To Have a Strong Self-Discipline, Obtain These 5 Habits

Get rid of anything that distracts you on the road to your goal. What are the ways to have a strong self-discipline? You can find the answer to this question in the article of Silicon Valley entrepreneur, author, and hacker Nela Canovic on the knowledge sharing platform Quora. Here are some highlights from that article: Why is self-discipline so important for success? Firstly, you learn how to manage yourself throughout the time you have for the tasks you need to do during the day. Secondly, you learn to prioritize the tasks you need to do and put them in order of importance. Thirdly, it gives you the freedom to learn new things, acquire new hobbies, and specialize in any field you desire. There are many useful ways to improve your self-discipline. If you are curious about what these ways are and open to new ideas, the best way is to first learn simple tricks and then practice them every day. Here are those 5 ways:

1. Start training your brain as soon as you wake up. Start your day with this question: “Do I have a task to complete today?” With this technique, you can focus on the goals you need to achieve during the day and prioritize them. So how do you start? You can write down your thoughts or write them in big letters on a piece of paper and hang that paper on the wall of your bedroom or bathroom. This way, you can easily see it while brushing your teeth or getting ready for work/school in the morning. This will help you put your plans into action and spend your day for this goal.
2. Finish difficult tasks first instead of enjoyable tasks. Starting your day by checking your email inbox, scrolling through your social media accounts on your phone, responding to messages, and hanging out with friends is not an unexpected situation. But it’s just a waste of time! Because the early hours of the morning are the ideal time to overcome the most difficult tasks. The easiest part is changing this usual situation. So where do you start changing it? Make it a habit to finish difficult tasks early in the morning. This way, you prevent the procrastination urge within you when you have a test to study for or a project to finish. Also, since the early hours of the day are when your mind works most effectively and healthily, you will increase your focus and concentration on your work.
3. Postpone enjoyable activities. It may not seem like a very attractive choice at first glance, but there are many advantages to postponing tasks that will make you feel better and enjoy doing them. You gain the necessary self-discipline to do a difficult task with enthusiasm to reach the reward you delayed. There is scientific evidence for this too: According to the Marshmallow experiment conducted at Stanford University, postponing things we enjoy increases our chances of success in life. So how do we start doing this? It’s not as difficult as it seems. For example, if you want to watch a movie or hang out with friends, plan to do them after you finish your tasks. If you don’t finish your work during the day, don’t even think about doing it after spending time on yourself and having fun.
4. Get rid of all the obstacles on the road to your goal. It’s really hard to completely focus on something when we’re doing it because we inevitably encounter small obstacles that distract our attention. These distractions take you away from your work, and when you ignore them, you see more easily what is important to you. So how do you start doing this? Try these simple methods: First, put your phone on airplane mode when you have a task you need to focus on. Second, tell the people around you (family members, friends, or roommates) that you will be busy for the next few hours. Check your email inbox and social media apps only 2–3 times a day (for example, before lunch and once more during the day). Avoid browsing the internet or reading the daily news; close all tabs on the internet that will cause your interest to shift away from the task you need to do.
5. Learn to manage your mind better. Thousands of thoughts pass through your mind during the day, and many of them are unhappy and peaceful thoughts. Also, negative, self-judging, and indifferent thoughts that reveal your past mistakes. The good news is: even if you’re thinking about them, you’re not the thoughts you’re thinking. You are much more than your thoughts! There are various ways to control what’s in your mind more successfully, even if it means completely changing your mindset. So how do we start implementing this? Take a quick 10-minute meditation to stimulate your mind. And if you want to change your mindset, read Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset; this book will influence your perspective and allow your strengths, talents, and successes to emerge.

Sign up for the best talents career platform at toptalent.co, discover job, internship, and career opportunities at Turkey’s and the world’s best companies.