You're Not Lazy: How to Live a Chaotically Organised Life

Summary

The speaker challenges the notion that consistency and strict habit formation are the only paths to success, reflecting on their own chaotic yet passionate approach to life and learning. They recount their academic success despite disorganization and advocate for embracing one's natural tendencies towards passion-driven bursts of productivity. The video offers an alternative to the 'one percent improvement' philosophy, suggesting that significant, sporadic leaps in skill can be more effective for some individuals, and emphasizes the importance of understanding one's motivations and needs to foster a productive and fulfilling life.

Takeaways

• 🧠 The speaker advocates for a different approach to productivity, suggesting that not everyone thrives on consistency and routine.
• 📚 The speaker's younger self was academically successful without being organized or consistent, highlighting the importance of passion and interest in learning.
• 🔄 The speaker believes that falling behind is not the same as quitting, and that catching up is a natural part of their process.
• 🤯 The speaker challenges the idea of 'one percent improvements' popularized by James Clear's 'Atomic Habits', finding it unworkable for their chaotic, passion-driven personality.
• 🚀 Instead of small daily improvements, the speaker prefers to make large leaps in skill acquisition when they are deeply passionate and motivated about a subject.
• 🎨 The speaker uses the example of learning 3D animation to illustrate how they immerse themselves in a subject until they reach a tipping point of intense interest and then learn rapidly.
• 💡 The speaker emphasizes the power of deep work, where they can achieve high levels of focus and productivity in short bursts, rather than consistently over time.
• 🤔 The speaker acknowledges that their approach may not work for everything and that there are areas where they will never excel, such as memorization or bodybuilding.
• 🌟 The speaker suggests that recognizing and optimizing one's strengths, such as the ability to do deep work or think creatively, can lead to better life outcomes.
• 💬 The speaker encourages having mature, introspective conversations with oneself to understand the underlying reasons for procrastination or lack of motivation.
• 🔗 The speaker mentions the importance of understanding why we do things and suggests that fulfilling underlying needs can make tasks more appealing and achievable.

Q & A

What is the main contrast presented between the two types of brains described in the script?

The script contrasts a brain that is organized, consistent, and follows routines with another that is chaotic, obsessive, and lacks structure, often staying up late and overthinking.

Why does the speaker feel that having a consistent brain might not be suitable for everyone?

The speaker believes that consistency might not suit everyone because those who cannot adapt to it may end up quitting many things, thinking they cannot be consistent and therefore cannot succeed.

What was the speaker's approach to academics when they were younger, and how did it differ from the typical organized student?

The speaker was academically successful despite not being organized or consistent. They would often fall behind during the year but would catch up and excel when they became interested in a subject, sometimes even studying ahead.

How does the speaker redefine the concept of 'falling behind' in the context of their personal productivity?

The speaker redefines 'falling behind' as not quitting but rather a part of their natural rhythm. They believe that if they genuinely want to do something, they will catch up and excel later.

What is the speaker's view on artificial deadlines, and how do they handle them?

The speaker views artificial deadlines as suggestions rather than strict obligations. They do not create self-hate or resentment around these deadlines and only treat real deadlines seriously.

How does the speaker's method of learning differ from the 'one percent improvement' philosophy?

The speaker opts for significant improvements, like 5% or more, during each engagement with a task, rather than small, consistent one percent improvements over time.

What strategy does the speaker use to learn new skills without relying on habits?

The speaker primes their brain for extreme passion by passively engaging with the subject matter until they reach a tipping point of interest, at which point they immerse themselves deeply in the skill, achieving rapid learning.

How does the speaker's approach to learning compare to the traditional method of incremental improvements?

The speaker's approach allows for rapid acquisition of skills and deep focus during learning sessions, as opposed to the gradual and potentially demotivating incremental improvements.

What are some limitations the speaker acknowledges about their chaotic and passion-driven approach?

The speaker acknowledges that they will likely never excel at tasks requiring consistent repetition, such as memorizing facts, or in areas that demand long-term discipline, like bodybuilding.

