What do you do and self management

One of the easiest methods I have found is the pomodoro method. You set a timer for forty to fifty minutes where you concentrate on the task, and then another timer where you take a ten to fifteen minute break. I used it a lot for studying, writing, reading, anything that required concentration really. It worked well for me even if I am at the computer where I can be easily distracted. I have also found that keeping a notebook with a schedule helps a lot. Instead of saying you'll do "X" when you have the time, you make the time for it. It's a very simple change in thinking that I have found to be useful. With infinite distractions you can never find the time to do what you truly want to do. By setting aside a specific time you create intent, with a plan, and when that time comes you're primed to do work instead of putting it off more.

I've an interest in linguistics and languages going back to childhood. When I was 14 (well, a month before my 14th birthday) I decided to study German. I had an interest in German culture beforehand and have two parents who formerly studied and worked in Munich and Frankfurt but whose German has grown rusty having not used it for 2 decades by that point. It was a net positive in all regards. A fun language to learn I could use with my parents as well as a code (originally they used German to speak to each other while we were in the room. I messed that up.)

I got to a B2 level on my own but it took a few years of on and off studying. I also studied French in college and it took me a year or a year and a half to get to the same level.

Advice I could give: time management and discipline > intelligence and talent. You could be natural at a skill like music or art or math, but those who aren't could run circles around you if you don't put much effort in and rely on your talent. Sure, talent and intelligence speeds up the learning process, but it's auxiliary in every case to actual effort and time.

Second thing: consistency is key. You don't need to study tons every day of your life. Any pace is good so long as you do it every day. Sure, doing a lot a day will get you there quicker theoretically, but you'll easily burn out and stop working for days, maybe even weeks or months.

Thirdly, this is the most important: if you find it easy, you're doing it wrong. Well, ok, not exactly. If you find learning a skill super easy, you're in one of two camps: you're part of the upper echelon of learners with extreme intelligence and skill, or you're missing something. This is how I felt learning German; I found a lot of it easy, but eventually I realized there's tons of holes in my understanding I needed to rectify, which is why I decided to re-study German in college. My professor called these holes "fossilized mistakes", ideas and mannerisms I adopted years ago when first learning I never let go of.

ellie I prefer the word consistency to be better because it takes off the pressure-thought that one has to do reading, workout, meditating, coding, study, every day.

That's definitely a concern, yeah. It hangs over you when you wake up like "Oh fuck I have to do this again..."
But in that regard, I think that feeling will only come if you're doing too much a day and if you're doing it at the wrong time. Even like, 5 or 10 minutes, barely enough to have a coffee break a day. Do 5 pushups, or read a page or two of a book, or write a tiny program like a Fizzbuzz or a CLI calculator, or practice a scale or picking technique on guitar on one position, stuff that won't take any more than 20 minutes max. Do it while you're at complete ease and without distractions.

ellie I wonder what things do you do? Do you self study and such or do you have a hectic school/work life?

Yeah, it's pretty hectic. I go to college an hour and a half away from where I live and days could last upwards of 9 hours. A lot of my hobbies fell by the wayside as a result. Over winter break I'll hopefully get back to what I was doing prior.

Commander Grausam

This is some of the best advice I have heard. Thank you for sharing it for those who have not heard of it, and for reminding those who have.

ellie

ellie I have never given any consideration of the Pomodoro technique before really, and honestly I just do the thing and when i feel for a break I take a break and then continue on.

I recommend it if you have difficulty doing something for a long time. I can see why you wouldn't want to follow it, because it does suck having the timer go off when you're in a good flow. I will start with a timer, and only take breaks if I feel the need to. If I have a good spot of inspiration hit me I will continue until the inspiration ends or I am done. I had the most success doing the method in a strict sense while studying.

ellie I have things like writing/webstuff/animating and such but some days i just dont have the time to follow them all up.

