How I Have Time For Everything (life changing technique)

Summary

The video discusses a 3-pillar model for achieving productivity and focus: profession (your job/studies), obsession (what you're passionate about), and decompression (destressing activities). It emphasizes scheduling time blocks free of distractions for your obsession, while also scheduling decompression to avoid burnout. To stay focused, acknowledge emotions like fear and boredom instead of distracting yourself. Also use self-empathy vs criticism when you struggle. Mastering your attention and emotions takes practice but allows you to achieve your goals.

Takeaways

• 🙂 Overcoming distraction is a universal struggle that predates modern technology, highlighting the importance of mastering one's focus.
• 💻 Balancing a demanding job, personal life, and hobbies is achievable through years of trial and error, research, and the application of time management strategies.
• 📚 The 'Profession, Obsession, Decompression' model is a framework for organizing one's life into work, passions, and relaxation to maintain balance and productivity.
• 📲 Mastering distraction involves intentional time management, like using time blocks for focused work, as inspired by Jerry Seinfeld's writing process.
• 💰 Profession encompasses the work or studies that provide financial stability, while Obsession refers to passionate pursuits outside of one's job.
• 😍 Decompression activities are essential for mental health and sustaining long-term productivity, but often overlooked in pursuit of work and goals.
• 📌 Time blocking, labeling tasks, and scheduling decompression can create a structured approach to managing professional and personal life.
• 💭 Attention management is a superpower in the digital age, enabling individuals to achieve goals despite the plethora of distractions.
• 🙋🏻 Emotions like boredom and fear often underlie procrastination and distraction, and recognizing these feelings can help in staying focused.
• 👏 Adopting a kind and empathetic inner dialogue promotes resilience and productivity, especially in overcoming setbacks and maintaining motivation.

Q & A

What is the main model the speaker uses to organize their life?

The main model consists of three pillars: Profession, Obsession, and Decompression.

How does the speaker define 'Profession' in their model?

Profession is essentially your job or main source of income. For full-time students, studying is considered their profession.

What does 'Obsession' refer to in the speaker's life organization model?

Obsession refers to something you are passionate about and think about all the time, which is not your day job. It's something that energizes you and you're excited about.

What activities fall under 'Decompression' according to the speaker?

Decompression activities are those that help you destress, which you enjoy but are not necessarily obsessed with, like watching a Netflix show or spending time with friends.

Why does the speaker believe decompression is important?

The speaker believes decompression is crucial for long-term success and mental health, as it prevents burnout and ensures one is not overly stressed.

What is the biggest problem our society faces, according to the speaker, and how does he manage it?

The biggest problem is distraction, particularly from social media. The speaker manages it by mastering his own distraction through time blocking, a technique learned from Jerry Seinfeld.

How does the speaker utilize time blocking to enhance productivity?

The speaker dedicates specific time blocks for focused work or study, during which no other activities are allowed, mirroring Jerry Seinfeld's approach to writing.

What technique did the speaker adopt from Jerry Seinfeld for staying motivated?

The speaker adopted the technique of marking successful time blocks on a calendar to keep track of productivity and stay motivated by visual progress.

How does the speaker handle emotions that lead to distraction, such as the urge to check the phone?

The speaker acknowledges these emotions, recognizing them as manifestations of fear or boredom, and uses this awareness to stay focused on the task at hand.

What change in self-talk does the speaker credit for overcoming setbacks in productivity?

The speaker credits a change to more empathetic self-talk, treating themselves kindly after missing a study session, instead of using harsh and critical language.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Mastering Distraction and Time Management

The speaker shares their lifelong struggle with distraction, predating the influence of social media, and their tendency to daydream and zone out. Despite these challenges, they have managed to lead a productive life, balancing a demanding job in cybersecurity consulting, running a YouTube channel, spending time with family and friends, going to the gym, and engaging in hobbies. The key to their success is attributed to years of trial and error, research, reading self-help books, and attending time management seminars. The speaker introduces a model based on three pillars: profession (one's job or main activity), obsession (a passionate interest outside of the profession), and decompression (activities for relaxation and stress relief). They emphasize the importance of all three aspects, particularly decompression, which is often neglected. The speaker suggests that mastering these areas, along with managing distractions, has enabled them to excel in various facets of life.

