r/getdisciplined • • Jul 13 '25

[META] Updates + New Posting Guide for [Advice] and [NeedAdvice] Posts

24 Upvotes

Hey legends

So the last week or so has been a bit of a wild ride. About 2.5k posts removed. Which had to be done individually. Eeks. Over 60 users banned for shilling and selling stuff. And I’m still digging through old content, especially the top posts of all time. cleaning out low-quality junk, AI-written stuff, and sneaky sales pitches. It’s been… fun. Kinda. Lmao.

Anyway, I finally had time to roll out a bunch of much-needed changes (besides all that purging lol) in both the sidebar and the AutoModerator config. The sidebar now reflects a lot of these changes. Quick rundown:

  • Certain characters and phrases that AI loves to use are now blocked automatically. Same goes for common hustle-bro spam lingo.

  • New caps on posting: you’ll need an account at least 30 days old and with 200+ karma to post. To comment, you’ll need an account at least 3 days old.

  • Posts under 150 words are blocked because there were way too many low-effort one-liners flooding the place.

  • Rules in the sidebar now clearly state no selling, no external links, and a basic expectation of proper sentence structure and grammar. Some of the stuff coming through lately was honestly painful to read.

So yeah, in light of all these changes, we’ve turned off the “mod approval required” setting for new posts. Hopefully we’ll start seeing a slower trickle of better-quality content instead of the chaotic flood we’ve been dealing with. As always - if you feel like something has slipped through the system, feel free to flag it for mod reviewal through spam/reporting.

About the New Posting Guide

On top of all that, we’re rolling out a new posting guide as a trial for the [NeedAdvice] and [Advice] posts. These are two of our biggest post types BY FAR, but there’s been a massive range in quality. For [NeedAdvice], we see everything from one-liners like “I’m lazy, how do I fix it?” to endless dramatic life stories that leave people unsure how to help.

For [Advice] posts (and I’ve especially noticed this going through the top posts of all time), there’s a huge bunch of them written in long, blog-style narratives. Authors get super evocative with the writing, spinning massive walls of text that take readers on this grand journey… but leave you thinking, “So what was the actual advice again?” or “Fuck me that was a long read.” A lot of these were by bloggers who’d slip their links in at the end, but that’s a separate issue.

So, we’ve put together a recommended structure and layout for both types of posts. It’s not about nitpicking grammar or killing creativity. It’s about helping people write posts that are clear, focused, and useful - especially for those who seem to be struggling with it. Good writing = good advice = better community.

A few key points:

This isn’t some strict rule where your post will be banned if you don’t follow it word for word, your post will be banned (unless - you want it to be that way?). But if a post completely wanders off track, massive walls of text with very little advice, or endless rambling with no real substance, it may get removed. The goal is to keep the sub readable, helpful, and genuinely useful.

This guide is now stickied in the sidebar under posting rules and added to the wiki for easy reference. I’ve also pasted it below so you don’t have to go digging. Have a look - you don’t need to read it word for word, but I’d love your thoughts. Does it make sense? Feel too strict? Missing anything?

Thanks heaps for sticking with us through all this chaos. Let’s keep making this place awesome.

FelEdorath

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Posting Guides

How to Write a [NeedAdvice] Post

If you’re struggling and looking for help, that’s a big part of why this subreddit exists. But too often, we see posts that are either: “I’m lazy. How do I fix it?” OR 1,000-word life stories that leave readers unsure how to help.

Instead, try structuring your post like this so people can diagnose the issue and give useful feedback.

1. Who You Are / Context

A little context helps people tailor advice. You don’t have to reveal private details, just enough for others to connect the dots - for example

  • Age/life stage (e.g. student, parent, early-career, etc).

  • General experience level with discipline (newbie, have tried techniques before, etc).

  • Relevant background factors (e.g. shift work, chronic stress, recent life changes)

Example: “I’m a 27-year-old software engineer. I’ve read books on habits and tried a few systems but can’t stick with them long-term.”

2. The Specific Problem or Challenge

  • Be as concrete / specific as you can. Avoid vague phrases like “I’m not motivated.”

Example: “Every night after work, I intend to study for my AWS certification, but instead I end up scrolling Reddit for two hours. Even when I start, I lose focus within 10 minutes.”

3. What You’ve Tried So Far

This is crucial for people trying to help. It avoids people suggesting things you’ve already ruled out.

  • Strategies or techniques you’ve attempted

  • How long you tried them

  • What seemed to help (or didn’t)

  • Any data you’ve tracked (optional but helpful)

Example: “I’ve used StayFocusd to block Reddit, but I override it. I also tried Pomodoro but found the breaks too frequent. Tracking my study sessions shows I average only 12 focused minutes per hour.”

4. What Kind of Help You’re Seeking

Spell out what you’re hoping for:

  • Practical strategies?

  • Research-backed methods?

  • Apps or tools?

  • Mindset shifts?

Example: “I’d love evidence-based methods for staying focused at night when my mental energy is lower.”

