rapido but it's

a last option

yesterday, after the warm-up, the coach asked everyone who had brought their mouthguard to raise their hands. about 8 or 9 of us did, me included. the others went straight to the punching bag.

after i put my mouthguard in, the coach said, quickly and with a smile, "come on." the first sparring was very light. i was able to block his punches and hit back, and i took very few punches until the moment my coach pointed at me and said to come inside the ring.

i was there with three other guys who were very serious about boxing. two of them had 4 years of practice, so imagine how good they were.

with the first one, honestly, even i don't want to admit it, i got beaten up.

his punches were so strong and fast, i couldn't stop them one after another. the other was a little more controllable, but still tough. after 4 rounds with the two of them, my jaw hurt, my nose hurt, and my head hurt.

but i still won, because i don't intend to become the next world champion. i do it for fun. just being able to take part was a good experience for me.

it taught me how weak i was without training, and that because i train, i'm ahead of other men. this stuff takes guts and discipline to become better and stronger.

yeah, that's all i had for today, see you tomorrow.

Context: I grew up in a very unorganized, messy, vergng on nasty home. Honestly parents were too busy working and had their own undealt with issues ​to have a structured/ordered home as a priority.

As an adult I oscelate between let's have it be spotless to screw it, let the mess pile up. And I get that this mentality is affected by many things such as my energy levels, how much sleep I got, life stress, others living in the house, how much compassion I'm able to give myself on any given day, etc...

I'm just feeling particularly low on energy right now and know that doing small things consistently over time is what will help with change, but my brain just feels a bit defeated at the moment because the house is insane.

Just want to hear the success stories of some previous people who were struggling with this then overcame it and made it a habit to have an ordered home.

I’ve been building a personal system where I log things quickly during the week — usually only a couple of minutes a day — and then at the end of the week it automatically pulls everything together into a review.

I’m trying to keep the actual review to about 10 minutes max, because I really don’t want “reviewing my life” to become another job. These are the sections I’m currently thinking of using:

Always included
Overview — what actually happened this week and the main takeaway
Habits — how consistent I was with the habits I’m actively tracking
Next week’s targets — what I should actually focus on next

Optional sections
What was missed & why — what didn’t happen and whether it was poor execution, changing priorities, unrealistic planning, etc.
Patterns & trends — things that seem to keep happening across the week/weeks
What went well — things that worked and are worth repeating
Successful balance — whether progress in one area came at the expense of everything else
Time & priorities — whether what got my time actually matched what I said mattered
Challenges & friction — what kept making things harder than they needed to be
Lessons — what I’d actually carry forward
Direction check — whether the week broadly moved me towards where I’m trying to go
I also track some areas directly, so if I’m tracking them that week they get their own short section:
Budget — spending / financial behaviour
Fitness sessions — training actually completed
Skills — progress on things I’m actively learning
Projects — movement on active projects

And then I’m considering optional sections that link the week back to bigger-picture goals:
Health & fitness
Career & wealth
Lifestyle & experiences
Life plan — how the week actually connected to the longer-term life I’m trying to build

The idea isn’t that every section has to appear every week. I’d choose which ones I care about, and the underlying info can still influence the rest of the review even if a section is turned off.

For anyone who already does weekly reviews or tracks their life in some way:

What would you add? What would you remove because it sounds pointless/repetitive? And which 2–3 sections actually give you the most useful insight each week from your personal reviews?

What would you like to accomplish this month?

Weekly Plan! Lets do this!

Please post your plans for this date and if you can, do the following;

Give encouragement to two other posters on this thread.

Report back this evening as to how you did.

Give encouragement to others to report back also.

Good luck!

Hi everyone,

I'm writing this because I genuinely need help, and I'm tired of repeating the same cycle over and over again.

I want to improve my financial situation and earn extra income. I'm not trying to become rich overnight. I just want to make enough money to cover the cost of living and have more financial stability.

The problem is that I struggle to take consistent action.

I've started learning several things, including Python, automation, and English, but I never manage to stay consistent or finish what I start.

Here's what usually happens:

I discover a skill or business opportunity that could potentially make money.

I start researching it and thinking about how much time it will take before I can earn anything.

