Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with self-discipline

Increase my self-discipline? How?

DrGirlfriend — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:07:12 -0800

Bolstering self-discipline: I'm stuck in a cycle of knowing that I need to make exercise a regular part of my life. At this point I can only go to the gym right after work during the week. I can also sneak in exercise on weekends. The problem? I cannot seem to maintain any kind of routine for more than 2 or 3 weeks. I started off a few months ago being very gung-ho about going to the gym after work. I really enjoyed the exercise. Then I had a period where I couldn't go, and that brought me back to square one. At the end of the day I feel tired, I feel unmotivated, wah wah wah. Have you ever cracked the whip on yourself and made it work for you? How did you do it?

Help me become a responsible adult...

Anonymous — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 05:31:30 -0800

Help me become a responsible adult... I graduated college a little over three years ago, and so far I feel like I'm failing completely at creating an adult life for myself. I don't really have a social life, or any real social relationships outside of work. I don't have a SO or any reasonable expectation of finding one. I don't have any hobbies or activities that I enjoy (except working). I have an idea of the things I should do (find a therapist, excercise every day, volunteer, take a class and try to meet people) but I have a lot of trouble motivating myself to actually do these things. Usually what happens is that I make an initial appointment to meet with a therapist or pre-pay for a set of classes and then never show.

The odd thing is, work is going great. I'm passionate about my job, and my projects usually go pretty well. I get a lot of positive feedback from my bosses. Then, during weekends and evenings, it's like someone flips a switch and I turn off. I can't seem to motivate myself to do anything, even little things like going outside for a walk or washing the dishes. It's like I'm waiting for someone to come tell me what to do. But since I live alone, the only person who's around to make me take responsibility for myself is me... and this doesn't seem to be something I'm capable of right now.

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? How did you "grow up" and start taking responsibility for your own life, health, and happiness?

How do I become Hero of the Beach?

Bookhouse — Mon, 28 May 2007 10:47:31 -0800

How can I toughen up? I am a wimp: Physically weak, non-confrontational, anxiety-prone and lazy. I would like to be none of these things. What can I do to add some steel to my inner core? I'm talking about improving both physically and mentally.

Please help me develop my inner Vic Mackey.

Help me keep my job.

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 04:00:30 -0800

IT people and sysadmins, hope me: I need to keep my interweb addiction under (some form of) control at work. What I'm thinking is that you might be able to give me some cautionary tales/practical information on tracking net usage that will scare me enough so that I'm motivated to think twice before whiling away my working day on Mefi et al. I don't just mean "I once knew someone who got fired for writing slash on work time", that sort of thing. I've heard those stories already. I want to know nuts and bolts, because I'm not hugely familiar with the technical side of a large network. Here's the deal: I'm working in a fairly low pressure job in a academic setting. I have an office to myself, and way too much time where I'm just hanging out on my own, and dealing with the occasional person who wanders by and needs to give me some paperwork. Quiet time at work + nobody watching = waaaay too much time online. I need to use the internet, obviously, for various parts of my job, but I'm having a helluva time not spending hours-- and I mean hours-- every day reading the web. It doesn't help that the workflow is reasonable enough that I'm mostly keeping up (but not totally, and one day, I fear, I'll find myself in a bad position).

This is what I'm hoping for: I don't know a whole lot about the IT side of things. I want somebody out there to confirm that yes, the tech staff can track everything I do and everywhere I go online, and could, if they had to, come up with some kind of horrific printout that would detail it all, my wandering through Livejournal, my postings on various boards, etc. Because I need to really understand that this is possible, and that if fact somebody is/could be watching. Fill me with the fear of getting fired, please. Because that's what I think it'll take. My bank account and self-esteem will thank you.

(Oh, and please no framing this a a genuine "addiction" question please-- I don't need 12 step, I just need to focus on what I'm doing at work, dull as it may be.)

Developing Self-Discipline

pissfactory — Mon, 12 Jul 2004 05:26:31 -0800

Anyone know any good books on developing self discipline? All the books I'm running across while searching are for child rearing.