Discipline is my friend

Often times when I am having a conversation about achieving high performance results, the subject of time comes up.  I hear things like: 

“Time is flying by!” 

“There isn’t enough time in the day!”

“I don’t have the energy to keep up! 

Ever feel like this? I think we all have.

Time is not the problem

So, is there enough time in the day?  I think so. 

I used to think what I really needed was a 36-hour day.  I thought - imagine how much I could get done in 36 hours!  Over the years I learned that more time just meant – well more time. 

When I began to track and assess various projects – I realized that simply adding more time didn’t equate to better results.  

Many times, I found that my efficiencies didn’t match the extra time that I allocated due to this thing called the Parkinson’s law.  Parkinson’s law says that your "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” (C. Northcote Parkinson).  

In other words, when given extra time to complete a project, many of us will still procrastinate until the proverbial 11th hour!

Necessary Habits

Since most of us have a natural tendency to squander time, what we really need is a process that prioritizes what is important.  When you create a daily schedule around these priorities, it becomes a habit. 

Having a structure is key to accomplishing more over time.  I will add that having a wholistic approach is necessary for me.  I say wholistic because compartmentalizing your life may yield great achievements, but may also be destroying your health, family, etc..

Although good habits are hard to form, the payoff is worth it.  According to Charles Duhigg, when you establish a habit loop, your brain goes into a type of auto-pilot and is free to focus on important tasks.  

How do you form habits? 

Discipline is the fuel

Discipline is a commitment to do the necessary – everyday.  

You can’t form habits without discipline.  It is what drives you to do what you need to do even when you may not feel like it. For example, I don’t love getting up early, but I love the results that I attain from this daily commitment.  

My schedule (habit) goes like this: wake up, solitude time, prayer, journal, reading, exercise, instrument practice, educational reading, memory training – all before 8am.  

I can't get there at other times of the day -I've tried.  This works for me, but it takes discipline.  When I travel, I don’t have control of timing – but it is critical that I still hit the important buckets when I am on the road.

For others, discipline may mean carving out time in the evening to do important tasks or activities that are part of the predetermined game-plan.  

The time of day is not as important as the commitment to doing what you value most in your process. Just winging it, and waiting for the moment when you feel like doing something, will not produce consistent long-term, high performance results.

Discipline = Freedom

As a musician I used to think that discipline was the enemy of freedom.  Although I admit, this can be a very difficult balance and still is. The reality is, without discipline, I never would have actually finished songs or record projects that I started.

In Jacko Willink & Leif Babin’s book, Extreme Ownership, there is a chapter titled – Discipline equals Freedom.  The book is packed with stories and lessons learned from US Navy Seals in battle.  

They discovered that discipline made their teams more flexible and allowed them to be creative. Imagine, discipline being linked with flexibility and creativity!  

The freedom to think outside the box, allowed Navy Seals to adapt to changes on the ground and have great success.

Having disciplines in my life is important for the development of my body, soul & spirit. It allows me to focus, and accomplish the important things in life - daily.

There are times and seasons that call for adjustments along the way.  But I am careful to make change an intentional process, so as not to drift.

So discipline is not my task master, but my friend.