Confessions of a Failed Routine Follower (And How I First-Principled My Way to Semi-Success)

Alright, folks, gather 'round for a tale of ambition, failure, and the art of not giving up. Picture this: There I was, armed with the perfect daily routine that would transform me into a productivity superhero. Spoiler alert: It didn't quite work out as planned.

Here was my grand master plan:

6:00 AM: Rise and shine like a Disney princess

6:30 - 7:30 AM: Channel my inner yoga guru or gym rat 

7:30 - 8:30 AM: Become a breakfast maven and lunch prep wizard

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM: Work like a boss (with a lunch break, because I'm not a monster)

4:30 - 6:30 PM: Enter relaxation mode (aka scroll through memes)

6:30 - 7:30 PM: Pretend I'm in a walking meditation retreat

7:30 - 9:30 PM: Transform into a master chef and dining connoisseur

9:30 - 10:30 PM: Unwind (more memes, anyone?)

10:30 - 11:00 PM: Meditate and become one with the universe

11:00 PM: Drift off to dreamland on command

Sounds perfect, right? Well, let me tell you how it really went down:

Sleeping at 11 PM? Ha! More like midnight... or 1 AM... or "Is that the sun rising?" Exercise and walks? Let's just say my success was as moderate as a lukewarm cup of coffee. Work hours? Nailed it! (Thank you, looming deadlines and bills to pay.)

So there I was, feeling like a discipline disaster, when I stumbled upon this thing called "First Principles Thinking." No, it's not a new diet trend or a fancy planner system. It's more like... well, imagine if Sherlock Holmes and Marie Kondo had a problem-solving baby. That's First Principles Thinking. Here is the link if you would like to know more..Elon musk on First Principles

Intrigued? Skeptical? Wondering if I've lost my marbles? Stick around, because I'm about to spill the tea on how this fancy-sounding technique helped me turn my routine disaster into a work-in-progress success story. And who knows? It might just help you finally remember to water your plants. Or floss. Or whatever it is you've been meaning to do since last New Year's resolution season.

Let's dive in, shall we?

So, What the Heck are First Principles Anyway?

Alright, let's break this down like we're explaining it to your cousin who still thinks quantum physics (Since these principles were first followed by physicists dealing with quantum physics study, I thought I'll pull it in here somehow!!) is a new gym routine.

First Principles Thinking is basically the art of being that annoying kid who keeps asking "But why?" until they get to the root of things. It's about stripping away all the assumptions and "that's just how it's done" thinking, and getting down to the bare bones of a problem.

Here's the gist:

  1. Take your problem (in my case, my epic routine failure)
  2. Break it down to its most basic truths (not assumptions, not "common knowledge," but irrefutable facts)
  3. Build your solution from there

Sounds simple, right? Well, so does making the perfect soufflé, but we all know how that usually turns out.

Let's take my sleep schedule disaster as an example. Instead of beating myself up for not magically falling asleep at 11 PM, I asked myself:

  • Why do I want to sleep at 11 PM? (Because some internet guru said it's the "perfect" bedtime?)
  • What actually makes me sleepy? (Hint: It's not staring at the ceiling willing myself to sleep)
  • What keeps me up at night? (Besides existential dread and that embarrassing thing I said in 3rd grade)

By breaking it down, I realized I was trying to force a bedtime that didn't align with my natural rhythms or daily realities. Mind. Blown.

Now, I'm not saying Aristotle (yeah, he started this whole First Principles thing) was thinking about my sleep schedule when he came up with this. And Elon Musk probably isn't using it to figure out his Netflix binge schedule. But the beauty of First Principles is that it works for building rockets AND figuring out why you can't stick to a gym routine.

So, how did I apply this galaxy-brain thinking to my routine disaster? Buckle up, buttercup, because we're about to get into the nitty-gritty of First-Principling your way to sort-of-success!

First-Principling My Way to Semi-Glory

Alright, so armed with my new "But why?" superpower, I decided to tackle my routine piece by piece. Let's break it down like we're dissecting a frog in science class (but less gross and more useful):

Exercise Escapades: Old thinking: "I must work out for an hour every morning because that's what fit people do." First Principles: Why do I want to exercise? For health, energy, and to avoid looking like a potato in human form. New approach: Any movement is good movement. I started with 10-minute yoga sessions and short walks. Guess what? I actually did them! Mind-blowing, I know.

The Great Sleep Debate: Old thinking: "11 PM is the perfect bedtime because... reasons." First Principles: Why do I need sleep? To rest, recharge, and avoid turning into a zombie. New approach: I focused on creating a wind-down routine that worked for me, even if it meant a slightly later bedtime. Turns out, I'm more of a night owl than a morning lark. Who knew?

Work Woes: Old thinking: "I must work solid blocks from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM because that's what productive people do." First Principles: Why do I work these hours? To get stuff done and pay the bills. New approach: I identified my most productive hours and structured my workday around them. Hello, flexibility! Goodbye, guilt about mid-day brain breaks!