How does the speaker suggest we should have conversations with ourselves about tasks we avoid?

The speaker suggests having adult, introspective conversations that explore underlying needs and motivations, rather than resorting to labels like 'lazy' or 'procrastinator'.

What is the speaker's advice for individuals who are more chaotic and passionate in nature?

The speaker advises such individuals to optimize for passion, recognizing and leveraging their strengths in deep work and creative thinking, while letting go of the need for strict consistency in all areas.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 The Struggle with Consistency and Embracing Chaos

The speaker begins by contrasting two types of brains: one that is orderly, disciplined, and consistent, and another that is chaotic, obsessive, and lacks structure. They admit to desiring a more organized brain, as society often praises consistency and routine as keys to success. However, they share their personal experience of being academically successful despite lacking long-term structure, suggesting that falling behind is not equivalent to quitting. They argue that being a 'chaos and passion-driven person' can also lead to success, as it allows for intense bursts of productivity when deeply interested in a subject.

05:01

🎯 Redefining Success Beyond Consistency: The Power of Passion

The speaker challenges the notion that consistency is the only path to success, sharing their own method of learning and productivity that diverges from the 'one percent improvement' philosophy. They discuss how setting strict schedules can be counterproductive for them, leading to avoidance and disinterest. Instead, they advocate for a 'five percent improvement' approach, where they immerse themselves in a subject when their passion is ignited, leading to rapid and significant progress. This method allows them to engage in deep work and achieve high levels of focus and productivity in a short time.

10:03

🤯 Accepting Limitations and Optimizing for Passion

The speaker acknowledges that not all methods work for everyone and that they have come to accept their limitations, focusing instead on their strengths. They recognize that they excel in tasks that require bursts of creativity and deep focus rather than repetitive, consistent efforts. They also discuss the importance of self-reflection and having mature conversations with oneself to understand the underlying reasons for procrastination or lack of interest in certain tasks. By addressing these needs and finding ways to integrate them into tasks, they aim to increase productivity and enjoyment.

🌟 Embracing the Chaos: A Personalized Approach to Growth

In the final paragraph, the speaker emphasizes the importance of embracing one's natural tendencies and optimizing for what one is good at. They discuss the idea that a small percentage of workers are responsible for a large portion of productivity, suggesting that finding one's niche and working within it can lead to greater satisfaction and success. They also touch on the importance of having structured routines for certain aspects of life while allowing for flexibility and passion-driven work in others. The speaker concludes by encouraging self-honesty and challenging conventional beliefs about productivity and success.

Keywords

💡Consistency

Consistency refers to the ability to maintain a regular and steady performance or behavior over time. In the video's theme, it is portrayed as a common expectation for success, often associated with habit formation and self-discipline. However, the speaker argues against the necessity of consistency for everyone, citing personal experiences where periods of inactivity were followed by intense bursts of productivity.

💡Habit Formation

Habit formation is the process of developing regular behaviors through repetition. The video discusses the societal pressure to form consistent habits for success, but the speaker shares her struggle with this concept, advocating for an alternative approach that embraces chaos and passion-driven actions instead.

💡Chaos

Chaos, in this context, represents a lack of structure and organization. The speaker identifies with a chaotic mindset, which often leads to unconventional methods of productivity, such as intense focus during sporadic bursts of activity, as opposed to steady, daily routines.

💡Passion

Passion is depicted as a driving force that motivates the speaker to engage deeply with tasks or hobbies when inspiration strikes. It is contrasted with the methodical approach of consistency, illustrating a personal preference for the intense, albeit sporadic, pursuit of interests.

💡Self-discipline

Self-discipline is the ability to control one's impulses and actions in pursuit of long-term goals. The video script suggests that while self-discipline is often lauded as a key to success, it may not be a natural fit for everyone, particularly for those who thrive in chaotic and passion-driven environments.

