Why Can’t I Motivate Myself To Work?

Cal Newport gives advice on how to get motivated to work.

Cal explains two topics that play a role in work motivation. First is Deep Procrastination. The source is hard work and a sense of arbitrariness.

Cal also explains dopamine sickness. This deals with the many distractions. It's important to have a target goal and a plan. Interval training can also be an important tool.

0:00 Cal's intro
0:45 Deep procrastination
4:00 Solutions
8:00 Dopamine sickness

Connect with Cal Newport:

About Cal Newport:
Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. In addition to his academic research, he writes about the intersection of digital technology and culture. Cal's particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives.

Cal is a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including, most recently, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. He's also the creator of The Time-Block Planner.

The videos are considered to be used under the "Fair Use Doctrine" of United States Copyright Law, Title 17 U.S. Code Sections 107-118. Videos are used for editorial and educational purposes only and I do not claim ownership of any original video content. I don't use said video clips in advertisements, marketing or for direct financial gain. All video content in each clip is considered owned by the individual broadcast companies.

#CalNewport #DeepWork #DeepLife #DeepQuestions #TimeblockPlanner
#WorldWithoutEmail #DeepQuestionsPodcast

[geneg]

I love how Cal really gets how we feel and the struggles we have and doesn't just dismiss them.

[Abbasshaikh]

The last 2 minutes is exactly how I am doing it.
Context: I am working from home and I also don’t normally prefer a coworking work setup so I can’t really work from those spaces.
Here’s what I’ve been trying, if someone finds this in 6 months maybe check back and see if it worked:

1. Do not work from home if you can’t do it. Spend the money like Cal mentioned. I spend my mornings getting things in order ideally without a phone and follow my routine, once I’ve had my lunch at home, I’m out at a cafe I find to be best suited for deep work.
2. Get coffee and get to a 2-3 hour schedule of deep work with a 20 minute walk in between
3. Throw in a whiteboard in your space with every hour accounted for (Personal care, Deep work, Workout sessions, Meals, etc) This helps with a sense of routine and is a UX improvement cause now you have daily clarity and your brain doesn’t actively spend energy planning a fresh day unless there’s a few minor changes. This isn’t a strict schedule so I wouldn’t beat myself up over it but it’s a rough layout to get started with.
4. Force boredom like Cal mentioned. I switch off or leave my phone for 30-60 minutes and just force myself to be bored (Learning to enjoy it)
5. Take regular walks (this could just be me) but I enjoy my 2-3 walks everyday

Hope this helps and I’d love to know what y’all have been doing🤝

[elietheprof]

The worst is how quickly my brain builds up a tolerance to all these productivity hacks. For example going to a new coffee shop or library might improve my focus for the first day or two, and after that it just becomes a new procrastination space. It’s as if my subconscious is absolutely determined to find a way to get nothing done.

[henrikkarl]

ive found the absolutly most important thing i have done for my dopamine health is to sit in boredom.. Just stay into the wall.. And even stop entertaining the mind .. so you fast from all stimuli.. this works like noting ive ever tried.. And it works fast!

[nnzulu]

I'm just so happy he explains the science behind this, because procrastination can feel like a personal flaw but it's actually externally triggered.

[Skiddoo]

The missing element in this discussion is loneliness. Loneliness, unsatisfying relationships, rejection, antisocial beliefs... all lead to a state of chronic desparation that most of us solve with our electronic playthings: games, videos, social media temporarily fill the void created by the crippling effects of loneliness. This electronic stimulation has a much greater influence on our behavior than any feelings of pride in work or responsibility to a job or paycheck, even. They automated our workplaces but ruined our personal lives and mental health.

[BobDunlock]

I usually refer to it as dopamine addiction. The reward center of my brain was really screwed up from basically puberty on to the age of 30. Anytime things were difficult or uncomfortable I would turn to porn or video games and suffer the consequences of basically coasting through family obligations, academia, and my career, which led me to stress out and consume more porn and video games.
I lost thousands of dollars from the college classes I failed through my negligence and almost lost my marriage because I had no self control.

My understanding is that addiction happens through the mid-brain which dispenses dopamine and other reward chemicals when you accomplish tasks. This is also the part of your brain that manages flight or fight, and if you have trained your brain to reward you for doing pointless actions, refraining from doing those actions will ultimately cause your brain to panic and you will be unable to focus until you either succumb or get external support and an exit plan for your addictions.