05:02

🔐 The Power of Time Blocking and Overcoming Emotions

The speaker introduces a personal favorite tool for focusing and managing time: time blocking, inspired by Jerry Seinfeld's method used during the writing of his show. This technique involves dedicating specific time blocks solely to productive activities, such as writing or studying, without allowing for any distractions. The speaker also touches on the importance of recognizing and addressing the emotional roots of distraction, such as fear and boredom, which can lead to procrastination and avoidance behaviors. By acknowledging these emotions and reframing the internal dialogue from self-criticism to self-empathy, the speaker outlines how they were able to maintain motivation and resilience in the face of challenges. Additionally, the narrative includes a promotion for NordPass Business, highlighting its features like encrypted vaults for storing sensitive information and data breach notifications, offering a solution for secure information management in a business context.

10:04

💡 Embracing Fear and Self-Empathy for Personal Growth

The speaker delves deeper into the psychological aspects of distraction and procrastination, emphasizing the role of emotions like fear and boredom. They describe how these emotions can act as defense mechanisms, deterring individuals from engaging in challenging or unfamiliar tasks. By recognizing these emotional triggers and questioning the validity of their responses, the speaker outlines a strategy for overcoming these mental barriers. This approach includes acknowledging the feelings, understanding their source, and shifting to a more empathetic and forgiving internal dialogue. The speaker concludes by stressing the transformative power of focused attention and the importance of managing one's internal dialogue for achieving personal and professional goals. They encourage the audience to apply these insights to harness their full potential.

Keywords

💡Distraction

Distraction refers to the inability to maintain focus or attention on a task due to external or internal stimuli. In the video, the speaker discusses their lifelong struggle with distraction, from daydreaming in school to scrolling through social media as an adult. Distraction is a central theme, as it outlines the challenge the speaker overcame to achieve productivity and focus in both their professional and personal life, despite the allure of constant notifications and the temptation to engage with digital content.

💡Profession, Obsession, Decompression

These three pillars form the main model the speaker uses to organize their life and manage their time effectively. 'Profession' refers to one's job or main source of income (e.g., cyber security consulting for the speaker). 'Obsession' is described as a passionate interest outside of one's profession that energizes and excites (e.g., running a YouTube channel). 'Decompression' involves activities that help one relax and destress, not necessarily linked to one's passion or profession (e.g., watching Netflix). This triad is crucial for achieving balance, maintaining productivity, and ensuring mental well-being according to the speaker.

💡Time Management

Time management is the process of organizing and planning how to divide one's time between specific activities. The speaker emphasizes the importance of effective time management in juggling a demanding job, a YouTube channel, family, friends, and hobbies. By mastering time management techniques, such as the three-pillar model of profession, obsession, and decompression, the speaker is able to maximize productivity and maintain a balanced life.

💡Self-help

Self-help involves individuals seeking to improve themselves with personal efforts and resources. The speaker mentions years of trial and error, reading self-help books, and attending seminars as part of their journey to mastering focus and productivity. This term highlights the speaker's proactive approach to personal development and their dedication to finding strategies that work for them and others they mentor.

💡Time Blocking

Time blocking is a time management method that involves dedicating specific blocks of time to particular tasks or activities, limiting the potential for distractions. The speaker credits learning this technique from Jerry Seinfeld's approach to writing, where Seinfeld would dedicate two hours solely to writing, a practice that significantly contributed to his success. The speaker applies time blocking to their own routine, ensuring dedicated focus on tasks within the realms of profession, obsession, or decompression.

💡Productivity

Productivity in this context refers to the efficient and effective use of time to accomplish tasks and achieve goals. The speaker shares their journey from being easily distracted to becoming highly productive by adopting specific strategies and mindsets, such as time blocking and the three-pillar model. Productivity is portrayed as a learned skill, enhanced by disciplined practice and self-awareness.

💡Focus

Focus is the ability to concentrate one's attention or effort on a task without getting distracted. The speaker identifies mastering focus, despite natural tendencies to daydream, as a significant challenge. They discuss strategies to enhance focus, such as acknowledging and addressing the emotions behind distractions, and the importance of focus in achieving personal and professional success.

💡Emotions and Distraction

The speaker explores the emotional underpinnings of distraction, such as boredom, fear, or the avoidance of difficult feelings, which can lead to procrastination or the urge to engage in unrelated activities (e.g., craving snacks). Understanding and acknowledging these emotions is presented as a crucial step in overcoming distractions and improving focus. This perspective emphasizes the psychological aspects of productivity and the importance of emotional intelligence in self-management.