Optional Extras

Include anything else relevant (potentially in the Who You Are / Context section) such as:

  • Stress levels

  • Health issues impacting discipline (e.g. sleep, anxiety)

  • Upcoming deadlines (relevant to the above of course).

Example of a Good [NeedAdvice] Post

Title: Struggling With Evening Focus for Professional Exams

Hey all. I’m a 29-year-old accountant studying for the CPA exam. Work is intense, and when I get home, I intend to study but end up doomscrolling instead.

Problem: Even if I start studying, my focus evaporates after 10-15 minutes. It feels like mental fatigue.

What I’ve tried:

Scheduled a 60-minute block each night - skipped it 4 out of 5 days.

Library sessions - helped a bit but takes time to commute.

Used Forest app - worked temporarily but I started ignoring it.

Looking for: Research-based strategies for overcoming mental fatigue at night and improving study consistency.

How to Write an [Advice] Post

Want to share what’s worked for you? That’s gold for this sub. But avoid vague platitudes like “Just push through” or personal stories that never get to a clear, actionable point.

A big issue we’ve seen is advice posts written in a blog-style (often being actual copy pastes from blogs - but that's another topic), with huge walls of text full of storytelling and dramatic detail. Good writing and engaging examples are great, but not when they drown out the actual advice. Often, the practical takeaway gets buried under layers of narrative or repeated the same way ten times. Readers end up asking, “Okay, but what specific strategy are you recommending, and why does it work?” OR "Fuck me that was a long read.".

We’re not saying avoid personal experience - or good writing. But keep it concise, and tie it back to clear, practical recommendations. Whenever possible, anchor your advice in concrete reasoning - why does your method work? Is there a psychological principle, habit science concept, or personal data that supports it? You don’t need to write a research paper, but helping people see the underlying “why” makes your advice stronger and more useful.

Let’s keep the sub readable, evidence-based, and genuinely helpful for everyone working to level up their discipline and self-improvement.

Try structuring your post like this so people can clearly understand and apply your advice:

1. The Specific Problem You’re Addressing

  • State the issue your advice solves and who might benefit.

Example: “This is for anyone who loses focus during long study sessions or deep work blocks.”

2. The Core Advice or Method

  • Lay out your technique or insight clearly.

Example: “I started using noise-canceling headphones with instrumental music and blocking distracting apps for 90-minute work sessions. It tripled my focused time.”

3. Why It Works

This is where you can layer in a bit of science, personal data, or reasoning. Keep it approachable - not a research paper.

  • Evidence or personal results

  • Relevant scientific concepts (briefly)

  • Explanations of psychological mechanisms

Example: “Research suggests background music without lyrics reduces cognitive interference and can help sustain focus. I’ve tracked my sessions and my productive time jumped from ~20 minutes/hour to ~50.”

4. How to Implement It

Give clear steps so others can try it themselves:

  • Short starter steps

  • Tools

  • Potential pitfalls

Example: “Start with one 45-minute session using a focus playlist and app blockers. Track your output for a week and adjust the length.”

Optional Extras

  • A short reference list if you’ve cited specific research, books, or studies

  • Resource mentions (tools - mentioned in the above)

Example of a Good [Advice] Post

Title: How Noise-Canceling Headphones Boosted My Focus

For anyone struggling to stay focused while studying or working in noisy environments:

The Problem: I’d start working but get pulled out of flow by background noise, office chatter, or even small household sounds.

My Method: I bought noise-canceling headphones and created a playlist of instrumental music without lyrics. I combine that with app blockers like Cold Turkey for 90-minute sessions.

Why It Works: There’s decent research showing that consistent background sound can reduce cognitive switching costs, especially if it’s non-lyrical. For me, the difference was significant. I tracked my work sessions, and my focused time improved from around 25 minutes/hour to 50 minutes/hour. Cal Newport talks about this idea in Deep Work, and some cognitive psychology studies back it up too.

How to Try It:

Consider investing in noise-canceling headphones, or borrow a pair if you can, to help block out distractions. Listen to instrumental music - such as movie soundtracks or lofi beats - to maintain focus without the interference of lyrics. Choose a single task to concentrate on, block distracting apps, and commit to working in focused sessions lasting 45 to 90 minutes. Keep a simple record of how much focused time you achieve each day, and review your progress after a week to see if this method is improving your ability to stay on task.

Further Reading:

  • Newport, Cal. Deep Work.

  • Dowan et al's 2017 paper on 'Focus and Concentration: Music and Concentration - A Meta Analysis


r/getdisciplined • • 2d ago

[Plan] Wednesday 21st October 2026; please post your plans for this date

4 Upvotes

Please post your plans for this date and if you can, do the following;

Give encouragement to two other posters on this thread.

Report back this evening as to how you did.

Give encouragement to others to report back also.

Good luck!


r/getdisciplined • • 5h ago

💡 Advice Self image will change your life

55 Upvotes

I read Psycho-cybernetics, and it's a great book and I highly recommend it for people who really want to change.

