Unorganized - and Successful

[Ross]

The modern day train of thought is that you must be organized to thrive. Construct planners, plan out your details, and prepare for the future so that you can be successful.

But, for me, this has never been true. Planning and organizing everything leaves my mind in a tizzy, constantly going over those plans and reminding myself that those plans are in place. As a result, I procrastinate on those tasks that I am supposed to do. Organizing things never pans out in my life, because I always end up breaking out of the molds I have set for myself and doing other tasks instead. I overthink whenever I plan things.

For example, I rarely set up dates anymore than 1 day in advance. Any longer and my mind is constantly reminding itself, going over the logistics - on this day, I'm going to meet this girl, at this place, and I need to check up with her beforehand and wear this outfit. Projecting is good, but I tend to take it too far (what we commonly call overthinking). I know the exact same thing happens with my dates. In general, it just takes away from my present conscious to constantly ping reminders to keep it in my recent memory, so I choose to avoid it.

Now, this doesn't mean that I don't have at least a faint idea of what's happening. I know where my career is headed, I have end goals and long-term goals, etc. The only difference is that I'm not laying out those long-term goals in step-by-step fashion. Whenever I do get the brief and logical and emotional push to plan these things out, I end up rebelling against that plan.

For example, whenever I've tried using google calendar to plan out my days, I've always veered off that schedule. I believe it's because my logical brain things that the plan I have put in place is something that I would/should follow, but when it comes to the moment my emotional side is rebelling hardcore, and instead I want to go and talk to a pretty girl walking sitting nearby in the library, because I've been working all day rather than socializing.

I don't know if this just means I'm a bad planner, but the inability to account for my emotion throughout the day when planning it entirely in combination with the fogging of my memory with plans makes it so I just feel better living in the moment.

I know I've seen others keep schedules, and it certainly helps them stay completely organized and successful. But I thrive on being unorganized, with faint ideas of how the future is going to go - rather than set plans. You don't have to be organized to be successful - sometimes the other way around is better.

 

[trashKENNUT]

Ross,

Can you put more details if there's any more? Because i am like this too. It'a momentum thing.

Zac

 

[Zoro]

I too, am like this.

The projects I've had most success with are spontaneous.
Plans seem to suck out my soul and dampen my passion. Yet I end up surpassing my goals when I wander like an adventurer, grabbing opportunity when it shows it's face.

 

[Franco]

Ross,

I've found that if I don't keep some kind of way of organizing myself (with either a To-Do list, a Google Calendar, or both), then I tend to easily forget about very important things that need to get done, even if they're usually pretty mundane tasks. At the same time, I hate being too organized to the point where I feel like I'm a robot that has to program itself before it takes action, and it feels too restricting for me to function freely.

So, with that being said, my general modus operandi is to schedule everything I need to do, but also schedule "days of freedom" where I can do whatever I want to do. So on my calendar, I might have Monday-Friday booked with all of the "must-do" tasks that I need to complete, and then on the weekend, I might just put something like "Sunday Funday," which essentially means "do whatever the hell I want to do."

This way, whenever I DO have time to do something spontaneous, I can do it worry-free because I know I've scheduled all of my important tasks at other times. There has even been a few times I've packed up and driven to Vegas within an hour's notice, but I knew I could do that because my calendar showed that weekend was void of any important or must-do activities.

I'm not sure if I'm the only one out there that does this, but it seems to work well with me. At the core, I'm actually a pretty forgetful and unorganized person, but people assume I'm very organized because I do schedule everything -- including my free time! The only reason I schedule everything is that I know I'm prone to forgetting things easily. =)

- Franco

 

[Ross]

Ross,

Can you put more details if there's any more? Because i am like this too. It'a momentum thing.

Zac

Zac,
I can give you another example if that helps!

I'm currently planning out a research project. I've planned and done most of the research by myself, along with some consultation from some PhD's.

My notes for the project are what many would consider a complete mess. I don't have any set agenda or timeline for these sorts of things, and whenever I do I end up rebelling against it and instead go with my gut.