The results? A mixed bag of victories, partial wins, and "well, at least I tried" moments:

  • Full success: Work hours (turns out, the fear of living in a cardboard box is quite motivating)
  • Moderate success: Exercise and walking (I'm moving more, even if I'm not exactly ready for the Olympics)
  • Work in progress: Everything else (Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is a perfect routine)

Now, before you think I've turned into some discipline guru, let me assure you – I still have days where my only exercise is reaching for the TV remote. But here's the kicker: Instead of beating myself up about it, I use my First Principles thinking to understand why and adjust accordingly.

So, what's the secret sauce to this First Principles magic? Glad you asked! Let's break it down into bite-sized pieces that even your goldfish could understand (if it could read and had more than a 3-second memory).

Your Turn to Be a Discipline Genius (Or At Least Less of a Hot Mess)

Alright, fellow routine rebels, it's your turn to give this First Principles thing a whirl. Don't worry, I'll hold your hand through this journey of self-discovery (metaphorically, of course – I don't know where your hands have been).

Step 1: Pick Your Battle Choose one area of your life where your discipline is about as strong as a wet noodle. Maybe it's your Netflix addiction, your "I'll start the diet on Monday" mantra, or your ability to turn a 5-minute social media check into a 2-hour scroll-fest.

Step 2: Channel Your Inner Toddler Remember that phase when you questioned everything? Time to bring that back. Ask "Why?" until you get to the root of your goal. Why do you want to change this habit? Keep digging until you hit bedrock.

Step 3: Strip It Down No, not like that! I mean strip your goal down to its bare essentials. What's the absolute core of what you're trying to achieve? For example, if your goal is "get fit," the core might be "move more and eat better."

Step 4: Forget Everything You Know Pretend you're an alien who just landed on Earth and is trying to solve this problem. What would you do if you didn't know the "standard" solutions?

Step 5: Build It Back Up Using only the essential truths you uncovered, start constructing a new approach. Be creative! If your goal is to read more, and you discovered you're really after "learning new things," maybe audiobooks or podcasts could be part of your solution.

Step 6: Test and Tweak Try out your new approach. If it works, great! If not, no biggie. Use your First Principles thinking to understand why and adjust. Remember, we're aiming for progress, not perfection.

Step 7: Celebrate Small Wins Did you make it through a whole day without hitting snooze? Fantastic! Reward yourself with a happy dance (warning: may cause strange looks if done in public).

Real-Life Example: The "I Want to Be a Morning Person" Saga

Let's say you want to become a morning person because you think that's what successful people do. Here's how you might First Principle that:

Why do you want to be a morning person? To be more productive. Why do you want to be more productive? To have more free time. Why do you want more free time? To enjoy life and reduce stress.

Aha! So the real goal isn't necessarily to be a morning person, but to enjoy life more and reduce stress. Now you can explore various ways to achieve that, whether it's waking up earlier, managing your time better during the day, or finding ways to be more efficient in your tasks.

Remember, folks, the goal here isn't to turn you into some superhuman productivity machine. It's about understanding yourself better and finding solutions that actually work for you. Because let's face it, if your discipline strategy makes you miserable, you're about as likely to stick to it as a cat is to enjoy a bath.

So go forth, my friends! Question everything, break it down, and build yourself a routine that doesn't make you want to hide under the covers. And if all else fails, remember: at least you're not trying to build rockets like Elon Musk. Talk about pressure!

The Grand Finale: You're Now Armed and Slightly Dangerous

Well, folks, we've reached the end of our journey through the wild world of First Principles Thinking. You came here looking for discipline tips and instead got a crash course in thinking like a philosopher-scientist-toddler hybrid. You're welcome!

Let's recap what we've learned, shall we?

  1. Perfect routines are like unicorns – mythical and probably a little high-maintenance.
  2. First Principles Thinking is basically being a professional "but why?" asker.
  3. Breaking down your goals to their skivvies can lead to some pretty interesting revelations.
  4. You can apply this fancy thinking to everything from rocket science to remembering to floss.
  5. Small wins are still wins, even if they're not Instagram-worthy... yet.

Remember, the goal here isn't to transform into some robot of efficiency overnight. It's about understanding yourself better and finding solutions that actually stick, unlike that gum under your desk (gross, by the way).

So, what now? Well, I challenge you to pick one area of your life – maybe that thing you've been putting off since last year's resolution list – and give it the First Principles treatment. Who knows? You might just surprise yourself. And if not, at least you'll have some interesting "Why?" conversations with yourself that will make people edge away from you on public transport.

As for me, I'm off to apply First Principles Thinking to figure out why I can never remember where I put my keys. Wish me luck!

Remember, in the immortal words of... well, probably someone wise: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with asking 'But why?' a thousand times." Or something like that.

Now go forth and principle your way to greatness! Or at least to a slightly more organized sock drawer. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Bye Bye for now.. Wishing you happy and fun times ahead!!


P.S: Thank you to Claude 3.5 Sonnet for the content.. The idea was mine, Sonnet gave the words!! Mighty good thing this AI is.

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