💡Self-Empathy

Self-empathy involves treating oneself with kindness and understanding, especially in the face of setbacks or challenges. The speaker highlights a shift from self-criticism to self-empathy as a pivotal change in their approach to productivity and personal growth. By adopting a more compassionate inner dialogue, the speaker was able to maintain motivation and resilience, illustrating the role of self-empathy in sustainable success.

💡Mentoring

Mentoring refers to the process of guiding and supporting others in their personal or professional development. The speaker mentions mentoring many individuals over the years, sharing the strategies that worked for them, such as the profession, obsession, and decompression model. This concept underscores the speaker's commitment to not only improving their own life but also contributing to the growth and success of others.

Highlights

Struggled with distraction long before the internet era, embodying the archetype of a daydreamer in school.

Despite being easily distracted, manages a demanding job in cybersecurity consulting, a large YouTube channel, family time, gym, and hobbies.

Attributes success to years of trial and error, self-help books, and time management seminars.

Introduces a personal productivity model based on three pillars: Profession, Obsession, and Decompression.

Profession is the main job or study focus, Obsession is a passionate side project, and Decompression involves relaxing activities.

Emphasizes the importance of scheduling decompression time to prevent burnout.

Addresses modern society's biggest challenge of managing distractions, particularly from social media.

Shares a time-blocking strategy inspired by Jerry Seinfeld for overcoming distractions and fostering productivity.

Describes using a to-do list categorized into Profession, Obsession, and Decompression tasks.

Explains how transforming tedious tasks into a game-like structure can increase motivation and productivity.

Stresses the superpower of controlled attention for achieving goals.

Discusses the natural human tendency to avoid difficult emotions, like fear and boredom, which leads to procrastination.

Reveals personal insights into managing emotions to reduce distractions and improve focus.

Highlights the importance of self-empathy and positive self-talk for maintaining motivation and resilience.

Concludes with encouragement to embrace the process and continuously improve personal productivity methods.

