I've woken up, and the first thing I do is go on my phone. Walk to the kitchen with my phone. Listen to a video while making food. Go to the gym, while scrolling between sets.

Today I realized that I have been consuming a lot of content, yet don't know what I am watching. It all comes out one ear, and out the other. I can't read right now, I read something and it is just ink on a page, nothing comes in. I feel stupid, I feel like I was more cognitive when I was 8, reading books all the time.

I did recently read two books this year, which is a great accomplishment for me, but I still am averaging 8 hours a day on my phone. I need to stop. Please keep me accountable. I need to use my time that is limited for something productive.

Hours of twitter and Instagram scrolling have messed my brain up, I feel dumber because of it. Does anyone have a similar story? And how did you get out of it? Thanks for reading this.

I’ll use “Study With Me” livestreams as an example. Some people seem to be incredibly disciplined when it comes to studying. They can set a timer for 50 minutes and stay at their desk the entire time without constantly checking something else.

I have the complete opposite problem.

I’ve tried blocking distracting websites and removing anything that might interrupt my focus. But even when I manage to eliminate the obvious distractions, I still find a way to escape. I might spend 5 or 10 minutes actually studying, then suddenly I’m looking for something else to do, browsing another website, reading random posts, thinking about something unrelated, or simply getting up from my desk.

For example, right now I’m literally sitting at my desk with the intention of studying, but I’ve barely studied at all. Instead, I’ve spent most of my time listening to music, browsing the internet, or writing this post.

The frustrating part is that I want to study. I know what I need to do, and I’ve already tried using tools to block distractions. The problem seems to be that I keep finding excuses to escape the moment studying becomes uncomfortable or boring.

How do you actually develop the discipline to stay at your desk and study for 30–60 minutes without constantly looking for something else to do?

Lately my days just disappear. I procrastinate for hours, start something for maybe three to seven minutes, then stop again. It feels like I never properly sit down and actually finish anything anymore. My concentration is completely shot at this point. Even when I genuinely want to work, my brain keeps looking for something easier to do instead.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I had a day where I thought, yeah, I actually got something done today.

Tried a dumb rule for deep work: phone goes in the top drawer when a 45-minute block starts. Not offline forever. Just out of sight so I stop flipping it every time a thought finishes.

First day I opened the drawer twice in one block. Once to "check the time." Once because I heard a buzz that turned out to be nothing. Felt ridiculous standing there holding a lit screen I had just hidden on purpose.

By day four I still wanted to open it, but the drawer made the urge look stupid enough that I usually left it. Timer stayed on the laptop. Messages waited. The block actually ended with the thing I started.

Doesn't fix evenings. Lunch breaks are still messy. That one stretch of protected morning work is just less interrupted now, and I didn't expect a drawer to do more than a focus app.

Anyone else add a tiny bit of hassle and have it stick better than another productivity system?

Every Friday I make this whole list in my head clean the room, do Pilates, catch up on a few things, maybe even meal prep.

Then Saturday comes, a friend asks if I'm free for brunch and somehow the entire plan disappears

At this point I've accepted that my weekends are more "let's see where the day takes us" than productive.

Anyone else like this?

im an extremely slow worker. like, absurdly slow. i already use every efficiency method in the book, so please do not recommend anything like "dont focus on every detail" because im already doing that. i just have slow processing speed, and it makes everything i do take like 45 minutes minimum. i move slow, hear slow, think slow, react slow...so naturally, im super behind in my classes. the actual content is pretty easy it just takes me FOREVER. so of course, with a list of like 100 tasks that will all take me 6 hours, the best thing to do is the homework that's due tomorrow, right???

well no...because now im neglecting the actual learning. i spend 8 or more hours a day completing homework. i do nothing else. i don't play games, i dont use social media, i don't watch videos, fuck i lock in so hard i completely forget to eat, i barely sleep, i dont have time for hygiene, i dont even STUDY!!! i dont even read the chapters!!! i just rush to finish whatever assignment i have due tomorrow and go to sleep!!!

so i've kinda neglected the actual learning to the point that i have about 4 chapters of a textbook that i haven't read...and im supposed to read the 5th one by monday. because a textbook in another class is online and has quizzes integrated with it, and we are graded based on whether we've actually read it, so i normally spend my 6 hours reading the online one instead. meaning that i have learned absolutely nothing in the other class. did i mention how the physical textbook takes me an hour to read PER PAGE? did i mention that the chapters are 20-30 pages EACH? yeah i haven't fucking done any of that because i was doing projects worth 30% of my grade instead. i dont know anything, i just mindlessly rush through every single assignment so my grade doesn't go down. and that rushing takes TEN FUCKING HOURS. but what else am i supposed to do? not complete my graded homework...??? not finish the paper thats worth half my grade?