The wonderful thing is that you don't need to do something daily if it is a hobby. You can easily see it with working out. It is much better to take rest days than to do daily. Writing, art, programming don't have the mandatory rest working out does, but it is better to space it out at first instead of burning out quickly. If I were you, then I would focus on one thing a day while trying to incorporate elements of your other projects.

ellie I dont have that many deadlines on myself

Deadlines are essential. If you have none, then you can put off the work until you die. You can tell yourself that there is always a tomorrow until one day there isn't. I implore you to make some.

Doc This is some of the best advice I have heard. Thank you for sharing it for those who have not heard of it, and for reminding those who have.

You are far too kind. I'm glad to help in any regard! c:

I did running frequently throughout my childhood and teens but I never did it as hard and frequently as the past year. I run 10-20 km a day now ez. Trying to learn flips and acrobatics but I'm still at the beginning. And this discipline by itself has a pretty big skill tree. Need to dedicate time just to dance too. Trying to become a professional welder and land some big buck job. All this aside I have too many hobbies but that's always something to be grateful for.

I used to have much more energy and passion for hobbies, but nowadays I am just trying to get the most basic tasks done and then I would feel absolutely drained. I have tried the mentioned pomodoro method, vitamins, getting proper sleep, caffeine, no caffeine, going outside for walks, and whatever general advice people usually offer, but they either only work temporarily or do not help at all, which is frustrating because I do want to have a life beyond being a functioning human.

I still read books and watch movies, but I am not doing any specific personal project. Winter break will come soon and my plan is to study in advance for at least one of my classes and finish the books I borrowed from the library.

ellie Just give me an empty room and I can prove to you how easy it is to sleep and stare at the wall for hours straight. It is impossible to be bored when I don't even have the energy to be bored

ellie

ellie Deadlines are tough to make when most projects are pretty self-made.

I agree with that. Self imposed deadlines are hard to keep up with. If you want, we can talk more often or even make a thread here about project progress. So while the deadlines will still be self imposed others will hold you accountable and remind you to do things. I've seen that on other forums and it works fairly well from what I have seen.

I spent a lot of this year trying to be more purposeful and organised in how I do things.
I have a mini whiteboard with the week days written on with the goal of writing what i've got 'to-do' on those days.
I also have a notebook with the date and like 6 boxes next to them, each representing a category of task and I was to simply mark what had been done for that day.

I've found that I've failed somewhat spectacularly with both of those. I think the notebook with categories of tasks to tick is a great idea because it gives some leeway to categorise what you've done that day and still a good sense of accomplishment once you've ticked off a few things that day. My issue is that once something like that notebook is out of sight I just don't do it. So my goal for the next year is to rework both of those into something i'm more likely to do, ie get them into their own specific places that can't be avoided as easily.

I'm not very disciplined and can slack off very easily given half a chance

ellie I should get into meditation, I found out about your "hack" years ago through pure concentration as I was trying to sleep one night, I occasionally finish dreams of mine that I like (as they seem ever so rare) as it feels that the same mechanisms that are present while you're dreaming are present while you're in this state.

My own "hack" so to speak is something I found quite recently in order to deal with some mental issues that have been plaguing me for the past two years.
I managed to effectively deal with everything I was suffering from within less than an hour, by simply focusing and having a one-to-one with my self, imagining a conversation between me and a psychiatrist, with whom I laid bare all of my issues and theorized on how they may have come about precisely.
It seems a little silly but considering my mental state immediately before and after I cannot emphasize enough how effective it was, and the best part is how it did not cost me a single penny, and I'm still enjoying its effects over a month later (particularly notable as my previous method only gave me a day of respite, and I later learned it was incredibly unhealthy)
This could be considered a form of meditation, which I why I'd like to try some of the more traditional forms of it.

Another hack I've made use of for longer than I can remember and has been the habit of many others I've known:
Pacing. Seriously, just walk. Pace around your house, it helps you think, it's a known thing. Your thoughts come about clearer and faster than if you're sitting or laying down. But also help me, I was laying down as I began writing this post but involuntarily got up and began pacing around my room.