Transcripts

for the longest time I struggled with

distraction but before you blame social

media I was distracted before the

internet was even a thing you know the

meme of the kid blowing air at the fan

that was me but I'm even worse I was

constantly told off at school because I

couldn't concentrate I generally come in

at least 15 minutes late uh I use the

side door that way Lumberg can't see

me and uh after that I just sort of

space out for about an hour

tell space out yeah I just stare at my

desk but it looks like I'm working I

used to constantly zone out look out of

the window and just Daydream during

school trust me I'm a professional

Daydreamer but fast forward to today and

I'm still the guy who's constantly

checking his phone for notifications I

spend a lot of time scrolling social

media and watching random Tik Tok late

at night but the big question is how do

I seem to have time for everything I

work in cyber security consulting which

is an extremely demanding job I run a

big YouTube channel on the side I spend

time with family I spend time with

friends I go to the gym and I even have

time for weird Hobbies so much so that

those who know me in real life will say

things to me like ah you must be crazy

or every now and then someone will tell

me I don't know how you do it but

believe me I wasn't always that way it

took me years of trial and error

research reading self-help books even

attending time management seminars until

I figured out what worked for me but

what also worked for the many

individuals that I've mentored

throughout the years and I'm going to

share it all with you let's get into it

the main model that I use to get my

brain in order consists of three pillars

profession Obsession and decompression

profession is essentially your job this

is how you make money and if you're a

full-time student then studying is

essentially your profession Obsession

however is the thing that you think

about all the time it's something you're

obsessed with that's not your day job

for example if your current profession

is nursing but you're in the process of

studying to try and land your first

cyber security job then your profession

will be nursing but your obsession will

be St studying for cyber security you're

constantly reading about cyber security

you watch these YouTube videos you watch

tutorials you do labs this is something

you're obsessed about but also this is

something that energizes you this is

something you're excited about and

something you can be passionate about

decompression is the activity that you

do to destressed but you're not

necessarily obsessed with so for me

decompression is simply watching a

Netflix show in the evening or just

spending some time with my friends

decompression however is the one that a

lot of people ignore I have some of the

individuals who I Mentor they come to me

and they tell me they are absolutely

hardcore they are dedicated they just

want to study all the time and they

don't want to do any decompression

activities and this is fine but only for

a short period of time I used to do it

when I had a big exam in school or if

I'm working on something really big that

I really need to finish it or if I have

a deadline then this is a fine strategy

but at best this is a short-term

strategy if you want to be truly good at

something if you want to be a master of

your own time then you absolutely have

to schedule some decompression time

which I will show you shortly how to do

now once you go through the exercise of

dividing your your attention between

profession Obsession and decompression

then we need to face the biggest problem

that our modern society face which is

distraction I'm not going to lie I love

social media I spend a lot of time

scrolling social media which can look to

someone from the outside like I'm an

extremely distracted individual yet I

still manag to get everything done

because I mastered my own distraction

now the ability to focus in spite of all

the distraction was the hardest thing

for me to master remember I was and

still am the kid who constant day dream

so believe me when I tell you this is a

real challenge for me but strangely

enough I learned how to master my own

distraction from Seinfield in the 1980s

Seinfield wrote the hit comedy show

Seinfield using a simple big pen and a

yellow piece of paper that show later on

made him a billionaire and his secret

was time blocking so when he was writing

the show Seinfeld said that he would

have Daily Time blocks in his calendar

where he will dedicate 2 hours just for

writing he said during those 2 hours

he's not not allowed to do anything he's

only allowed to write so even if he

didn't know what to write or if he get

distracted he was not allowed to do

anything he had to constantly stay at

the paper and just simply face his

thought until he could write something

what do you do I'll tell you what I do

nothing but when he finish he would mark

his calendar that this was a successful

time block so the way he kept himself

motivated is like to see the x marks on

his calendar that was reflective of him

being productive on that day which meant

on days where he didn't feel like

writing where he ran out of ideas he

still forced himself to follow that time

block because he didn't want to miss an

x on his calendar but before we continue

word from our sponsor North pass

business North pass business is a

password manager that provides employees

seamless access to sensitive information

across devices with strong heart to

crack passwords it has so many cool

features such as the multiactor

authentication and the auto login

feature it stores sensitive information

such as passwords notes and credit card

information in an encrypted Vault this

allows team members to share sensitive

information securely you can save your

credit card once and it can be shared

with other business units and employees

not pass business creates strong heart

to crack passwords by default with easy

to configure password policies but my

personal favorite feature is the data

breach notification because it allows

you to change any passwords that were

compromised in a data breach before any

damage is done but best of all you can

secure your business effortlessly with a

3mon not past businessfree trial using

the activation code Unix guy at notp

pass.com Unix guy it's a limited time

offer I'll leave a link to it in the

description box below and back to the

video I can't remember when I heard this

but I've been using this technique for

the longest time this is how I passed

every difficult exam that I've ever done

but this is also how I can focus for

extended periods of time on making these

videos on learning a difficult topic or

simply Focus to do things at work so my

version of a Time block is that I switch

my phone off I tried airplane mode it

didn't work so I simply have to switch

it off and I dedicate 2 hours just for

studying during those 2 hours I'm not

allowed to browse I'm not allowed to

read anything it is just studying it

doesn't matter if I was focused for 5

minutes or if I was focused during the

entire 2 hours as long as I show up for

my daily time block now it's

particularly useful for me because I

work in Consulting and I usually have to

manage multiple clients at the same time

and sometimes I have to even use

different calendars and schedule my time

blocks this way everyone knows not to

bother me during those time blocks but

