Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things

Start living like you’re immortal.
Yes, I know it sounds weird. So give me two minutes to
explain. Conventional wisdom says that life is not forever,
right?
“Life is short!”
“YOLO!”
“Live now!”
And I agree with that as well. But when you live your life
according to that philosophy, it doesn’t make sense to do
anything that takes a long time to pay off. If you think that
life is short, why on earth would you do hard things? It
doesn’t make sense. From that perspective, it’s better to
spend your money, go out every week, drink as much as
you can, and live large.

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Ask yourself: “What does all that lead to?”
It doesn’t take a scientist to answer that question. The
answer is, “nothing.” Now, there’s also another perspective
on living: That you’re here forever.
Think about it. How different would you live if I told you that
you’re never going to die? When I look at myself, I used to
live as if I were mortal. I’d spend my money on clothes,
gadgets, holidays. But I also seemed to be in a hurry. I
wanted to achieve a lot of things in my life. And preferably,
very fast.
I also pursued many things at the same time. Just like a dog.
Chasing every shiny thing out there. Or even chasing my
own random ideas. But lately, I’ve adopted a different
mindset. It’s an idea of, “What if I were immortal?” I know, it
sounds like I’m working on a hyperbolic chamber that
promises eternal life. But trust me, I’m not that delusional.
I’m talking figuratively. The first time I got this idea was
when I read one of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations:
“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now
take what’s left and live properly.”
I’m particularly referring to the last part: Living properly.
What does that mean? I think everyone has a different
perspective. To me, living properly means that I’m satisfied
with my life. That I can look myself in the mirror, and
genuinely say, “I like my life.” Was I truly satisfied when I
lived my life in the now? No, not really. I didn’t have a real
career, or a house, or anything that I was proud of. And why
was that? I was too focused on the now. I wanted things to
happen fast.
“Before you know it, you’ll be dead!”
Now, that mindset is
fine to get started. Nothing works better than kicking
someone in the butt by telling them they’re going to die.

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But once you’re working on building a LIFE, it’s not helpful
to think like that. Being present is a great thing, but like
many things in life, don’t overdo it.