I’ve tried multiple ways and methods shared on the internet. Tried waking up at 5am, but got more tired instead. Tried taking cold showers, which in turn made me not look forward to showering, causing my overall mood to worsen.

I began to doubt the validity of such advices. YouTubers with millions of followers are promoting it. Why is it not working for me? Did i do it wrongly? Did i wake up at the wrong side of the bed? Was i missing the ice cubes in the shower to knock some sense into me?

I continued to try out a few advices, which didn’t make me any more productive — at least nothing worth mentioning.

Something seems off here.

Happy to say, I got out of that hell hole awhile back after realizing something. It wasn’t my problem. The advices were great. The problem is compatibility. It just didn’t fit me.

The information online may have worked for some people, but it might not work for you. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll stop making excuses for your lack of self-control, discipline, and motivation.

Waking up at 5am in the morning worked for some people because they are a morning person, and generally turn in early. What if I’m a night owl? I generally sleep between 12–1am. Waking up at 5am would mean i’d only have 4–5 hours of rest. I can see the probability of me doing more with lesser sleep, if that’s what the advice is about.

I generally find myself writing better at night as i slowly work towards the end of the day. Silent nights set the mood for me and help me find the inspiration and ideas i need. In the morning, my mind is still warming up, and i generally like to workout in the day. Working out brings clarity to me, and it also helps jumpstart my day.

This is something I’m comfortable with, in fact, it leads to higher productivity because of my preference. If i were to adapt my lifestyle just because some guy on the web said it’s better to wake up at 5am, i would be torturing myself.

Forcing yourself to fit into a system that was never meant for you doesn’t sound productive at all.

You’ll be focused on following the system more than what the system can do for you. It wouldn’t be second nature to you and you’ll have to constantly remind and motivate yourself to stay on course.

Believe me, you will wear out. At the end of the day, you’ll fall back to square one and blame yourself for something that wouldn’t be your fault to begin with.

Stop following everything that you see on the web. Everybody leads a different lifestyle, and we are to believe that one system can fit everybody. Instead, consume, reflect and adapt.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that the advices provided by the professionals and enthusiasts are crap. I meant that everybody has their own preference, and what they are doing might not work for you.

What you need to do instead, is to adapt it to your needs.

Some advices may suit you perfectly, but there are also some that may never work for you. And for those in between, it just needs a bit of tweaking and maybe it’ll fit you perfectly too.If you follow blindly, you fail to understand the underlying reason and concept for why this even became a system or advice.

The action of waking up at 5am doesn’t make you productive automatically. It is the ability to start the day earlier than your peers, and getting things done before the sun even comes up, that causes one to perceive, and of course mentally believe that they are more productive than usual.

Can the same be done the other way around? Can i go to bed later than my peers, and get more work done? Of course you can! It’s the same concept, but done in a different way. You might argue that doing work at night would be less productive, because your willpower and energy has been depleted throughout the day. Nocturnal owls will beg to differ. In fact, if you are willingly putting in the hours late at night, you definitely are addicted to it and want to do it.

My advice to you is to understand your preference and lifestyle, and build something around it. Productivity tips are not one size fit all. That’s why there are so many variations of it. You can even create your own and preach it to your colleagues and friends!

If you’re looking to be more productive, take a moment and reflect on your current system and answer the following:

• What are you currently doing that is supposed to make you more productive?(Do you do time blocking? Do you adopt the pomodoro technique when doing deep work? Or do you simply not look at your phone when it’s working hours?)

• How do you know it’s making you more productive?

• Do you feel like you have to force yourself to do any of those mentioned above?

• Would your productivity levels remain the same without those mentioned above?

If you answer ‘no’ to any of the questions above, you may have to relook at whatever you’re working with currently. At the end of the day, you should have a system that makes you more productive, while making you feel certain, willing, and confident.

I’ve tried multiple ways and methods shared on the internet. Tried waking up at 5am, but got more tired instead. Tried taking cold showers, which in turn made me not look forward to showering, causing my overall mood to worsen.

I began to doubt the validity of such advices. YouTubers with millions of followers are promoting it. Why is it not working for me? Did i do it wrongly? Did i wake up at the wrong side of the bed? Was i missing the ice cubes in the shower to knock some sense into me?

I continued to try out a few advices, which didn’t make me any more productive — at least nothing worth mentioning.

Something seems off here.

Happy to say, I got out of that hell hole awhile back after realizing something. It wasn’t my problem. The advices were great. The problem is compatibility. It just didn’t fit me.

The information online may have worked for some people, but it might not work for you. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll stop making excuses for your lack of self-control, discipline, and motivation.

Waking up at 5am in the morning worked for some people because they are a morning person, and generally turn in early. What if I’m a night owl? I generally sleep between 12–1am. Waking up at 5am would mean i’d only have 4–5 hours of rest. I can see the probability of me doing more with lesser sleep, if that’s what the advice is about.

I generally find myself writing better at night as i slowly work towards the end of the day. Silent nights set the mood for me and help me find the inspiration and ideas i need. In the morning, my mind is still warming up, and i generally like to workout in the day. Working out brings clarity to me, and it also helps jumpstart my day.

This is something I’m comfortable with, in fact, it leads to higher productivity because of my preference. If i were to adapt my lifestyle just because some guy on the web said it’s better to wake up at 5am, i would be torturing myself.

Forcing yourself to fit into a system that was never meant for you doesn’t sound productive at all.

You’ll be focused on following the system more than what the system can do for you. It wouldn’t be second nature to you and you’ll have to constantly remind and motivate yourself to stay on course.

Believe me, you will wear out. At the end of the day, you’ll fall back to square one and blame yourself for something that wouldn’t be your fault to begin with.

Stop following everything that you see on the web. Everybody leads a different lifestyle, and we are to believe that one system can fit everybody. Instead, consume, reflect and adapt.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that the advices provided by the professionals and enthusiasts are crap. I meant that everybody has their own preference, and what they are doing might not work for you.

What you need to do instead, is to adapt it to your needs.

Some advices may suit you perfectly, but there are also some that may never work for you. And for those in between, it just needs a bit of tweaking and maybe it’ll fit you perfectly too.If you follow blindly, you fail to understand the underlying reason and concept for why this even became a system or advice.

The action of waking up at 5am doesn’t make you productive automatically. It is the ability to start the day earlier than your peers, and getting things done before the sun even comes up, that causes one to perceive, and of course mentally believe that they are more productive than usual.

Can the same be done the other way around? Can i go to bed later than my peers, and get more work done? Of course you can! It’s the same concept, but done in a different way. You might argue that doing work at night would be less productive, because your willpower and energy has been depleted throughout the day. Nocturnal owls will beg to differ. In fact, if you are willingly putting in the hours late at night, you definitely are addicted to it and want to do it.

My advice to you is to understand your preference and lifestyle, and build something around it. Productivity tips are not one size fit all. That’s why there are so many variations of it. You can even create your own and preach it to your colleagues and friends!

If you’re looking to be more productive, take a moment and reflect on your current system and answer the following:

• What are you currently doing that is supposed to make you more productive?(Do you do time blocking? Do you adopt the pomodoro technique when doing deep work? Or do you simply not look at your phone when it’s working hours?)

• How do you know it’s making you more productive?

• Do you feel like you have to force yourself to do any of those mentioned above?

• Would your productivity levels remain the same without those mentioned above?

If you answer ‘no’ to any of the questions above, you may have to relook at whatever you’re working with currently. At the end of the day, you should have a system that makes you more productive, while making you feel certain, willing, and confident.