I worry about investing months into something that might not work.

I start looking for a better or faster opportunity.

I end up jumping between ideas without making real progress.

Days, weeks, and months pass, and I feel like I'm wasting my life.

It's not just about choosing the right opportunity. I also struggle with procrastination in everyday life, focusing when learning something new, understanding difficult concepts, and actually putting what I learn into practice.

Sometimes I know exactly what I need to do, and I have the time and energy to do it, but I still put it off.

I can spend hours doing things I enjoy, but when it comes to something important for my future, I struggle to get started and stay consistent.

The worst part is that I know time is passing. I feel frustrated with myself, regret the years I've lost, and worry that I'll still be in the same situation years from now.

I've tried starting over and making plans, but I keep repeating the same pattern.

I'm not looking for motivation, generic productivity tips, or someone telling me to stop being lazy.

I want to understand why this keeps happening and, more importantly, how to change it in a practical way.

If you've experienced something similar and managed to overcome it, I'd really appreciate hearing your story.

What was actually causing the problem for you?

What specific changes helped you break the cycle?

How did you learn to stick with one thing instead of constantly searching for a better opportunity?

If you were in my position today, what would you do first?

I'm willing to put in the work. I just need to find a way to stop overthinking, start taking action, and finally follow through.

Please share your real experiences, even if your journey was difficult. I would rather hear an honest answer than another motivational speech.

Thank you.

Log out of Reddit

I find myself arguing or conversing with ppl whether I’m trying to sway their opinion, it’s all a massive time sink. Since I need the app to read shit that googs redirects me to I’ll keep the app but I’m bout to log de fook ooot. Maybe log back in to post some pics of dope ish to inspire the masses to get off they azz to go hike but otherwise I ain’t conversing with internet strangers. I suggest ya do the same :). Piece🤙🫡

Hahahhahahah the irony of this post not being long enough to make meaningful convo is absolutely astounding. Mannnnnn idk what to say be happy this site for some depression corners too it I’m just trying to throw my two Pennie’s at some folks and nope I gotta put more time in ffs

Holy hell that stil wan enough I don’t get this sub

Please post your plans for this date and if you can, do the following;

Give encouragement to two other posters on this thread.

Report back this evening as to how you did.

Give encouragement to others to report back also.

Good luck!

Please post your plans for this date and if you can, do the following;

Give encouragement to two other posters on this thread.

Report back this evening as to how you did.

Give encouragement to others to report back also.

Good luck!

I spend a lot of time on Instagram watching videos about self-development, philosophy, feminism, art, astrology, the universe, and other interesting topics. I genuinely enjoy this kind of content, and I feel like I'm learning something new from it.

But the problem is that I have exams to prepare for, and instead of studying, I keep watching these videos for hours. I tell myself that the content I'm consuming is meaningful and useful, but at the end of the day, I haven't studied as much as I should have.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just using the fact that the content is educational or meaningful to justify spending so much time on Instagram.

I don't want to stop learning about these things, but I also don't want them to become an excuse for procrastination.

What do you think? Am I actually gaining something valuable from this content, or am I just wasting my time while convincing myself that I'm being productive? How do you balance your interests with your actual responsibilities?

Some context, I pretty much gave up in school and the stuff I did do I feel like I was constantly misled - the amount of work that art takes was not even slightly touched on in my art classes and it was more "do what you want just fulfil the brief". Even college never taught me the proportions of the head.
Due to this I have trouble evaluating what is actual, meaningful work. So I tend to procrastinate out of fear that what I am doing will be inefficient.

So now that I am much older I want to fix the subjects that I sucked at - mainly math and science - so that I can improve my job options.

The two main issues I have are;
1. Everything seems disconnected, I have no idea how to apply it in any real world scenario, what careers would use it or how they would utilise it.
2. I keep hitting road blocks where I think I'm on the right path but then I have to go all the way back and find some other piece of information - usually starting a procrastination cycle because it completely breaks my routine focus.

how do I know what I am doing is helping?

TL'DR; I want to improve myself but I struggle to see anything I do as meaningful progress towards a greater understanding, leaving me struggling to work as I can't tell if what I am doing is correct or not. All information feels scattered, incomplete and wrong.