And its whole idea revolves around feeding your mind positive feedback and to turn down any bad conviction about yourself, imagine what you want to be for 10 mins daily and you'll actually tend to finish your tasks instead of postponing them, however you shouldn't rely on your imagination or it will turn againist you, daydreaming isn't self image refinement in fact it's the the opposite, for more details read the book it's not that long, and I assure you that at least you'll start to treat yourself better.

To reach your goal, you also have to imagine yourself during the process, for instance you want to be a doctor imagine yourself studying so hard to be a doctor or imagine yourself performing surgery, DON'T FORGET TO PULL OUT ANY BAD CONVICTIONS ABOUT YOURSELF.

I know you won't believe this, but the book says that if you hate your past or it's weighing on your back, you can refine it through imagination, you can turn a bad or embarrassing situation into something normal that doesn't bother you each time your remember it.

Take a seat and breathe for a moment, you don't have to be cruel to yourself, reach your goals, enjoy the process because it's the reason most people fail because they want results instantly.


r/getdisciplined • • 10h ago

🤔 NeedAdvice Oversleeping is ruining my life

57 Upvotes

I (22M) have always had issues with sleep. I have trouble sleeping. I have trouble waking up. I have trouble keeping a consistent sleep schedule.

I work in an industry where if you oversleep or are late to work more than once, you are fired, and never to be hired again. This is the work culture. I often get home past 10PM and have to be at work the next day by anywhere between 4AM and 6AM.

Today I hit my first & only strike. I overslept by 2 hours. I set multiple alarms last night and I cannot even recall waking up to turn them off.

I work long hours, like 12-16 a day. Physical labour. I’m exhausted. But oversleeping has always been an issue. I always turn off my alarms without any recollection of waking up to do so. I feel perpetually tired.

I take 30mg of Vyvanse daily, for my ADHD. I suspect it might have something to do with it, although I am not a doctor. I also cannot function like a normal human without it.

Other symptoms include occasional headaches, waking up with stuffed sinuses, anxiety, depression, and never-ending exhaustion.

Do you guys think that there is an underlying health issue at play? Am I mentally blocking out responsibility? Please help me. This could genuinely ruin my career


r/getdisciplined • • 4h ago

❓ Question Why does motivation feel so powerful in the moment but disappear so quickly?

5 Upvotes

I've noticed something interesting about motivation. Sometimes, watching a movie, seeing someone achieve something great, or thinking about the life I want to build gives me an intense burst of motivation. Suddenly, my goals feel important, and I'm ready to work toward them.

But that feeling rarely lasts. A few hours or days later, I'm back to my usual routine, distracted by my surroundings and caught up in everyday activities. The goals that felt so important suddenly don't feel as urgent anymore, even though nothing about them has changed.

It makes me wonder whether the real challenge isn't finding motivation, but keeping our goals at the front of our minds when everyday life starts taking over.

I've been thinking about deliberately reminding myself every morning why my goals matter to me, what my life could look like if I achieve them, and what might happen if I keep putting them off. Not just generic motivational quotes, but genuinely personal reasons that mean something to me.

Would regularly revisiting these reasons actually help maintain motivation, or would they eventually become just another routine that I stop paying attention to?

Maybe motivation isn't something we need to maintain constantly, and the real answer is to build habits that carry us through the days when we don't feel motivated.

For those who've managed to stay consistent with long-term goals, what has worked for you? Do you deliberately remind yourself why you're doing something, rely on discipline and routines, or have you found another way to keep your goals from fading into the background?


r/getdisciplined • • 19h ago

🤔 NeedAdvice I know I need to change but I keep avoiding things. Has anyone overcome this?

18 Upvotes

I’m in my late 20s, working a full-time job, and I’ve been struggling with this for years.

There are so many things I want to do. Improve my career, work on personal projects, get fitter and just make some progress in life. But the problem is I know what I need to do and still don’t do it.

Sometimes I’ll get motivated, make a plan and follow it for a few days or even weeks. Then something happens, I lose the routine and getting back becomes extremely difficult. This has happened so many times now that I don’t think I have enough confidence left in myself to believe I can actually change.

Another thing I struggle with is deciding what to do. I’ll spend days thinking about what I should focus on, researching different things and trying to figure out what’s worth my time. Even when I finally decide, I start questioning whether I should be doing something else. And in the end I just waste more time doing nothing.

Whenever I think about how much effort something will take or how far behind I already am, I feel overwhelmed and just avoid it. I’ll binge-watch shows, scroll or find something else to distract myself.

Lately even simple things like cooking breakfast or going to the gym feel like too much effort. I spend more time thinking about doing things than actually doing them.

I also used alcohol as a way to escape, and recently managed to stay sober for around 30 days. It felt good, but I realised that even without alcohol, I was still avoiding the same things.

The worst part is seeing myself stuck with the same problems I had years ago. I genuinely want to change but I don’t know why I keep repeating this cycle. I’ve tried schedules, setting small goals, building routines etc. They work for a while but I always end up back here.

Has anyone been through something similar and actually managed to get out of it? Did you figure out what was causing it and what helped you?

