When we talk about a key ingredient to productivity, some of you might be thinking about discipline, or self-discipline, as some people call it. It is said often and you might have read it in an article or a book about productivity and getting things done: people talk about self-discipline as a key ingredient to being productive.
I would agreed with it that it is one of the keys, and this is what came up in a conversation about productivity that I was a part of about two weeks ago. I was invited to a dinner and a drinks reception at a special workshop called Ingenious Women workshop. It was specially developed for women research scientists at the University of Edinburgh to give them a chance to explore their further careers and raise their entrepreneurial skills and spirits. I was invited there as a woman research scientist who has started her own business successfully so that I can share with them my expertise and give them inspiration.
We were sitting at the dinner talking about productivity discussing what a key element to being productive is. One of the organisers of the workshop, Janet, was sitting at the same table as me and she started to talk about discipline. She used me for illustration saying the following.
“Look at Olga; she is obviously successful in her research and her business. And to make it work she obviously needs to be disciplined. For example, to be able to come to this evening she needed to organize her children to be looked after for the time she is away. She needed to remember not to drink during the evening so that she can drive back (most of the women stayed at the hotel for the night). She needed to remember to leave the dinner at a certain time. She has a pen to write (I was actually making some notes during that conversation!) She has a business card case and she is well stocked with business cards.”
It was all true. And so that you don’t get intimidated that I am all so organised and disciplined – I do manage to be disciplined in certain areas of my life, but it was an effort and a learning process for me to become disciplined. I was not always like this. I still have messy areas in my flat and in my life. But that evening was very important for me – to be at that dinner as a business woman. So I made sure I am well prepared. (I have found myself earlier at an important meeting without a pen to write)
So yes I would like to confirm that the self-discipline is important. But there is something that comes before that. The self-discipline comes second, and what comes first is another kind of discipline, it’s the discipline of your thoughts.
The thought discipline is very important. And it is something that we don’t often talk about. So what is it exactly – the thought discipline, or in other words, your internal discipline, or discipline of your mind?
The thought discipline means that you have directed thoughts, i.e. the thoughts directed to your goals and dreams. It also means that you think about your goals and dreams every day in a particular directed manner, for example first thing in the morning or throughout the day. It is also when you become more aware of your thoughts throughout the day.
Why the thought discipline is important for your productivity? Why is it important to become aware of your thoughts and to have thoughts directed towards your goals and dreams? The answer will become clear after I illustrate it with an example. Do you find yourself in the morning thinking: “What this day is going to bring me?…” or “Usually on this day of the week I have this one thing coming up and it’s a bummer, and today is not going to be different”.
Imagine now instead having a thought directed towards your goal. I am currently working with a client who wants to draft a paper for a high-profile scientific journal for the first time. A directed thought in his situation would be “I am writing a paper for a high-profile journal” – and I suggested he should cultivate this thought first thing in the morning and throughout the day.
This allows you to see the opportunities in alignment with your directed thoughts that are already there for you to make progress towards this goal.
How is it possible to become more thought disciplined? It is simply deciding to become aware of your thoughts. It is to ask yourself first thing in the morning: “What am I thinking?” Throughout the day, set for yourself a certain time when you are going to be asking yourself “What am I thinking?”
Then decide what you want to think instead of your random non-directed thoughts. Decide to have thoughts that are directed towards your goal and think them at certain times of the day, for example first thing in the morning.
Your productivity assignment:
1) Become more aware of your thoughts during the day by asking yourself at certain points throughout the day: “What am I thinking?”
2) Have a thought directed towards your goals or dream and cultivate it first thing in the morning and throughout the day.
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