How to get things done

I think we’ve all been in that situation where we feel guilty for not working on something important to us, where we procrastinate instead of just sitting down and getting it done. Then we start comparing ourselves to others, which only makes us feel more discouraged. It’s completely human. Our brains aren’t built to pursue long-term goals ‒ we’re wired to seek short-term satisfaction. And in today’s world, distractions are everywhere, intentionally designed to exploit this human tendency. So, let’s take a step back today and look at some structured ways to overcome procrastination. Here are a few concepts that have proven useful to me over the years:

🎯 The Art of Setting Goals

Let’s start with the very first step: setting the right goals. Sounds simple, right? Surprisingly, it’s not ‒ at least not for most people. A prime example is New Year’s resolutions: “I want to go to the gym,” “I want to get better grades,” or “I want to spend less money.” Most of these resolutions fail, and the problem often lies in how they’re formulated: they focus on the action rather than the outcome. To truly achieve a goal, you need to become the kind of person who wouldn’t struggle with it in the first place.

Take the first example: “I want to go to the gym.” Now imagine rephrasing it as: “I want to gain 5 kg of muscle because I am a healthy person.” Or the second one: “I want to get better grades” becomes “I want to achieve a 4.0 GPA because I am a studious person.” By focusing on becoming the kind of person who naturally accomplishes the goal, the act of achieving it becomes almost inevitable. Adopting this mindset shifts your perspective ‒ you start believing in yourself instead of doubting every step and fearing failure.

You might also notice that these formulations are much more specific and leave no room for ambiguity ‒ they clearly define success or failure with no middle ground. This is crucial because making goals measurable is the only way to track progress effectively. It also helps break down big, daunting goals into smaller, manageable steps. One large goal can feel overwhelming, but dividing it into 100 small tasks, each moving you 1% closer, makes it far more achievable.

💪 The Power of Habits

What if I told you there’s a magic trick that helps you work on tasks without any effort or discipline? You probably wouldn’t believe me, right? But it exists! Think about it: Do you need discipline to brush your teeth? Does it take effort to tie your shoes? Or to open Instagram? These actions happen almost automatically because they’ve become habits ‒ things we’ve repeated so often that we don’t even think about them anymore. You can use this concept to your advantage and train your mind to perform tasks on autopilot. The insights I’m sharing come from the most impactful book I’ve ever read: Atomic Habits. It dives deep into how habits work and how to build them effectively. Here’s my take on it:

I’ve tried to apply habits to as many useful activities as possible: regular sleep, reading books, meditating, working out, studying, journaling ‒ you name it. The goal is to integrate routines into your daily life that move you closer to your objectives while eliminating habits that hold you back. There’s a simple formula to build good habits: make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying (and do the opposite to break bad habits). Sure, you’ll need some discipline to get started, but the trick is to make the process as easy as possible. For instance, let’s say you want to read for an hour every morning. Jumping straight into that routine will likely set you up for failure. Instead, start small: place a book on your nightstand. The next day, just pick it up and read the back cover. The day after, read one page. Then two pages the next day, and so on. It might sound silly, but it works. Gradually, picking up a book will become as automatic as brushing your teeth.

Once this habit is established, you can build on it by stacking new habits before or after, or by adding small rewards. Over time, you’ll develop a series of automatic actions that propel you forward every day. Just imagine where that consistency will take you in a few years. There’s so much more to explore on this topic, so if this sounds intriguing to you, I highly recommend reading Atomic Habits. It’s a game-changer.

📆 The Daily Structure

Now that you’ve defined your goals and established your habits, how do you manage your daily, non-recurring tasks? There are plenty of ways to approach this, but my preferred method is combining the concepts of calendars and to-do lists. I put every task ‒ whether it’s calling someone, studying for university, or writing my blog ‒ directly into my Google Calendar.

This approach has two key benefits. First, it keeps all your to-dos in one place while giving each a specific time frame. You immediately see whether your day is packed or light ‒ it’s like an early warning system for deadlines. Second, it’s a mental relief because you’ve documented all your responsibilities. You don’t have to worry about forgetting something or missing a deadline, and your mind is free to focus on the task at hand. Recently, someone looked at my calendar and said, “I’m scared by your calendar.” The reality is quite the opposite. Having a messy calendar means having a clear mind. Plus, as you consistently use this system, you develop an intuitive sense of how long certain tasks take ‒ a highly underrated skill, in my opinion.

📝 Todays Key Takeaways

Overcoming procrastination is all about making small, consistent changes that add up to a greater purpose. Adding just a bit more structure to your daily life can make a significant difference in the long run. You can start today by building on what you’re already doing and gradually incorporating more small changes whenever you notice you’re not quite on the path you’d like to be.

Also, remember that not every day will be perfect. There will be days when life gets in the way, you miss your habits, or you just feel unmotivated. That’s okay. Just pick up where you left off. At the very least, you'll be more mindful of your time and might avoid one of the most common human fallacies: claiming to have “no time.” Everyone has the same 24 hours ‒ it’s not about whether you have time, but how you choose to prioritize it.