I’m not really looking for another productivity routine. I just want to understand why I keep doing this and how to change it.

I’m really tired of making same mistakes again and again. Any advice would be helpful


r/getdisciplined • • 14h ago

🤔 NeedAdvice I know exactly what to do to remain healthy and feeling great, so why can't I stick with it?

4 Upvotes

I know exactly what keeps me healthy. Why can't I stay consistent with it?

I generally know what to do to feel good and healthy. Eat real food and only when I'm hungry, move more, get some moderate cardio, lift a couple days a week, sleep on a schedule, don't eat late, and go easy on alcohol, or skip it.

When I do those things I feel great, and it's not just in my head. My sleep score, HRV and VO2 max all move with it, and so does how I perform. When I slip, they drop, and I feel it.

So the feedback loop is right there, and I still spend more time off track than on. For people who have actually stayed consistent for years, what made it stick? Was it routine, accountability, tracking something specific, or did you just stop needing motivation?

Do any supplements or medications help? GLP-1s seem to be a wonder drug.

Do I need a bigger long term goal? You would think "don't die" would be big enough.


r/getdisciplined • • 1d ago

🤔 NeedAdvice Has anyone actually recovered from years of brain rot? I feel like I've lost my ability to think and learn.

520 Upvotes

I feel like years of mindless scrolling, consuming random content, and constantly switching between apps have seriously affected my brain.

I struggle to concentrate for even 15 minutes. I forget things easily, can't retain what I study, and learning anything new feels exhausting. Sometimes I read the same paragraph multiple times and still can't process it. My sleep is messed up too, and I constantly feel mentally foggy.

I work full-time and have career goals and competitive exams to prepare for, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to sit down and actually learn something. I remember being able to study for hours, and now even watching a lecture without checking my phone feels like an achievement.

It's honestly scary because I feel like I'm losing my ability to think deeply, remember things, and stay mentally sharp.

I know there probably isn't a quick fix, and I'm willing to work on this consistently.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and managed to turn things around? How long did it take before you noticed improvements? Did quitting social media actually help? What changes made the biggest difference to your focus, memory, sleep, and ability to learn?

I'd especially love to hear from people who struggled for years and successfully rebuilt their attention span. I really want to get my brain back.


r/getdisciplined • • 1d ago

🔄 Method I stopped relying on motivation and made journaling a three question appointment

33 Upvotes

For years I treated journaling like a mood. If I felt reflective, I wrote. If not, the notebook stayed shut, and every restart felt heavier than the last.

What worked was treating it like an appointment I keep with myself. Every night at the same time I answer the same three questions, and I am done in about five minutes.

What did I do today that is worth remembering? What is one thing that went better than expected? What is the one thing I want to get right tomorrow?

The rules matter more than the questions. I never skip twice in a row. I never edit what I wrote. And I keep the streak visible, because watching a quiet little chain grow turned out to be stronger than any burst of motivation.

Ninety days in, the habit runs itself. If you keep starting and stopping like I did, shrink the session and fix the time. Motivation follows the streak, not the other way around.


r/getdisciplined • • 8h ago

🤔 NeedAdvice How do I stop getting distracted and become consistent?

1 Upvotes

I'm 19, a college student, and I'm struggling with consistency.

I keep making plans to improve myself, learn new skills, and work towards my goals. I genuinely want to change, but I often get distracted by random, pointless stuff and fall back into my old habits within a few days.

The frustrating part is that I know how much this is costing me. I've already wasted a lot of time, yet knowing the consequences doesn't seem to stop me from repeating the same cycle.

I start with motivation, lose focus, feel guilty, and promise myself I'll start again tomorrow. I'm tired of repeating this pattern.

I don't want another motivational speech or a perfect routine I'll abandon in two days. I want practical advice from people who've actually struggled with this and managed to change.

What genuinely helped you become consistent and control your distractions? How did you break this cycle?


r/getdisciplined • • 16h ago

💬 Discussion What do you actually include in a weekly review?

5 Upvotes

I’ve been trying to make my weekly review a bit more useful instead of it just turning into “what did I get done this week?”

The thing I’m most interested in is whether the stuff I’m doing week to week is actually moving me towards the things I care about longer term.
At the moment I look at a few fairly simple things like:

- how many fitness sessions I actually completed
- progress at work / study
- spending compared with my monthly budget
- anything useful I learnt that week
- things I kept putting off
- what went well
- what probably needs more attention next week

I also try to look at my bigger goals and ask whether the week I just had actually matched them. For example, if improving fitness is supposedly important to me but I’ve skipped training for two weeks, that tells me something. Same with saving, studying, career progression, projects etc.

I don’t want the review to become a massive checklist though. Ideally it should just help me spot patterns, see where I’m drifting a bit, and decide what actually deserves attention next week.
I’m curious what other people include in theirs.

Do you track actual numbers, write more of a reflection, compare yourself against longer-term goals, set priorities for the next week, or something completely different?

If you’ve got anything in your weekly review that you’ve found surprisingly useful, I’d love to hear it.


r/getdisciplined • • 9h ago

🔄 Method How much do your mind resists new options?

