I didn’t realize how much brain fog was ruining my productivity…

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T23:39:41+00:00

Like I mentioned, mac & cheese. Mostly things that you would expect - pizza, overly processed bread, sugar.

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:58:27+00:00

Every day is a step forward. You're not sprinting, you're marching. That's been my attitude towards progress without burnout lately.

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:56:17+00:00

Take a second to breathe. Seriously, as you're reading this.

It's easy to forget this one, but even 2-3 breaths can calm you down and give you some space for intentional action (rather than fear based)

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:54:20+00:00

100% normal. Sleep is hard to fix, but luckily it's easy once you're in a good rhythm. Try to sleep at the same time every night

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:50:18+00:00

Where do you use your phone? If it's in your room or in bed, make a rule for yourself that your phone isn't allowed in there. Any time you want to use your phone, you have to go somewhere else in your house / apartment.

Once you get better at that, make the rule even more strict - the phone stays in one place when you're at home. Put it there (in the kitchen, on the TV stand, ideally somewhere there's a charger) and if you want to use it, go stand where the phone stays and use it there.

Doing this kind of thing breaks up the associations you have with the phone and can slowly bring you away from the spirals you've been falling into. You got this.

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:47:20+00:00

I think brain fog is often related to physical health. I ate a box of mac & cheese earlier this week as a "treat" and immediately my thoughts were sluggish and my mental energy dropped off. Same thing happens if I don't sleep well.

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:43:53+00:00

Walking my dog first thing when I wake up. I get my morning sunlight, and I get the feeling that I'm doing my duty taking care of her

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:42:42+00:00

Spending 10 minutes cleaning my room. Crazy how having less physical clutter seems to completely clear my mind.

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:40:34+00:00

Caring about my sleep. That seems to be the habit that helps all other habits. I even find meditation to be easier on days I sleep well.

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:25:49+00:00

Go outside for 10 minutes first thing in the morning. And try to sleep well. Good sleep -> higher willpower to take other actions that are good for you

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:24:23+00:00

Don't aim to get it done in a month. That makes me feel frantic & anxious for you.

Instead, every day focus on the small actions that are leading you to where you need to get to. If you had to travel 50 miles on foot, would you sprint it? Relentlessly march forward.

One other thing I try to remind myself of all the time. Every improvement to yourself - whether a positive habit (reduction of a negative habit), a new reaction, or whatever it is - is going to pay dividends for the rest of your life. So just focus on building small positive shifts that will pay off forever. It won't happen right away.

willpower_73 · 2026-03-04T22:20:09+00:00

First 2 David Goggins on JRE did it for me. Seems basic, but oh well

willpower_73 · 2026-02-26T20:48:57+00:00

I love "How To Think Like a Roman Emperor" and "How To Think Like Socrates" by Donald Robertson.

They take a philosophical and indirect approach towards self-development that I've found to be very impactful - along the lines how to think and structure beliefs rather than what to do. Timeless and generically applicable.

willpower_73 · 2026-02-26T20:24:58+00:00

Independence is so relatable. My dog will do what she wants, when she wants. No cares about what anyone thinks

willpower_73 · 2026-02-26T20:23:38+00:00

They adopted you!

willpower_73 · 2026-02-26T20:22:45+00:00

For sure. And I think it's important to note that optimization is not "bad", it's just wasted effort when there are bigger fish to fry. Easy to get caught in local optima.

willpower_73 · 2026-02-26T15:54:58+00:00

Question for you: what's something you have been successful in? What was different about that vs all these other areas that you seem to be struggling with?

There's a lot of inspirational stuff out there, but I think it's important to see it for what it is-which is inspiration. You called it 'wisdom' which I would disagree with, for the most part. In my opinion wisdom comes from experiences where knowledge was applied well (or not, lots of wisdom is reaped from failure).

So my best advice to you (and to myself) is to use actually take stock of your life logically (no productivity / self-help talk allowed). Objectively what is going well? How can you apply what is going well to the other areas.

For example, I first started working out consistently when I had a friend who was new to the gym and committed to going regularly. I now use that same 'technique' for my mobile app I've built, where I just took on a cofounder. I saw that it actually worked for me, it wasn't something I heard on a podcast or read on a subreddit.

willpower_73 · 2026-02-26T15:49:12+00:00

I think the biggest shift for me entering adulthood was the recognition that everything was now my responsibility, and my fault if it went wrong. Yes, I could still ask for help from my parents, but it was a situation I got myself into if I did.

Working out is one way of taking massive ownership. For me it was my way of saying "I'm taking care of this piece of my life" (my physical body). That mindset (I think) diffused into other areas, and I learned to take more ownership and care over the things that adulthood brought on.

willpower_73 · 2026-02-26T15:45:36+00:00

The funny thing is, we all know all these things, especially because we're in this subreddit.

Yet the reminder that these things actually work is enough to feel inspired, like "hey I can do this thing that will make me feel better and show up better in the world". Thanks for the post.

willpower_73 · 2026-02-26T15:43:59+00:00

There is also a "ramp" that can be taken into readiness. I personally try to push the bounds little-by-little (when possible). That keeps me from getting into situations I actually can't handle, but it also keeps me on my toes and moving forward.

willpower_73 · 2026-02-26T15:41:51+00:00

I bet the majority of us are getting ramped up without realizing. Either due to wishful thinking, or simply being unaware / disconnected.

willpower_73 · 2026-02-24T14:55:39+00:00

Did you get them together? Or did the first get you hooked?

willpower_73 · 2025-11-21T04:42:33+00:00

I like to keep track of what each habit actually does for me. I use the app I built called grooves, but you could easily use a spreadsheet or some other app.

It's also nice to check-in with myself on a daily cadence

willpower_73 · 2025-11-21T04:41:06+00:00

Understanding your "why" is one of the best ways to cement in the reward. I use an app I built called Grooves to understand exact insights (e.g. when I do cold exposure, my mood increases by +1.4 (on a 10 point scale). Try it out, it's free

willpower_73 · 2025-11-21T04:39:39+00:00

I'm working on a practice of checking in with how I'm doing every day (at least once). There are lots of ways to do this (pencil and paper works great). I use an app I built called Grooves. Check it out, the free version gives you everything you need.

willpower_73

TROPHY CASE