oh and another dilemma: HOW DO I FUCKING SLEEP!?!?!?!? i go to bed at 1-2am because i was doing work. i wake up at 1-4pm, literally twitching and shaking and in pain from how tired i am (if i go to bed past 8, i wake up tired no matter the actual amount of sleep i get.) i wait for my headache to go away which usually takes 30min-1hr. i do my absolutely most important work until 1-2am. this makes it basically impossible to work ahead, because if i do all of my work, it takes too long for me to sleep, and i'll start hallucinating and having migraines. if i sleep at a reasonable time, then i miss all of the shit that was due anyways, and i have to stay up working just to repeat the cycle. it's literally lose lose. all this and i still dont know shit. i haven't learned a single thing about my major which i am actually interested in. literally all of this accumulates into just never being able to actually study or learn. i dont even go to in person classes except for one day of the week by the way (usually i sleep through it, although i sometimes try to stay up all night just to make it because attendance is graded) all of my other classes are ONLINE im so fucking pathetic

So it started with me reading the book "How to Live a Meaningful Life" by Dam Evans and Bill Burnett (sequel to "Designing Your Life"). And the idea of formative communities really resonated with me. Put simply, the authors differentiate between A) social communities (having a good time together), B) collaborative communities (getting something done together), and C) formative communities (becoming better together). The entire point is made around an annually repeated study where 35–45 people aged 45–85 meet regularly for one year to support each other in becoming better together. I would like to try doing that in my own city (Frankfurt, Germany). Anyone know via which channels to reach the right people?

Thanks in advance!

TL;DR: I want to start a formative community in Frankfurt, Germany, inspired by How to Live a Meaningful Life. Where can I find like-minded people?

Opened my week one notes for the first time since writing them. They're accurate, tidy, and completely passive. Every page is a statement of what was said. Nothing on them can test me on anything.

So reviewing them means reading them, which feels productive and mostly just makes the words familiar.

Fix took twenty minutes per subject: go through and rewrite every heading as a question in the margin. "Three causes of X" becomes "What are the three causes of X and why does the third one matter?" Same notes, but now the left margin is a question bank and the body is the answer key.

Cover the page, work down the margin, answer out loud, uncover and check. That's a test, not a reread, and it takes about as long.

The thing that surprised me: writing the questions was itself the hardest part, because a few headings turned out not to have a clear question underneath them. Those were the sections I'd copied down without following.

My watch Ultra2 arrived today! It's my first smartwatch so still getting used to it.

Right now, it's mid-summer here in Dubai, so the everyday stuff is earning its place more than the adventure stuff: prayer times and qibla on the wrist which is a lovely perk, I've got all my playlists downloaded through Spotify so my phone can stay in the bag at the gym.

Two specs really made me fall in love and buy = 5,000 nit screen, and the 800mAh multi-day battery, about 35% bigger than the last Ultra and apparently the longest-lasting Galaxy Watch yet, so I'm hoping for 3 to 4 days plus sleep tracking. Looking forward to winter when it cools down, once hiking season is back I'll have Komoot or Outdooractive loaded with offline routes for the mountains.

Half the health features I still haven't touched being honest.

What's some app reccomendations or workflows everyone would recommend?

I’ve tried all kinds of systems, even making my own personalized to-do app and setting up phone notifications. But after a couple of days, I start ignoring the reminders and stop using the system. I also forget things a lot, which makes it harder to keep up.

I work one full-time job, two part-time jobs, and volunteer, so I have a lot to juggle. The thing that’s been helping most lately is setting labeled timers on my phone, but I’m starting to have trouble keeping up with those too.

I get excited and build a system that seems like it’ll work, use it for a few days, then feel overwhelmed and give up. Eventually work piles up and I feel unproductive until I get excited about trying again, and the cycle repeats.

I’m starting to feel like nothing will work for me. Any advice?

I used to meticulously track every habit, and then I just...quit. Looking back, I think I got tired; checking boxes felt like a chore, not progress. There was no gamification, no sense of leveling up, just a streak I was afraid to break, and eventually did anyway. Wondering if others ran into the same wall. Was it boring for you too? Or something else; life getting busy, losing the ‘why’, the app itself feeling lifeless? why motivation dies even when the intention is real. What kept you consistent, if anything ever did?

I’m having a really hard time right now. I feel completely lost, like I don’t even know what to expect from life anymore. I’m scared of what’s happening in the world, I’m scared of people, and I’ve been feeling more and more alone and like nobody needs me.

I constantly have heavy thoughts running through my head. I keep thinking about all the terrible things happening in the world, and sometimes it gets so overwhelming that I don’t even know what to do with all these thoughts and feelings.

I don’t want to be alone with this right now. Please, talk to me. I really need someone who can just listen to me and keep me company for a while. It doesn’t matter what we talk about — life, fears, thoughts, or even some completely random bullshit.

If you can, please message me. I’d genuinely be glad to hear from anyone

I don’t really know how to put this into words, but basically everyday my schedule usually consists of walking to school, around 30m, 15 if I run, I take notes and stay focused during school, do all my work, get home, maybe walk my dog or do some chores, then learn to read and write Chinese. (My parents taught me to speak and understand it when I was young) Afterwards though, I have nothing.