1 Upvotes

When we try to readapt our routine, fixing basic things like health issues or daily pain gives us back energy to focus on what really matters and actually enjoy free time. The trickiest part is that our mind creates dogmas and assumes a new option wont work even before we have ever experienced it. As Daniel Kahneman explains in Thinking, Fast and Slow, our brain naturally resists unfamiliar paths and tricks us into believing new things arent good for us. I realized we often hold onto these mental blocks until we actually force ourselves to test the new solution. Once we break that dogma and resolve those physical annoyances for example some stomach or body aches, we unlock so much mental space that was being wasted before. Suddenly we have more energy for social life and for being open to things we thought wouldnt work. If you connect with this idea, feel free to share more in this direction


r/getdisciplined • • 19h ago

🤔 NeedAdvice Memory and concentration problems since I was 15 — I can't sit down and focus on studying, and I don't know what to do about it

6 Upvotes

It all started around when I was 15. That's when my memory and concentration problems began: I can't sit down and focus on something, my attention scatters immediately. Although at 15–16 I could sit and draw for 10 hours straight, getting up only to eat and drink, watching TV shows at the same time. My studies were going well back then too.

Then, in my last year before exams, I just started sleeping for days on end. I kept oversleeping and rescheduling my tutor. In the end I did really badly on my exams and had to move to another city to get into university. I got into a different major than the one I'd prepared for: I was supposed to become a doctor, but I ended up studying to be a pharmacist. Honestly, studying to be a pharmacist is easier, and I don't regret it.

I more or less got through my first year, but at the end of the second semester those memory issues came back (though they'd been there before too — I just got by on luck). By that point I only had two retakes. In my second year it got worse: I slept for days, and when I wasn't sleeping I was gaming and eating. In the end, at the end of the first semester of my second year, I dropped out.

I told everyone it was for health reasons. But it really was for health reasons: I had ovarian cysts, latent iron-deficiency anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency, and vitamin D deficiency. I take vitamins and I'm getting treatment.

Last year I re-enrolled in the second year and I'm now trying to finish it. I have three retakes. I was ready to pass back in late September, but because I kept rescheduling them, they're now at the end of October. These are my last attempts — if I don't pass, I'll be expelled. And I can't make myself start preparing. For one subject I have two attempts today: if I don't pass today, I'll have to retake it again later. This retake is in a few hours, and I can't pull myself together and start preparing. I don't know what to do.

It's constant procrastination: I keep scrolling through stuff. I also keep skipping classes — I think "I'll go later, I'll make up for it somehow" — and I can't stop skipping them either. But I want to sleep constantly, always. I hate myself and feel absolutely awful. My parents think I'm studying away just fine, they're paying for my education, and I'm just slacking off. Everyone is counting on me, they think I'm smart because I tell them stuff, but I consider myself absolutely stupid and incapable of anything. Because I can't direct my concentration at something and just sit down and do it. I constantly want to sleep: I think "I'll just sleep for 15 minutes," and end up sleeping for 8 hours.

I'm about to turn 21, and I can't get my life together at all, and I feel like a failure. I want to understand what's wrong with me and why this is happening. I'd be grateful for any experience, thoughts, or advice — has anyone been through something similar, and what helped?


r/getdisciplined • • 1d ago

❓ Question How Did You Learn Discipline?

20 Upvotes

I've always been curious about how people develop discipline and what makes some people naturally consistent with their goals, habits, and responsibilities. Some people seem to have no trouble sticking to a routine, waking up early, studying, exercising, or working toward something even when they don't feel motivated. Others seem to develop that ability gradually as they get older and gain more life experience.

It makes me wonder how much of our discipline comes from the way we were raised. Did having strict parents teach you to be responsible and follow through on things? Or did growing up in a more independent environment force you to learn how to manage yourself? Maybe it has more to do with the people around you, the expectations placed on you, or the habits you observed growing up.

I'm also curious about how much life experiences shape discipline. Maybe going through difficult situations taught you the importance of consistency, or perhaps failing at something important made you realize that motivation alone isn't enough. Some people might have developed discipline through sports, school, work, or simply having responsibilities they couldn't avoid.

For those of you who consider yourselves disciplined, I'd love to hear your perspective. Do you think discipline is something you're taught, something you develop through experience, or something you consciously build over time? What do you think had the biggest influence on the person you've become today?

I'm especially interested in hearing about the experiences, habits, or lessons that made the biggest difference in how you approach your daily life.


r/getdisciplined • • 10h ago

❓ Question [Question] I finally became consistent with my habits, and now I get annoyed when people interrupt my schedule. How do you find the balance?

1 Upvotes

For years I was the person who made plans and never followed through. Gym tomorrow, study on Sunday, clean the apartment after work. None of it happened consistently.

About four months ago I finally got my shit together. Nothing extreme. Gym three times a week, groceries and cleaning on Saturday, two hours of studying on Sunday. I actually stick to it now, and I'm pretty proud of that.

But something weird is happening.

