How I Force Myself To “DO THE WORK”

I’m a busy guy.

A startup CTO, startup consultant, father, husband and homeowner… there are a lot of things demanding my time.   Employees, clients, writing code, exercising, family time and more.  It all adds up.

As business keeps growing, the one thing that’s consistently been falling by the wayside is my writing.  And that kind of sucks.

I like writing.  It helps clear my head.  

It keeps me mindful about different aspects of my different businesses, and I find it generally boosts my productivity for whatever reason.  Plus, it helps boost my consulting business and builds up my tribe.

It’s important, and I have to make the time for it consistently.

That’s the work in this business.  The REAL work.

Writing – words or code, proposals or emails to clients, writing is the work for me.  If I’m not doing it daily, things aren’t working.

This isn’t always fun.  Yes, I love writing code and words.  Books, articles, programs… all very different, but all fun.

Messages to clients and students?  Sometimes that’s fun, but not always.  It’s beyond the realm of creativity, and we blur the lines between “I LOVE WHAT I DO” and “Damn, this is a job.”

But proposals?  Pitch decks?  No love there.  It has to get done, and I don’t enjoy it.

Regardless of how I feel in the moment, and regardless of the task at hand, this writing has to get done daily.

So how do I do it consistently?

There are a few things I do that help:

1. I do it early.

Writing is deep work, and deep work is best done in the morning while at your most fresh.  My head is clear, my inbox is waiting for late morning, so I use this time to create.  Well before decision fatigue sets in, well before some unforeseen event takes control of my day, I do what’s important to me.

2. I reward myself.

When done, I generally make myself a lovely espresso based drink from my office bar.  And with that, some breakfast.

Depending on the day, I’ll chat up my wife and / or kids for a bit.

The point is, I do the work, then I get rewarded.  Just like a happy little lab rat.

3. I record my successes.

Right next to me is a little wall calendar.  Whenever I write, I put a huge X on the box for that day.  And as a completion addict, I loathe seeing skips in my glorious chain of X’s.

This forces me to get it done, even at the end of the day if I don’t want to, just to get that X in place.

4. I punish myself if I skip it.

There’s a fun little device strapped to my wrist that will give me an electric shock if I tell it to.  Like, if I don’t wake up on time – or if I’m doing a habit that I’d like to break.

So what I’ve done is write a little script to zap myself if I don’t say “I wrote today” by 5pm on a weekday.

After 2-3 shocks, you start to internalize the need to get it done so it doesn’t happen again.  After about a week, it’s incredibly hard to miss a day of writing.

I’ve already used my Pavlok to create an extra hour or so in my day by helping me actually wake up early.  It also reminds me every day to switch to my standing desk — helping me stay a bit more active.

And now it punishes me if I skip a day of real work.

We live in an amazing time.

It might seem like a lot to go through to make sure I write consistently, but if you think about the one time setup cost vs the ongoing benefits of building such a productive habit, it’s a no-brainer. 

With those 4 little life hacks, I’ve built in a remarkable routine that I can honestly credit with catapulting every business that I’m involved in.