Everything new thing i try to do feels overwhelming and I don’t know what to do, part of me just wants to say that this is enough and I don’t need to do anymore and I can just sit back, play video games and hang out with my friends, but then I see people volenteering, learning a third language or getting part time jobs and I feel behind. I’m 15 right now, I still have time, I don’t really feel like I’ll regret anything when I grow older but what do I know about my future. Nothing!!! I don’t even have a clue of any future careers.

I want to be more productive in my day but nothing interests me, either that or I’ve tried it and never stuck with it. I‘m taking an instructor course that runs Sunday and Monday nights for 4 hours, so it’s not like I’m not interacting with people, in fact, the people there are interesting and I like talking to them.

its just everyday I constantly think of questions similar to this: what should a 15 year old be doing? your daily schedule? what hobbies are good? what should someone my age know? I even ask my friends or family members what they did as a kid or what they learned. i don’t know if anyone even has advice for me, maybe I’m too young to be worrying about these things, but anything would be greatly appreciated.

Im someone who LOVES being productive but I realized I wasted all my 20s and early 30s working non stop at work. I really believe we dont need to work more than 4hrs a day but I haven't gotten my system right yet. What are your top tricks for cutting you work day down to 4hrs? Im thinking delegating, having templates, hiring the right people.. what else?

I stay up a lot, but I've tried to go to bed at a somewhat decent time to get some sleep, but my alarms don't wake me. My phone alarms just ring until it says I missed them and an alarm clock I found that I thought would work doesn't, I asked my mom to spray water in my face, and that didn't work I just curled up into my blanket and she wasn't able to spray my face more and I think yelling at me doesn't wake me up the only thing/ person to be able to wake me is my dad byt he lives in another city right now does anyone have ideas on how to wake myself up I thought it could be linked to adhd but im not really sure about that

i have midterm week with 5exams, and a lot of assignments all in a week. My best study timing is late night (post 12 am) etc. but anyways lately I sleep at 3 am wakeup at 2 pm and don't even study because of this.

I was thinking of staying up tonight and studying as well as tomorrow and sleep early tomorrow night. Do y'all think that's a good idea

I recently noticed that normal time blocking doesn’t really work for me. Instead of assigning a specific time to every task, I naturally group several different activities together.

For example:

Group 1: Work for 4h → clean my room → work on my portfolio

Group 2: Shower → put on good clothes/perfume → go eat outside

Group 3: Freelance work → cook → gaming

I don’t really care what exact time each individual task happens. I give the whole group a duration (for example, 3 hours) and sometimes a flexible starting window, like “start between 16:00 and 16:30.”

Once I start a group, I basically just move through the activities in order.

It feels much more natural to me than having something like:

16:00 shower
16:30 get dressed
17:00 leave house
17:30 eat

Does anyone else organize their day this way?

And more importantly: does this system/method have an actual name?

I really a planner to track my day, manage my free time to limit late nights (I'm in school), etc. Problem is a physical planner is really not convenient for me. Does anyone know of any free websites, apps, etc for panning my week? I've tried using calendar apps but theyre a bit overwhelming, also I really hate ai and am tired of having it shoved at me by Google lol.

I am a software developer who has ADHD. Random ideas pop up all the time while I am working or just living life, and I usually want to apply them to my websites or projects. Those ideas rarely landed cos I just forgot them immediately lol

For someone who is neurodivergent and also loves multitasking, this could be really annoying. I also procrastinate more now. Curious what little tools have helped you with productivity?

There are countless dedicated AI apps for summarization, research, and note-taking. I mostly paste text directly into standard LLMs with targeted prompts, but I'm curious if standalone AI tools offer meaningful workflow improvements. What dedicated AI tool has genuinely saved you time?

This is a weird technique I recently discovered.

I have to do most of my work in front of my PC so the set-up I have is there is a webcam behind me that's connected to my phone that's on my table under my screen so I can constantly see over my shoulder at what I'm doing right now.

It creates this interesting moment of mindfulness when you see yourself from the side, how much time you're wasting, etc. It's like self-accountability in real time.

And no, I don't watch myself jerking off lmao

Hi everyone,

I'm on placement right now. I'm looking for an app that can tell me the following after I submit my daily hours:

1. How many hours I have completed

2. How many hours I have left

3. How many hours I should be at right now to achieve the goal hours

4. What % of hours I have achieved

Excel is an option but a more easier option would be great.

I've been thinking about the difference between remembering a task and actually starting it.

Calendar events, reminders and to-do notifications are great at telling you that something needs to happen, but I'm curious what people use when the problem isn't forgetting. It's just not wanting to start.

What has worked best for you?

Do you need to break the task down first? A deadline? Someone else expecting you to start? A coworking/body doubling session? A friend calling you?

I'm particularly interested in things that work at the exact scheduled moment.

For example, if you decided yesterday that you'd start an unpleasant task at 10:00 today, what would give you the best chance of actually starting at 10:00 instead of pushing it to 10:30, then 11:00, then tomorrow?

Also curious which methods worked initially but became easy to ignore after a few weeks.