Last Wednesday a friend who was visiting town for one night asked if I wanted to grab dinner. My first instinct was to say no because Wednesday is a gym day.

I actually spent ten minutes trying to convince her to meet Thursday instead. She was literally leaving Thursday morning.

I eventually went to dinner, had a great time, then came home and felt guilty about skipping the gym. Even considered going at 11 PM.

A year ago I couldn't keep a single promise to myself. Now I'm treating an ordinary workout like a court appointment.

I don't want to go back to abandoning my plans whenever something more entertaining comes along. But I also don't want to become the person who can't have an unplanned evening with a friend because it isn't on the calendar.

For people who've maintained good habits for years, how do you tell the difference between making excuses and being reasonably flexible?

Do you have actual rules for when it's okay to move things around, or is that just another judgment call you have to learn?


r/getdisciplined • • 18h ago

📝 Plan Day 57–58/90 — Staying Active, but Falling Behind Elsewhere

3 Upvotes

I'm combining two more days into one update. These days weren't particularly productive from a professional development perspective, but there are a few things worth documenting.

Day 57 — Physically Active, but Academically Unproductive

Day 57 started well. I went for a morning run, did my workout, and went swimming.

I was also occupied with several other things throughout the day, including scheduling content for Instagram and managing some of my social media activities.

I went through the news and finance as well, so I did maintain a few of my regular habits.

However, I didn't study or practise LeetCode at all.

This is becoming a recurring problem. I manage to stay busy with physical activities, social media, and other responsibilities, but the work that directly contributes to my professional growth often gets pushed aside.

I need to get better at prioritising. Being occupied throughout the day doesn't necessarily mean I'm making progress towards my bigger goals.

Day 58 — A Day With Family

On Day 58, I was at my mother's house, and the entire day was packed with programmes and other activities.

Nothing significant happened in terms of my personal goals. I didn't make any progress on studying, LeetCode, or my professional development.

Sometimes, family commitments take up an entire day, and that's understandable. I don't expect every single day to follow the same routine.

The important thing is to recognise the difference between a day when circumstances genuinely limit my time and a day when I have time but waste it.

My Takeaway

I'm still struggling to balance my different priorities.

Physical activity and personal branding are important, but I can't let them consistently replace studying, coding practice, and building my AI/ML skills.

I also need to accept that some days won't go according to plan without allowing that to become an excuse for losing momentum over several days.

Day 57–58/90 complete.

I have 32 days left in this challenge.

I want to make these remaining days count by putting more consistent effort into the things that will improve my future, rather than just staying busy and hoping everything eventually falls into place.


r/getdisciplined • • 22h ago

🤔 NeedAdvice I know exactly what I should do at night, so why do I keep ignoring myself?

6 Upvotes

I think this is the part of discipline I struggle with the most.

During the day I’m actually pretty decent at doing what I’m supposed to do. I can study, work, get things done, whatever.

But late at night it’s like a completely different version of me takes over.

I’ll tell myself during the day that I’m going to sleep around midnight. Then midnight comes and suddenly I start negotiating with myself.

“10 more minutes.”

“One more video.”

“I’m not that tired yet.”

Then I look at the clock and it’s 2 or 3am again.

What annoys me is that I don’t think I have a knowledge problem. I already know I’ll feel better the next day if I sleep properly. I know I should put my phone away. I know the usual advice.

I just don’t follow through when the moment actually comes.

I’m trying something different this week where I decide my bedtime beforehand and keep track of whether I actually respect it every night.

For people who used to do this too: what actually helped you stop negotiating with yourself at night?

Was it strict rules, accountability, changing your environment, or something else?


r/getdisciplined • • 9h ago

🔄 Method Day 117: I was a father who my son was scared of. Today my son counts my pushups. This line saved me.

0 Upvotes

Day 117 sober. No alcohol, no tobacco, no Chitta.

I want to share what changed me, not just how many days I am sober.

2 years ago, my 14-year-old son was scared of me. When I came home drunk, he would go to another room. My wife would not talk. I was a father only on paper.

Today is different. This morning my son counted my pushups - "Papa 18, 19, 20!" - and we laughed. He sits with me when I read 【entity-Gita¦canonical_name=Gita】. We eat together. He is not scared now. He is proud.

What changed? One line I read on Oct 13 - I am attaching its screenshot with this post. It says:

"Zindagi me har sangharsh aapko kuch sikhane aata hai.

Shuruat me wahi sangharsh aapko mazboot banata hai,

aur waqt ke saath wahi aapko tajurba, samajh aur aage badhne ki himmat deta hai.

Isliye mushkilon se haar mat maniye."

This is true for me.

My sangharsh taught me:

- Day 1 to Day 30: I learned how to sleep without alcohol. I used to drink to sleep.

- Day 31 to Day 82: I learned how to say NO. On Day 82, I saw my friend cut his wrist for Chitta. That day I could have gone back, but I said NO.

- Day 83 to Day 117 today: I learned how to be a FATHER again.

I have only 3 rules. I tell my son only these 3. No 4th rule.