The same thing goes for my writing style - most of my articles aren't carefully articulated and planned out. Instead, I write quite a bit down in an order that follows the way my mind thinks, and it tends to be teachable because I am showing my entire line of thought leading up to the reveal of a topic. Then I go back and revise everything, add on, take off, reorganize, etc. It's not what I'd call perfect, but it works.
-

J Wick, good to hear you're the same way!
-

Franco,

I totally understand that line of thought. I feel like most exceptionally well-off people are really well organized with all of their stuff. In fact, I'd wager to say most of the population would do better with better planning, because things are easily forgotten.

Although I've never been tested, myself and many people around me in my childhood/teenage years believe I have hyperactive-impulsive ADHD. I've controlled most of my symptoms, but they still pop out quite often, usually resulting in me unable to sit still or shift off of topics in conversation. But most of the time I maintain a chill demeanor, keeping all the activity on the inside. I have a very hyperactive mind, but can still pay close attention to tasks at hand without becoming distracted. So having little things pop up in my head as "to-do!" causes me to hyperactively dwell on them until they are completed, and if they can't be completed right then, I get stuck in this nasty loop.

But, I've never been one to suggest that what I do cannot be changed and manifested into a positive, so I use it to my advantage. And honestly, to me sitting here right now, the way you live sounds ideal - I just can't seem to do things in the same way. And since this is what most people to consider ideal, I just wanted to let others know that it may not be the most ideal way of living for them.

 

[Richard]

I disagree (with the idea), and agree with your post buddy.

Without having a clear vision of your success I think it's impossible to reach it - like trying to drive to your best friends place without knowing his address. If you have no destination in mind then you absolutely cannot get there; in this case the destination is success.

Great post!

-Richard

 

[trashKENNUT]

Ross,

I'm currently planning out a research project. I've planned and done most of the research by myself, along with some consultation from some PhD's.

My notes for the project are what many would consider a complete mess. I don't have any set agenda or timeline for these sorts of things, and whenever I do I end up rebelling against it and instead go with my gut.

The same thing goes for my writing style - most of my articles aren't carefully articulated and planned out. Instead, I write quite a bit down in an order that follows the way my mind thinks, and it tends to be teachable because I am showing my entire line of thought leading up to the reveal of a topic. Then I go back and revise everything, add on, take off, reorganize, etc. It's not what I'd call perfect, but it works.

Thanks. I am still trying to work on my own momentum.

Zac

 

[Lotus]

I disagree (with the idea), and agree with your post buddy.

Without having a clear vision of your success I think it's impossible to reach it - like trying to drive to your best friends place without knowing his address. If you have no destination in mind then you absolutely cannot get there; in this case the destination is success.

Great post!

-Richard

Agreed, but that is a very concrete desitination. What if the destination is vague. How do I know if my vision is clear?

For example, I am thinking about taking the next step in my career and currently looking at new jobs. My 3-5 year plan is to get my MBA and so I want to take that into account for my next job. Is that too narrow? is that too broad?

This comes at a time where I am reading "The Power of Now" and trying to become more concious. What is the balance between underplanning and overthinking?

-brum

 

[Big Daddy]

Well, to me this sounds like overthinking. I mean, you're reading a book and posting whether your goals are too broad or too narrow. If it helps, I'd never ever would consider planing something that's somewhat concrete that is further in the future than one year.

For example, I want to participate in an exchange program next year where I have some basic requirements to fulfill, but aside from that, it's up to me to decide what makes a strong CV. So I went and did a couple of things that I considered interesting and enriching experiences and got an job cool job offer that I hadn't accounted for.

I'm still in the direction that I wanna be, but my plans changed slightly. You gotta leave space for that. Thing PROBABLY won't happen the way envision them, but if you persist, you'll get there eventually.

The thing is, there are multiple ways of doing the same thing, and you haven't even validated if yours would work of if it's the most efficient way to do so. You'll probably have to change most of it anyways when you go out to "field test" your plan. It's the same as approaching girls. That's why I stopped reading books about business, mentors and shit - that's too far away from me for now. I tend to focus on readings that would be beneficial to me now, like a sales book if I'm into sales (and I wouldn't even read all the chapters).