💡Deadlines

Deadlines are mentioned as external pressures that create a sense of urgency. The speaker relates to the idea of deadlines as unmotivating artificial constructs, preferring to respond to tasks based on internal motivation rather than imposed timeframes.

💡Progress

Progress is described as a form of motivation that increases the desire to continue an activity as one becomes better at it. The speaker argues that their chaotic approach to learning and work often leads to rapid progress, which in turn fuels further engagement.

💡Deep Work

Deep work refers to the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks. The video emphasizes the speaker's proficiency in deep work during moments of high motivation, allowing for rapid learning and productivity.

💡Priming

Priming, in the context of the video, is the process of subconsciously preparing the mind for a task by exposing oneself to related stimuli. The speaker uses this technique to build intense passion for a subject before diving into it, leading to highly focused and productive sessions.

💡Productivity

Productivity is the efficiency of an individual's work or the rate at which tasks are completed. The video discusses the speaker's unique approach to productivity, which involves periods of inactivity followed by intense, focused work, rather than a consistent daily routine.

💡Optimization

Optimization, in this video, is the process of making the best or most effective use of resources. The speaker talks about optimizing for passion rather than consistency, leveraging their strengths in deep work and creative thinking to achieve results.

💡Motivation

Motivation is the internal drive that prompts individuals to take action. The video script explores different types of motivation, including the speaker's preference for intrinsic motivation stemming from passion over extrinsic motivation from deadlines or routine.

Highlights

The speaker challenges the conventional wisdom that consistency and habit formation are the keys to success, arguing for a different approach to productivity.

A personal narrative is shared, illustrating how the speaker was academically successful without being organized or consistent, suggesting alternative paths to achievement.

The concept of 'falling behind' is reframed as a natural part of the learning process, rather than a sign of failure.

The speaker introduces the idea that passion and interest can drive learning and productivity more effectively than strict schedules for some individuals.

The transcript discusses the limitations of 'one percent improvements' for those who struggle with consistency, proposing a different strategy for skill acquisition.

A method for learning skills without creating habits is presented, emphasizing deep work and high levels of focus achieved through intense, short bursts of activity.

The importance of recognizing personal strengths and optimizing work around passion rather than trying to fit a mold of consistency is highlighted.

The transcript addresses the myth of the 'one size fits all' approach to productivity, advocating for a personalized strategy that fits individual work styles.

The speaker shares their own experience with 3D animation as an example of how to rapidly acquire new skills through intense focus and passion.

The concept of 'priming the brain' for learning is introduced, where exposure to a subject builds interest and leads to a desire to learn deeply.

The transcript discusses the benefits of deep work over consistent, shallow work, particularly for those with a chaotic, passionate approach to tasks.

The speaker acknowledges that not all areas of life can be tackled with a passion-driven approach, recognizing the limitations of this method.

The importance of having mature self-reflection and conversations with oneself to understand underlying motivations and resistance to tasks is emphasized.

The transcript suggests that understanding why we undertake certain tasks can lead to more effective strategies for completing them.

The speaker shares their current efforts to learn animation for YouTube videos, using a class on Nebula as part of their process.

The transcript concludes with a call to embrace one's unique approach to productivity and to be honest with oneself about what works best.

A reminder that while passion and chaos can drive success, some level of structure and routine is necessary for functioning in the world.

Transcripts

[Music]