Study: 10 min 【entity-Gita¦canonical_name=Gita】 in the morning. It makes my mind clear.

Eat: With family, no phone. Whatever my mother makes.

Play: 20 pushups when urge comes. I say Jai Shri Ram. My son counts.

This is my Method. This is not motivation. This is my daily life from Kanina, Haryana, India.

If you are on Day 1, please don't think about Day 117. Just think about today. One day at a time.

Your struggle today is making you stronger for tomorrow. It will give you experience to help someone else tomorrow.

If you need help in India, call 14416 Tele-MANAS. It's free and confidential. You are not alone.

If this post helps even one father to go home sober tonight, my 117 days will be worth it.

Stay disciplined brothers.

IWNDWYT. Jai Shri Ram.


r/getdisciplined • • 1d ago

🤔 NeedAdvice Dealing w/ procrastination as a HS student.

3 Upvotes

Since I live on campus and we generally have a lot of freetime. We have 1 free period every day and I do sports after school until like 5:30 to 6:00. I feel like I do get things done and pretty well but I feel like thats mostly because the workload isn't that heavy yet. I've been procrastinating for a few years since I started middle school. My middle school is an IB MYP school which involves lots of writing and doing long projects (for maybe around 3 weeks each. At that time I didn't really care at all as it didn't really matter as much so I generally worked the most I could during class and since I'm really busy and I have a lot of commuting and private tutors I always felt like I deserved playing and resting and scrolling. I know that its bad for me but theres just a thought in my brain: You deserve this and just a bit more scrolling won't really matter. I usually end up having to finish a maybe sub-ten page lab report the night or a few nights before its due (generally depending on how long the report is and how much work I have). I feel really pressured when I find myself up maybe till 5 am just to finish an essay before its due 8 am. But currently I feel the need to genuinely work hard as GPA really matters for my college applications and I feel less bothered and affected by procrastination but I'm really afraid and concerned that this problem might start again. I think the main problem is with my phone and maybe my mindset. I'm willing to make changes and I have, I reflect often on this situation but I feel like its better if I ask for people who have experience in dealing with this here.


r/getdisciplined • • 1d ago

💡 Advice How I became more disciplined

18 Upvotes

I am 22 and I am someone who struggled for the longest time with all kinds of discipline issues like :

- Going on a two weeks streak then falling into a laziness loop
- Thinking i have depression
- Using weed a lot
- Thinking a lot before starting
- Having high ambition and goals and not achieving them
- Existential crisis….

The list goes on and on and on.

Here are the things that I applied that helped me become disciplined :

- Plan your day beforehand because no plan means no action or at least no organized action
- Set a simple realistic plan for the day
- Focus on the core things in your life first for me it was gym and studying. These are gonna be the foundation of your day
- After Mastering the foundation aka being consistent for a while you can then add other stuff to your life in the free time slots of your day
- Never negotiate with your primal brain. I mean never. You are gonna lose 9 times out of 10. There is no shortcut to this. It just gets easier day after day.
- Bad days are normal. Avoid mentally resetting each time. Just keep going, discipline is a bumpy road

And also if you have not found your purpose. It is completely normal. You will find it by doing not by thinking. In this day and age , discipline is the most precious skill a person can learn. Most people are not and if you have that edge and learn good habits now. You will set yourself for success in the next 10 years. Because anything that you want to achieve probably needs discipline, so master that first. And I hope you succeed:)


r/getdisciplined • • 17h ago

💬 Discussion Tell me a goal you keep putting off, and I'll turn it into a realistic weekly plan for free

0 Upvotes

I've spent the last few months building a goal planner, and I want to test it on real goals instead of my own.
So here's the deal: comment a goal you've been meaning to start (or restart) for a while, and I'll run it through the app and reply with a step-by-step plan for your first weeks. No signup, no link needed, I'll just post the plan here in the thread.

To make the plan actually fit your life, include:
Your goal, as specific as you can (e.g. "pass the B2 German exam", not "get better at German")

How many hours a week you really have. Be honest. If it's 2 hours, say 2 hours. That's the whole point.

Your deadline, if you have one
What you've tried before and where it fell apart (optional, but it helps a lot)

Big or small goals both work: a career switch, a language, a fitness goal, a side project, finishing your thesis, saving for something.


r/getdisciplined • • 1d ago

❓ Question I’m starting to realise being busy and making progress aren’t the same thing

7 Upvotes

I’ve had lots of weeks where I’ve felt really productive because I’ve been constantly doing things — work, studying, gym, errands, random admin.

However, I have noticed that a lot of the things I find myself doing are not directly contributing to what I want long term - my long term goals. So I’m now trying to get better at asking myself before the week starts: what would actually make this week feel meaningful, rather than just full? It’s easy to do lots of random things, but if you are not doing these things with intent and a clear link to a goal, these things could just be a waste of time (excluding life necessities of course - I’m not saying “making breakfast doesn’t contribute to my long term wealth goal so it’s a waste of time”).

