Daily Discipline

    I have been working from home for about three years, and have gone without a direct boss for about six.  Lately I have realized that I very rarely have an actual, external need to be disciplined.  I have a fair amount of professional responsibility, but I have more than enough time to do it all.  With the exception of customer meetings, I can pretty much do my work whenever and however I see fit.  I am very lucky to have this freedom.  I have noticed that I am taking advantage of it by taking longer to do things than they require.  The joke is really on me however, as I end up "working" for a lot longer than the people who have actual offices to go to. 

    We shouldn't be severe with ourselves, but we should be disciplined, and we should hold ourselves to a high standard.  I have found that discipline is a cumulative force, and that it does not need to be exercised on only the big issues for the benefits to start adding up.  It is a matter of waking up when the alarm goes off or going to the gym even though you are feeling lazy or run down.  It's not being a pussy, frankly, and the more things that you exercise your will over, the more in control of yourself you become.

    I have become very slack with myself.  I can't stand wasting time, and yet, I waste a lot of time.  No wonder that I feel so disgusted with myself lately.  The funny thing about wasting time is that you don't actually enjoy the time spent, even though you would think there would be some enjoyment taken from doing something more fun than work, study, or whatever else you should be doing.  It doesn't work that way.  I actually feel stressed and in a hurry the whole day, even though there is plenty of time to get everything done.  My friends or family will call, and I don't have time to talk or be 100% present because I am thinking more about what I still need to do.  The ability to be available to family was supposed to be one of the benefits of working from home.

    The good thing is that the solution is simple.  Do the things that need to be done.  Do them with as close to 100% focus as possible, without getting side-tracked or trying to do three things at once.  Just focus on what needs to be done, and then move on to the next thing.  If it is a gym day, then barring a major injury you go to the gym.  Really, it is as simple as just DOING what it is you are supposed to do, getting done, and then doing whatever it is you WANT to do.