For instance, I want to become a millionaire someday. But that's probably 5+ years ahead, at the very least; so I'm not gonna think about it. I don't have what it takes to be a millionaire yet. For now, I'm focusing on things that I think are cool and pleasurable to do today and that might be beneficial when the time to work on businesses comes.

I wish I could what Franco does, but I can't go a whole week without taking a break... I work better with long breaks during the day and a Wednesday or a Thursday break because I'm lazier than I'd like to be. =P

 

[Drck]

That is actually quite a deep thought, being unorganized and successful. There are probably two aspects to it: persistence and spontaneity.

If you want to achieve something you got to be persistent. It takes years to achieve e.g. Phd, build good physical condition, or become successful in seduction.

Sometimes it is just easier to contribute little pieces every day, for 5-6 days a week, rather than do one big junk just once-twice a week. I have been quite successful with this style, for example I achieved a good education doing it this way.

Or say I'm doing pull ups as a maintenance. I do five series every day: one in the morning when I wake up, two afternoon and two in the evening. Each series is currently 7 reps, and I do it for say two months. Now, when I do two series within 5 minutes I don't even feel it, it is easy and no pain, it takes couple of seconds and I don't even sweat. But it is a total 35+ pull ups every day, 5-6 days a week, which is about 175-200 pull ups per week - and over 700 pull ups per month. That is a damn good number, my current weight is around 205, and again - I consider this only as a maintenance, I have no reason nor motivation for any higher numbers...

Now imagine you want to do this spontaneously, only say 2x per week. You would have to about 90-100 pull ups each of these two days, say 10 series x 10 reps per day - that is a damn huge effort, you would have a hard time just to 'keep up' with my numbers, and unless you have really good motivation you would get exhausted very fast... Will I do it for the whole year? Probably not. Once I get tired I'll do something else, dead lift, squats, overhead press, or maybe just run... But they key is in persistence, in little steps every single day...

The same can be applied in any area. For example, studying new language - it is much easier to learn 5 new words every day x 5 days, rather than do 25 words in one day per week... It is much easier to approach 4-5 girls every day, 5 days a week - rather than approaching 20+ girls only on Saturdays...


On the other hand, spontaneity is good as well. We are not machines, we need change. We cannot just approach girls in mechanical manner, just to "get the numbers done". We cannot just study or exercise non-stop like robots, we need breaks, we need change, we need to refresh, rejuvenate - then come back with new excitement...

The ideal is most likely a combination of both - persistence as well as spontaneity...

 

[Richard]

I disagree (with the idea), and agree with your post buddy.

Without having a clear vision of your success I think it's impossible to reach it - like trying to drive to your best friends place without knowing his address. If you have no destination in mind then you absolutely cannot get there; in this case the destination is success.

Great post!

-Richard

Agreed, but that is a very concrete desitination. What if the destination is vague. How do I know if my vision is clear?

For example, I am thinking about taking the next step in my career and currently looking at new jobs. My 3-5 year plan is to get my MBA and so I want to take that into account for my next job. Is that too narrow? is that too broad?

This comes at a time where I am reading "The Power of Now" and trying to become more concious. What is the balance between underplanning and overthinking?

-brum

You know your destination is clear when you can identify when you know you'll be there. Let me give you an example:

If my goal is to, say, lose weight but I make it generic like "I want to lose weight" then you can lose a single pound and have fulfilled your goal. Getting more specific would be something like "I want to lose 25 pounds and be able to run a mile in under 6 minutes." In the latter example you will definitely know when you've hit your destination.

The more vague the destination the less likely you are to know when you've reached it so if you want to make your destination more concrete: Write down what you will see, hear, think, and feel about the destination. You'll know you got there when those thoughts and emotions match up.