if you are picking a brain and one

listens to everything you try to do

works according to plans sticks the

schedules is obedient and calm and the

second is a hellscape of chaos and

obsession lacks all sense of structure

organization just love staying up until

3am overthinking every night

i mean you'd pick the first one right

everything seems to be built for type 1

brains in a world full of success

stories based on consistency atomic

habits and self-disciplined routine it

can seem impossible to succeed without

just that and so for the longest time

all i've wanted was a different brain

one that would actually listen to me

because as someone who has never been

able to create any sense of long-term

structure if you can relate to me at all

here is how i think we can end up right

where our consistent habit-forming

friends are without ever needing to be

consistent or create habits because even

though on the outside i realize it looks

as though i'm an organized person i run

this youtube channel by myself i have a

podcast and jobs and school but the

thing is on the inside it's probably not

what you think it is so let's just get

straight into it i'm going to start my

case against consistency and habit

formation using my younger self as an

example because i feel that she had a

much better grasp on how to organize

myself so i'm going to get a slight

cringe pass here but when i was younger

i was very good academically at the end

of the year i would always have the best

grades i would win olympiads i would get

all types of reward for excellent

academic achievement so you would

presumably think that i was a very

organized and well put together student

and this is not the case on any given

day of the year if you were to zoom in

chances are i had forgotten what

subjects i had that day i might have

left my homework at home or had never

done my homework because i'd forgotten

to do it or sometimes very cheekily i

just didn't want to do it and so i very

often kind of fell behind during the

year but this was completely normal to

me i always recognized that sometimes i

didn't feel like doing something so i

fell behind and then i got interested in

it so i caught up and then i got very

interested in it so i went ahead and

this fall behind catch up and go ahead

schedule was very natural to me very

often on the same day that i was behind

on something that night i would study

the next three months of that subject

that we hadn't even done yet so i would

go ahead everyone else i was just using

my passion when i wanted to do things

and one of the most important things i'd

had to reteach myself as an adult is

that falling behind is not quitting it's

just a third of the story because i feel

as though when i got older and i got

used to seeing everyone being super

consistent and having these habits as

soon as i didn't do something for a

while i thought that i had quit and that

i'm just not as good as everyone else at

this thing and it's not right for me

when this is not the full story being a

chaos and passion driven person falling

behind is just a third of the story

sometimes i don't do things but it's

guaranteed that if i genuinely want to

do them i will catch up and go ahead

much later and this has been such an

important thing for me to relearn i

generally believe that consistency is

not for everyone and those of us who

cannot adapt it end up quitting so many

things just because we think that we

can't be consistent and therefore we

cannot do it i know it's not the best

thing in the world but sometimes i go to

gym five times a week for a few months

in a row and sometimes i won't go to the

gym at all for five months but i know

that this doesn't mean that i hate

exercising because i'm going to want to

do it again and i'm going to catch up on

the progress that i missed out on during

that time when i genuinely didn't feel

like doing it just because i stopped

does not mean that i have quit something

forever douglas adams has a quote that i

really relate to when he says that i

love deadlines i love the wishing noise

they make as they go by and this is so

relatable for me any sort of artificial

deadlines are just not serious enough

for me to use and therefore even though

that i know that there are some harsh

deadlines in life for example when i was

younger i had end of your exams now as

an adult i need to hand projects in i

have other things that i need to do for

work but in between now and then i do

not create any real deadlines anything

that i put in my calendar is a

suggestion it's not something that i

need to do it's more like if i feel like

it i might do this today but just

because i skip it one two three four

five six times in a row does that mean

that i cannot catch up on this thing

later or that i'm not good at this thing

at all i only treat real deadlines like

deadlines all the arbitrary ones are

suggestions and i don't create any sort

of self-hate or hatred for the thing

that i'm doing around them now i'm very

comfortable never being a consistent

habit farming girl but always being a

full-behind catch-up and go ahead girl

because just like it used to do well for

me academically when i was younger it

honestly does really well for me in life

right now because it's just the way i

work and this leads me very comfortably

onto what's perhaps a very controversial

point which is screw one percent

improvements i love james clear his book

atomic habits is really really good but

it genuinely has caused me a lot of

damage because when i saw his one