A good example might be: studying lots of topics, instead of deeply researching one and at the end of the week actually understanding it instead of random pieces of information I’ve memorised. Or reading a reel for 10 different side hustles instead of actually picking a couple that interest me and deeply researching them.

I’m curious how other people judge this. What makes you feel like you’ve genuinely had a good/productive week, rather than just a busy one?


r/getdisciplined • • 1d ago

🤔 NeedAdvice How to fill the void left by stopping useless hobbies?

7 Upvotes

I feel like I can't really stop the useless hobbies I have (video games, watching videos, reading various articles about stuff, working on useless projects) without anything really to replace them. I tried stopping for a few days but it just felt like I was sitting around doing nothing or just replacing useless activities for other useless activities (sitting around doing nothing, reading posts, moving up random chores I would do later, going outside and taking transit to the city and back). I feel like my mental state is better when I do those hobbies I had in the past, but nonetheless I need to stop doing all of them because they are a complete waste of time. But the problem is all the new stuff is not better because they do not create value either (and plus going out and doing stuff costs money)

I'm supposed to be doing productive things, making value for other people, being a person that other people want to be around, but I still don't know how. I can't just talk to people or show up to random events, I have to be someone they want to be there, someone who creates value for the group instead of being the worst person there, someone who isn't just some faceless interchangeable person they can just pretend doesn't exist.


r/getdisciplined • • 1d ago

🤔 NeedAdvice [Story] I noticed I kept making simple tasks take longer because I wanted to finish them in a way I wouldn't have to revisit

3 Upvotes

I realized I was spending more time trying to make tasks impossible to regret than actually getting them done.

It showed up in stupidly small ways. I'd spend 40 minutes writing an email that needed maybe five. I'd reorganize a folder before putting a file in it. I'd reread something I'd already understood because I wanted to be absolutely sure I hadn't missed anything.

None of these things looked like procrastination. I was sitting at my desk, paying attention, doing work. If someone had walked past, I'd have looked pretty productive.

The weird part was that I wasn't necessarily afraid of doing the task badly. I was trying to avoid having to come back to it.

I wanted the email to need no clarification. The file to never need moving again. The decision to remain correct after I learned something new. I was treating every ordinary task like it should be a one-time event with no maintenance afterward.

I started noticing how often this made my days worse. A five-minute task would become a little project, and then I'd feel behind, which made me rush the next thing, which gave me another thing to revisit later.

One afternoon, I caught myself changing a perfectly understandable sentence for the fourth time. I wasn't improving its meaning anymore. I was just trying to eliminate the possibility that someone might misunderstand it.

So I tried a couple of small rules:

- For routine tasks, I decide what finished looks like before starting. For that email, it was simply: the question is clear, the necessary information is included, and there are no obvious mistakes.

- If I'm revisiting something, I have to name what new information I'm using to justify the revision. If the answer is just 'I want to check once more,' I leave it alone unless there's a real consequence to being wrong.

- I keep a short list of things I'm allowed to fix later instead of trying to anticipate every possible future problem now.

What surprised me was that I didn't suddenly become careless. I still corrected genuine mistakes. I just stopped spending equal effort on things that had wildly different consequences.

The counterintuitive part is that I used to think discipline meant taking every task seriously. Now I'm starting to think part of being disciplined is knowing which tasks don't deserve that much seriousness in the first place.

I'm still figuring this out, especially with work where mistakes actually matter. I don't want to replace overthinking with rushing, and sometimes that extra check really is worthwhile.

But I can see how often I used thoroughness as an excuse to avoid the uncomfortable feeling of letting something be done without knowing exactly how it would turn out.

Does anyone else struggle with this particular kind of overdoing things? How do you tell the difference between genuinely being thorough and just trying to make a task impossible to regret?


r/getdisciplined • • 1d ago

💡 Advice This simple hack is helping me these days

11 Upvotes

Tldr- It's nothing unique, just that I've finally started completing my to-do tasks. My only goal in the day is to just complete those tasks before 8pm, this helps me stay away from overthinking.

I had wasted the past few years because I was chasing perfectionism, motivation (from social media) and I suffer from a chronic health condition too. Also, I'm the biggest overthinker that I've seen in my life.

How did I start the change? It was just a painful realisation that I think (OVERTHINK) all the time but do nothing. I've set an alarm for 8 pm, which tells me my day is over and I can rest, watch movies etc. I've no alarm for the morning tho, I'll wake up when my body is ready (it's still before my college timing)

So everyday I wake up, all negative thoughts start coming in but I just write down whatever I can do to improve my situation/life. That's all that I need to focus on. And then I make it a point to complete them before 8 pm. I can have all the thinking/breakdown/binge watching later. Usually I get too tired tho and sleep by 10 almost.

My mind is finally getting free from too many thoughts because I'm not spending my energy in negotiating and decision making.

That's all. I don't think there's anything special in what I do, probably I've been tired of my own shit so this simple thing is working now. It never worked earlier tho, I made countless To-dos. It's a gradual progression but that was all that I needed.

One step at a time, may we all achieve our goals 🫂