7 ways to start being more self-disciplined right now

7 ways to abflug being more self-disciplined right now7 ways to start being more self-disciplined right nowAnyone can make alist of goals. But only a few learn how to be disciplined enough to achieve them.I grew up in a home and a family that constantlyreinforced the importanceof self-discipline. Every single night, Id watch my dad platzdeckchen the timer on the coffee maker and put his oatmeal in the refrigerator for the next morning. By 530 a.m., hed be awake. By 600 a.m., hed be in the gym. By 700 a.m., hed be knocking on my bedroom door, making sure I welches awake. And by 800 a.m., hed be at the hospital ready to operate. My dad is a spine surgeon.My mom, meanwhile, somehow managed to work as a voice teacher at a local college, and take my sister to her violin lessons, and take my younger brother to gymnastics practice, and take my other younger brother to chess club, all while making sure dinner was on the table by 500 p.m., and everyone was working on their homework or practic ing their respective musical instrument by 700 p.m.Our house operated like a retreat for the arts with my mothers thumb on a stopwatch.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreFrom a very young age, I learned how to be disciplined in all sorts of different ways.Truthfully, how I learned the art of self-discipline was through the World of Warcraft.Different from my other commitments as a teenager, like playing classical piano or hockey, the World of Warcraft was what gave me a way to tangibly measure my progress as a player. With piano, I could vaguely understand how I was improving year over year. With hockey, I could feel myself becoming more and more comfortable handling the puck. But in the World of Warcraft, each action, each step forward prompted me with some sort of measure for success abedrngnislageher bar of experience gained, or a new epic item. And it was this new way of perce iving my progress that ultimately made me more and more willing to devote time, energy, and effort into mastering the game.By 17 years old, I had become one of the highest ranked World of Warcraft players in NorthAmerica.Ever since I graduated high school, and ultimately moved on from gaming, I have been extremely aware of what both my family and the World of Warcraft taught me about discipline.So, if this is something youre looking to improve in yourself, here are 12 simple ways you can start practicing the art of self-discipline1. Dont set a goal without knowing how youre going to track its progress.One of the easiest things in the world is to imagine the thing you want to achieve.Unfortunately, thats what a mentor of mine would call mental masturbation. And no amount of imagining is going to move you any closer to what you can so clearly binnensee in your minds eye.Instead, challenge yourself to question how youre going to measure your progress. If you decide, I want to change X about my life, dont just write down your goal in your journal. Write down the way youre going to prove to yourself you are moving in the right direction. For example, whenever I set a goal for myself, I always write down how often Im planning on practicing the skill required for me to achieve that goal. If I want to write a book, how many days per week am I planning to work on it? And more importantly, how am I going to be honest with myself if too many days go by without me writing anything at all?2. Surround yourself with disciplined people.You are a reflection of the 5 people you spend the most time with.Plain and simple.If everyone around you eats junk food, chances are, youre going to eat junk food too. If everyone around you watches five hours of TV per day, chances are, youre going to start watching more TV with them. Which means, if you surround yourself with people who really, really struggle to be self-disciplined, then chances are, you will too.Instead, choose your friend swisely.Spend time around people who are extremely self-disciplined?- ?so that you can watch and learn how to be self-disciplined too. Mimic their daily routines (until you find one that works for you). Adopt a similar mentality. Absorb their habits.This is, without question, the fastest way to becoming more disciplined yourself.3. Read books that remind you of the importance of discipline for 20 minutes eachday.One of the best ways to keep yourself practicing the art of self-discipline is to remind yourself constantly about its importance.Now, something I write about often is being careful not to just spend all day consuming other peoples information, but making the time to practice these skills yourself.The rule I live by is that your input (say, reading) should never exceed your output (whatever the thing is you need to practice and want to master).Here are a few books I frequently pick up for quick reminders about the importance of disciplineThink and Grow Richby Napoleon HillTh e Practicing Mindby Thomas M. SternerThe ONE Thingby Gary Keller and Jay PapasanMasteryby Robert Greene4. Use a visual calendar to see how many days in a row youre consistently practicing.One of the best ways to keep yourself accountable is to see your progress (or lack thereof).This was something I always loved about video games. In the World of Warcraft, I could see how far I was from the next level. I could see how many more points I needed in order to buy an epic piece of gear. And because I could visualize the process, I found myself more willing to be engaged with it.So, recreate this same experience for yourself with a calendar.Lets say you want to be more disciplined with writing. Every day you successfully write (for 1 hour, 2 hours, whatever period of time you feel counts), put a big X through that day. Congratulations Youre well on your way in the world.Over time, those Xs will start to add up, and youll want to keep stringing them together. Simultaneously, if you go two weeks without putting an X through a single day, youre going to feel guilty.Good. You should.5. Detox distractions from your life at least one day perweek.Between the ages of 23 and 26 years old, I didnt allow myself to have Internet in my apartment.Im not kidding.The reason was because I knew that if I had the option of browsing the Internet or watching TV after a long day of work, then I was never going to do what I needed to do to become a successful writer. So, I removed the option altogether. That way, after I came home from a long day working as a copywriter at an ad agency, and then heading to the gym, I only had one option write.Every single night, for almost four years, I wrote from 900 p.m. to midnight.And thats how I wrote my first book,Confessions of a Teenage Gamer.To this day, I still find ways to detox unnecessary distractions from my life. During weekends, especially, Ill deliberately keep my phone on silent or away in another room. I wont watch TV or check my email. Saturdays and Sundays are reserved for nature and long hours spent thinking or working deeply on something.I encourage you to find ways to do the same.6. Journal constantly and always be honest with yourself.One of the hardest parts about becoming more disciplined is the fact that its so easy to forget why you wanted to be disciplined in the first place.Similarly to what I mentioned above, the reason is because everyone loves the idea of being more disciplined, but then after a few days they disconnect from their original desire. They either can no longer see the purpose, or they fall back into familiar habits out of comfort.A great way to combat this is by journaling all throughout theprocess.Ive been journaling since I was in middle school, but I started intentionally journaling in 2010?- ?and every year since. And one of the reasons I journal so frequently (I aim for daily, but weekly at a minimum) is to remind myself of the things Im working on and working toward.I dont like to o much time to go by without remembering where Im headed and why I chose that direction in the first place.7. If youre actively practicing being disciplined, allow yourself days to NOT be disciplined.During my no-Internet years (2326), I was obsessive about being disciplined.At the time, I was also a bodybuilder, so my entire life revolved around eating entire meals every 2.5 hours, on the dot, and 2-hour long lifting sessions immediately after work. Everything about my day was structured when I woke up, what I ate for breakfast, when I needed to start walking to the train, when I needed to leave work to make the express train home, when I needed to be in the gym by, how many meals I needed to have eaten beforehand, and what hour I needed to take my pre-workout supplement so that I had enough energy to lift and then write for 3 hours after, but not too much that I couldnt sleep.Needless to say, it was exhausting.One of the things I didnt do enough was give myself time to NOT be disc iplined. This is a hard line to draw for most people, considering many reward themselves with relaxation time regardless of whether or not theyre actively working toward their goals. But in my case, I was pretty far on the other side of the spectrum?- ?and Id very often bring myself right to the edge of burnout.Part of learning the Art of Self-Discipline is knowing when to push and when to pull back. Similar to my input v.s output philosophy, your pull-back time should never exceed your push time (where youre actively working toward improving yourself). Similarly, your push time should never be so much that your pull-back time is entirely nonexistent.Discipline is not a destination. Its a daily practice.Which means you need to optimize for a marathon?- ?not a sprint.This article originally appeared on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benj amin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people