percent improvement graphs which is

basically the thought that if you keep

improving at something just one percent

every single day by the end of the year

you will be exponentially better at this

thing which is really really true it's a

hundred percent true so i looked at this

graph and my heart just sank because i

realized i could never do this i could

never do something consistently for a

year because the best way to get me to

hate something or to quit something is

to make a strict schedule for it if you

tell me elizabeth you need to do this

thing three times a week for the next

two months there's no chance i'm just

going to leave it and so i realized that

it's never going to work because one

percent improvements only work if you do

things very consistently if you do

things three times a month and you

improve one percent every time you're

getting absolutely nowhere and even

worse if you do things twice a year and

you improve only one percent at them

that's no improvement you're going to

stop doing these things because as

frederick hesburgh in the harvard

business review identified something

that we probably all know intuitively of

all forms of human motivation the most

effective one is progress which

basically means the better we get at

something the more we want to do it and

this one percent improvements only works

if you're consistent and so i'm stuck in

this conundrum where i have to be

consistent in order to improve and so i

can never improve or want to do

everything and i'm always stuck with low

level motivation for everything in my

life this is where my method comes in

basically what i've decided is to

completely screw the one percent

improvement and go for five percent 500

5000 improvements every single time and

genuinely this is how i've learned my

skills this is how i've learned to draw

to paint to edit and everything so i'm

going to explain how i do this

specifically if you are also a chaotic

passionate person hopefully this might

work for you a few years ago i wanted to

learn 3d animation because i saw people

who create the video game characters and

stuff and i thought oh my god this looks

so cool i want to learn how to do it the

way to quit this for me is to go okay so

twice a week for the next six months i'm

going to slowly learn how to 3d anime no

no this would never work what i do

instead is that i do nothing but i just

passively kind of look at animations

here and there so whenever i'm

procrastinating or i have some free time

i'll just go through my phone and i'll

look at really good 3d animated work and

what i'm doing here is that i'm

passively priming my brain to get

passionate about this thing and to fall

in love with this thing and i'm not

allowing myself to start the work

because i'm just doing this thing slowly

and slowly and slowly and at some points

i'll reach a tipping point while i go

straight i need to learn this right now

because i can't wait to learn this so

then i'll just sit down and honestly i

had never done any work before in my

life i sat down and i sat for maybe 10

to 15 hours on my laptop and i taught

myself from nothing to be basically

quite good at learning to animate and

then on the second day i created this

and i'll show it on screen on the third

day i was really good i created this so

in three days i learned something that

admittedly i could have pieced myself

and done for a very long time if i was

different i just can't do things that

way so i went for like 10 000

improvements basically in the space of

three days which otherwise i would have

never been able to achieve because if i

would have tried to get to one percent

improvement i would have quit very very

early on so this is how i learn skills

without creating habits i prime myself

for extreme passion and then i get to do

them and also another huge benefit of

this is that you get to learn things so

much faster and with so much more focus

because as much as i envy and i'm so

jealous of consistent and organized

people because they can do so many

things the one thing that i think i'm a

lot better at is deep work i don't

understand why people struggle with deep

work i'm always falling into deep work

and i think it's because they pace

themselves too much and they create

these short schedules or i'm only going

to do this for 40 minutes a day if you

sit into it if you get in the proper

mood to want to do something properly

you can get extreme levels of focus and

therefore crazy results and because for

my personal projects and things that i

want to work on i only work in a deep

work state i can get so much more done

and learn a lot faster and therefore i'm

leveraging huge amounts of passion huge

amounts of focus the best kind of state

of mind for learning to get extreme

results really really fast without one

percent improvements so yeah this is how

i hack my brain into learning things now

i'm pretty sure a lot of you might be

thinking this really doesn't work for

everything and you would be 100 right i

think the toughest pill for me to

swallow especially as a competitive

person is the realization that there are

certain things in life that i will just

never be good at i know this is hard to

say for me but it's it's just true i

will never be good at memorizing facts

because you need to repeat things again

and again in order to remember them

consistently it's not for me i love

exercise but i will never be a

bodybuilder because it takes ridiculous

amounts of food restriction and exercise

for a long amount of time to get