because they also don't know what that

time block is so they assume I'm busy

with some work related tasks so no one

bothers me during those time blocks now

I have a to-do list that's divided into

profession Obsession and decompression I

label every task to identify to which p

it belongs so for me profession is

simply work meetings client work report

writing and whatever project I'm working

in at my job those will all have the

label of profession Obsession at this

point in time for me is finishing hack

the box cdsa which I talked about in

this video because I got addicted to it

and I'm a hacker man and this is what I

have to do so if you're in the process

of trying to land your first cber

security job then studying for a

particular certification for you will

get the label of obsession and you

should add that to your calendar now

Seinfield in the 1980s used the physical

calendar and he used to mark x on his

calendar for each day where he followed

his successful time block and this has

made it addictive to me so when I study

for 2 hours per week by the end of the

week I have 14 hours so I tricked my

brain into enjoying the process of

racking up more studying hours because I

just love seeing that number go up this

way a seemingly tedious task can

suddenly feel and look like a game and

our brains love games and they love

keeping scores and we love it when we

continue to score higher and higher now

for decompression I actually don't

schedule specific task I think this is

way overboard but instead I block my

evenings and I just say recurring

decompression activity whatever that is

it could be watching TV playing video

games whatever I feel like it on the day

so this way I don't miss decompression

but also really important for someone

like me who once I get in the zone I

don't want to stop so if I'm studying

for something and I'm enjoying it and I

want to continue doing it then I get a

reminder that this is time to do some

decompression activi so I stop and I

follow my schedule this is helpful

because it makes me less stressed

overall and it ensures my long-term

success now if you follow the methods

above you will have a superp power which

is attention trust me if you are in

control of your own attention you can do

anything what's standing between you and

the thing that you desire the most is

attention if you can have focused

attention for a long period of time then

you can achieve anything but I must

caution you even if you follow the

method Above This doesn't mean you will

not ever get distracted so when you are

in a Time block where you know you need

to study and you know you're not allowed

to do anything else your mind will start

to wonder you'll start to think of all

sorts of random things it took me years

of research to understand why my mind

was wondering it's funny why do I get a

strange sudden craving for a cheesecake

when I'm about to do a difficult lab for

hack the Box certification it's really

strange I'm sure you've experienced it

while you're studying for something or

you're reading a paragraph all of a

sudden you have an urge to check your

phone you know that there's nothing

important in your phone but you still

want to do it you still want to look at

those notifications trust me I do that

so my initial thought was that it's

probably social media's fault so I

thought if I switch my phone all is well

and that worked meaning I I stopped

having the urge to check my phone but my

brain was still all over the place I was

still daydreaming I was still thinking

of random things and all of a sudden I

started craving all sorts of different

food for absolutely no reason now after

years of trial and error I discovered

that this was not because of social

media it was not because I was hungry

and it was not because I was naturally a

day dreamer in fact what I found that it

was all because of emotions the reason

why I was craving cheesecake it wasn't

because I was hungry it was because I

was bored I was bored I was uninterested

but more often than not it was because I

was scared this happens anytime I'm

learning a new topic or I face something

difficult or challenging that I haven't

done I get scared but my brain instead

of telling me that I'm scared it start

to make me want to check my phone or

read something online or go eat a snack

all of this so that my brain protects me

from the uneasy and difficult feeling of

fear and you will face that as you're

studying for your cyber security

certifications as soon as things start

to get hard you will start to question

whether this is worth it or maybe you

should be doing something else or maybe

you need to check your phone or watch

one more video or eat one more snack

trust me all of this is because your

brain is trying to protect you from

feelings of fear or bordom and these are

difficult emotions we don't like to deal

with now this was essential to our

survival we needed to feel fear because

this is how we protected our lives from

all sorts of dangers so when we used to

live in caves and you were chased by a

lion you needed to feel fear and your

brain needed to protect you now

unfortunately this is not helpful in

today's world because studying for a

cyber security certification is

definitely not life-threatening yet our

brain is constantly trying to get us

away from doing the hard things that we

know are important for our long-term

success so the way I learned to deal

with this is that I started to

acknowledge those feelings so anytime I

get an edge to eat a snack or check my

phone I just ask myself am I really

hungry is there really something

important in my phone or am I simply

just afraid or bored usually for me it's

fear and borom it could be something

else for you but once you start asking

yourself these questions you can unpack

the source of these emotions this has

helped me a lot with dealing with those

emotions and subsequently get a lot less

distracted so if I get an urge to check

my phone I remind myself that it's just

because I'm afraid and that I need to

spend just a little bit more time so I

can understand the topic and this way

all this nonsense fear will go away the

other extremely important tactic that

has helped me with overcoming those

emotions is that I Chang the language

that I used to speak with myself you see

I'm really good at helping other people

I'm good at coaching other people but

when it came to helping myself I used to

be extremely harsh and critical with

myself so if I miss one day of studying

or if I miss my time block of studying I

used to call myself lazy and

unproductive I used really harsh

language paradoxically this was not

helpful because this has led me to

skipping more study sessions and

quitting all together which is not what

I wanted instead I used more

self-empathy I just changed the language

that I used to speak to myself and I

started saying things like yep I skipped

one studying session this is human

nature it will pass and skipping one

session or having one bad study session

doesn't need to turn into one bad study

week take it as it is move on and do it

better in the next study session it's

not a reflection of who I am as a person

it's definitely not a reflection of who

you are as an individual if you want to

know more about my philosophy and how I

got ahead in life and how I achieved all

my goals constantly then this is a great

video to start with and I'll see you

there