 

[Big Daddy]

Or say I'm doing pull ups as a maintenance. I do five series every day: one in the morning when I wake up, two afternoon and two in the evening. Each series is currently 7 reps, and I do it for say two months. Now, when I do two series within 5 minutes I don't even feel it, it is easy and no pain, it takes couple of seconds and I don't even sweat. But it is a total 35+ pull ups every day, 5-6 days a week, which is about 175-200 pull ups per week - and over 700 pull ups per month. That is a damn good number, my current weight is around 205, and again - I consider this only as a maintenance, I have no reason nor motivation for any higher numbers...

I always wondered whether doing one workout is better (from a muscle-building perspective) than doing 2-3 smaller workouts in a day.

This brings another point: I don't know about you guys, but I prefer doing your pullups twice a week. It may not be the most intelligent choice, but we all end up doing what's more comfortable. I'd rather study every day, but I always end up pulling all-nighters before exams.

 

[Drck]

It always depends what you want to achieve. If you want to actively build muscles and/or strenght, you are absolutely right, one intensive workout is better per day (actually, e.g. Arnold was excercising twice a day if I'm not mistaken, he was obviously into it full time), and then split it into 2-3 days per week with rest in between.

Or, for example, master of deadlift Andy Bolton, excercised deadlift once a week only, the rest of the week he 'rests'. Result in 1000+ pounds then speaks for itself. If a guy wants to deadlift 1000+ pounds he should most likely follow his style and see how it works for him.

On the other hand, for average guy like myself who just tries to keep fit and has no ambicions to lift even 500 pounds, lifting 200-300 pounds here and there, several times per week is not bad either. You do it, say 5 times per day, 250 pounds each time, man, that is 1,250 pounds per day. 5 days per week, that is 6,250 per week...

I used to do that in 20-30 minutes last year, but that is not the point. The point is, well, the point is how many guys in their 20's-30's today actually even can lift 200-250 pounds off the floor 2-3 times? Just once? How many guys out of 100 random guys can do just 10 pull ups in a row? I'm not trying to be better nor make anyone feel worse. Simple physical excercise should a must for every guy out there, because let's be honest - the physical condition of young guys living in USA is just miserable...

 

[trashKENNUT]

Drck,

10 pull ups in a row

10 pull ups in a row is easy once you train for a month. Unless you going to do crazy stuff. Haha

Zac

 

[Big Daddy]

It always depends what you want to achieve. If you want to actively build muscles and/or strenght, you are absolutely right, one intensive workout is better per day (actually, e.g. Arnold was excercising twice a day if I'm not mistaken, he was obviously into it full time), and then split it into 2-3 days per week with rest in between.

Or, for example, master of deadlift Andy Bolton, excercised deadlift once a week only, the rest of the week he 'rests'. Result in 1000+ pounds then speaks for itself. If a guy wants to deadlift 1000+ pounds he should most likely follow his style and see how it works for him.

On the other hand, for average guy like myself who just tries to keep fit and has no ambicions to lift even 500 pounds, lifting 200-300 pounds here and there, several times per week is not bad either. You do it, say 5 times per day, 250 pounds each time, man, that is 1,250 pounds per day. 5 days per week, that is 6,250 per week...

I used to do that in 20-30 minutes last year, but that is not the point. The point is, well, the point is how many guys in their 20's-30's today actually even can lift 200-250 pounds off the floor 2-3 times? Just once? How many guys out of 100 random guys can do just 10 pull ups in a row? I'm not trying to be better nor make anyone feel worse. Simple physical excercise should a must for every guy out there, because let's be honest - the physical condition of young guys living in USA is just miserable...

Yeah, but I was wondering if there's research out there about this.

Aside from being his full time job, Arnold wasn't natty so that's not a fair comparison. And many of the stronger dudes can only squat or dead once every one or two weeks. The human body wasn't designed to lift extremely heavy and cylindrical objects off the floor, after all... Haha.

But I TOTALLY get what you said there! How come people are NOT bothered with their physical feats? Fuck, I'm dying to chin my body weight + 70% attached for reps so I can start doing calisthenics without risking to snap my shit up. I feel like I'm totally wasting my body potential if I can't run, jump and be all around athletic.

PS: You got me thinking, how much does the guys here at GC lift? I know we got a couple of dudes that are serious about it.