I sobered up in 2018 and seeing what 2020 did to many friends in support groups really disturbed me. For myself I've found an almost bottomless well of motivation and far more purpose in life than I thought possible just by keeping the course and repeating my mantra: Create more than you consume.
Thanks for sharing The Deep Life philosophy, I think it is medicine that the world really needs right now.

[benjamesv]

I turned my iPhone into a 'dumb' phone by only enabling the necessary apps using parental controls, then setting a random parental controls password, writing the password down on a piece of paper and hiding it at home. This means, when I am out, my iPhone can only be used for necessary things (maps, banking, phone calls), and if I want to access anything else, I cant, because I can't disable the parental controls because I dont have the password (it's at home). I find this a better solution compared to getting rid of the smartphone and buying a flip phone. Hope this helps ya'll

[shantanushekharsjunerft]

Deep procrastination was quite incisive! When you don’t understand how your work adds meaning to your life it can be extremely de-motivating.

[chiragdalwani]

1) Decrease the hardness
2) Reduce the hard thing to time block plans so its easier to execute
3) Why are you doing hard stuff, you should know the why
The targetted lifestyle
4) Boredom therapy: regular distraction free periods
5) Interval training : timer of focus
6) retrain your brain for longer periods of focus
7) din get the rituals thing

[realtruthrightnow]

"Why Can’t I Motivate Myself To Work?" OMG THIS is ME Right now. I struggle literally struggle to get out of bed, get a shower and go to work. It started last year, and its got progressively worse. I'm self employed, and for the last 6 months been living off of my savings, have not taken any jobs. I cannot wait to watch this video, hopefully it fixes me.

[naimrahman]

Cal is like the really smart eldest cousin but you can also relate so much to whatever is he says and is really down to earth. Cheers man!

[shuaibkadir]

Cal you need to do a course or series on overcoming dopamine sickness. It's way more common and difficult than people realise

[cmralph...]

So grateful I got away from all that nonsense last year. It was life changing.

[alecharper]

Mr Newport is a much-needed antidote to our early 21st-century digital malaise. Thanks for all that you do to bring awareness to this problem, providing your viewers with clear steps to dig out of the pit. Social Media had expertly played me like puppet for 11 years. Embarrassing to admit... Awareness was my first durable step out of it. Deep, sustained work towards worthy projects is where the good life is. It is ok to be bored and digitally unstimulated. JOMO is a very nice sensation (Joy of Missing Out). Ok to leave the smartphone in another room or, dare I suggest, to leave home without it from time-to-time! You will survive and, with some diligence on your part, come to find yourself emancipated from the matrix.

[HabitLabPodcast]

Setting up rituals to get into work is something we don’t think about, but can make such a difference.

[hraith]

I totally could've written that letter at the beginning. My bread and butter at work is deep problem solving, so this could very well become an existential threat for my career. His suggestions make a lot of sense.

[Creeder]

What you're saying makes a lot of sense. We're constantly getting pulled in so many directions by the things we do and watch either on tv or our phones. Our brains dwell on these things for a long time even if it was just a short 30-second thing online. We're mentally exhausted hence we can't focus or get motivated. The dopamine sickness is true; we do not feel like spending too much time working on anything and nothing feels like it's worth it anyway when truth is we have to focus and spend time on tasks that are of higher value.

[CosmicApe]

Working from home I always had my work computer right next to my main computer where I would spend a lot of time listening to music, researching things, or playing video games. Inevitably, you get distracted or demotivated to work with your entertainment system sitting right there. What helped me was plugging in my personal PC monitor into my work docking station during the day, thus rendering my personal machine useless for those 8 hours. My work is pretty regulated, our machines are locked down, have to access everything via VPN, and I wouldn't do anything "personal" related on that machine. Essentially, I created an ecosystem where I have to work or I have nothing to do. Some days I'm not motivated to do the work, but I find when there's no other options available to me, I just get started on things and build up the momentum, and all of the sudden I'm deep in the work within 30-minutes or so and very focused.

[theflexitech]

When I sit quietly, there is always a list, ledger, inbox of things I need to be attending to, and caring of. When I ignore these things, and let them pile up, there is no focus or peace or clarity in bigger life plans, and I don't enjoy the day to day grind usually as a result. I noticed that it always bothered me when my bed was messy, so I started making my bed every morning, then I was never bothered or distracted or worried of it ever again. Action is the thing that changes people, thinking is an action, and too much of it without structure can ruin you.