somewhere and i can absolutely never do

that but this doesn't mean that i can't

learn some things or that i can't enjoy

exercise so i think that in my life i do

not optimize for consistency i optimize

for passion because even though there

are some things that i'm always going to

be really bad at there are some things

that i'm always very very good at i can

get inhumane amounts of work done in a

short burst of time i can learn huge

amounts of information in short periods

of time and also i have a very creative

bigger picture mind because i touch

things intensively and then i leave them

for a very long time so when i come back

to them i can see things differently so

i am very good at bigger picture

thinking so if you're also kind of a

chaotically passionate person you might

be the same as me and we're better at

these things than we are at strict

scheduled routines so when it comes to

both personal projects and as much as i

can in my professional life and things i

have less control over i tend to

optimize for being a passionate person

because that's where i can shine there's

this very interesting study that showed

that 50 of the amount of work done in a

company is done by the top 10 of workers

and also the best performer is a hundred

times more productive than the lowest

performer in the company and this

doesn't mean that we should all aim to

be the most productive person but

basically what that means is that these

people who are at the top are probably

having a lot more fun and also just in

their natural element so i think

recognizing my strengths recognizing the

things that i'm good at and optimizing

for those as much as i can leads to

better results in my life and also just

letting go of the things that are just

too painful and impossible for me to do

because trust me i've tried and it does

not work as a slight caveat here of

course i do not mean that i lead my life

just based on my feelings and passions

and some level of strictness and

rigorousness and routine is absolutely

necessary to function in the world

especially with meetings and jobs so i

can do these things i'm just not the

best at them and so even though there's

these strict schedules when it comes to

the work that i need to do on my own

which realistically is a huge amount of

work on any job i'm a lot less strict

and a lot less rigorous and a lot more

passion driven my next very important

point is having adult and not childish

and bratty conversations with myself

because very often i can be a childish

brat in my mind and what i mean by this

is that if i have something to do and i

don't do it i can be very annoying if

you asked a child why they didn't do a

task and they told you i'm just a lazy

person and i didn't do it you wouldn't

accept that answer would you you'd

probably go okay honey you that might be

true but what did you do instead and why

did you feel that you wanted to do that

more what would have made this task more

interesting for you when do you think

you might want to do it and most

importantly why do you think you need to

do this in the first place i think it's

so underrated exploring why we need to

do things because you're not an idiot

you can't just tell yourself to do

something and then you're going to do it

i think it's very important to explore

why we make choices in the first place

when we can and when we don't have a

trace and we have to do things anyway

kind of exploring why this is important

and why things function this way might

make it much more likely for us to

actually go through with the task so

when it comes to conversations with

myself i cut myself off when i go i'm

just a procrastinator oh i'm so lazy oh

i just didn't want to do it and rather

go a level deeper and say what needs was

i trying to fulfill because it's

unlikely that i have a need to browse

instagram and much more likely have a

need to rest or have a need to have fun

or have a need to connect with people

and i can see how i can fulfill these

needs more productively in other ways or

i can see how i can turn the task that i

have to do and don't want to do into

something that might increase the

likelihood of me kind of fulfilling

these needs for connection and enjoyment

and rest and everything else so more

adult conversations with ourselves i

think are much more important in order

to kind of work with the chaos in our

mind on the topic of priming my brain to

get passionate to learn things what i'm

currently trying to get ready to learn

is to be better at animation

specifically for youtube videos and i'm

using philip demiko's class on this on

nebula which are very kindly sponsoring

this video it's quite embarrassing that

i didn't know this as a nebula user but

there are now full-on classes on nebula

where you can genuinely have

professional creators teach you things

which is completely crazy if you're

currently already a nebular user it's

just a five dollar upgrade but the

classes are absolutely insane production

venue and i'm lowkey getting tempted to

create one of my own if you have any

ideas by the way for a class for me to

make please let me know because um yeah

they look super super cool if you want

to upgrade any of your skills there are

some classes from some of my favorite

youtubers on there already so there'll

be a link in my description if you

wanted to check that out but otherwise

if you made it so far here is to endless

organized chaos i hope you have a

wonderful rest of your day be honest

yourself and others and don't believe

everything you think thanks bye