Hooray for doing nothing! I'd add that, in addition to doing nothing in a chair sometimes, it's also good to do nothing while on a walk sometimes. Going for a walk is my go-to fix whenever I'm feeling like I can't do any work, and it almost always helps. Also, Hank's number of projects almost make me feel lazy. I'm not convinced that he isn't a time traveler.
I agree totally. I have trouble with the doing nothing, and going for a walk is the best way to deal with this because I am doing an activity, but my brain has a bit of time to just think.
I think us mortals can benefit from learning to not commit to ALL THE THINGS in the first place, too. Like, Hank manages to do it all and he's giving great advice on how to honor all the commitments you've already made... But sometimes I think it's good to step back, consider all the things your doing, and decide if you can really handle a new thing before committing to it. After all, people that are the best at their things are usually the best because they put as much energy as possible into the one thing.
There's a reason JK Rowling gave Hermione a timeturner. I live on 20 acres, so I have a favorite tree where I go to do absolutely nothing. I slide into my crook fifteen feet up and just sit for a few hours sometimes.
I bike to and from school everyday. It's 2x15 minute break from reality. Once in a while I bike with a friend part of the way and I feel like I have to go an extra circle to get my proper "down"-time.
Left out my favorite piece of advice ever, from the first Vlogbrothers video I remember watching and the one that got me hooked ("Nerd's Guide to Football") when you said "People ask me how I have time to do so many things, and I tell them: I don't watch TV."
Hank Green can do all the things... except listing all the things he does. Project for Awesome; Making Music; EcoGeek; Animal Wonders; His gaming channel(s); hankschannel; Nerdcrafteria; What else am I missing? Speaking of missing: I miss Truth or Fail - wish I could bring that back.
Love this vid. MY MANTRA: "Do The Next Thing" - don't do all the things or think about the big thing...just do the little next thing and then do the next thing and then do the next thing. Eventually, you'll be amazed how many big things are already done.
As someone who is currently trying to do all the things, this was very helpful. If nothing else, it reminded me that someone else is doing even more than I am.
whenever i need motivation or i feel overwhelmed by the amount of things i need/want to do, I listen to gunnarolla's "What Would Hank Green Do". it gives me exactly the boost i need :)
A really well timed video for me. The cliff metaphor is perfect. However I do find you have to point your cliff out to other people sometimes when they ask why you can't build your cliff higher for them, or why your knuckles are so white... Also I am a big believer in writing stuff down and ticking things off. The organisational magic of the list!
I've always had huge respect for Hank, doing all these really cool things, great to see a video about it. Also, I've currently got a metric shitload of stuff to do and this video helps keep my sanity.
"I often start things despite the fact that I don't have time to do the things I'm currently doing." I...This is me, all the time. I'm so glad to hear someone else echo that thought. I needed this.
Good video. Lots of good advice. Do you have any tips for avoiding burnout while doing all the things? Or tips to get back into doing all the things after experiencing burnout?
Thanks, Hank! (and Mike and Emma) Great tips! The don't look down thing is my favorite. That's where I usually get stuck- thinking about all of the things I have to do before starting everything. You're right, it's a super easy way to get overwhelmed.
I agree! Hank's awesome advice was just what I needed to hear right now, honestly, as I dig deeper into some of my New Year's Resolutions. :] Thanks for watching! - Mike
How to Adult Update - I think I may need to watch this every few months. I've been working on (read: thinking about what I have to do for) a video for the last 2 - 3 weeks and thus have only gotten as far as shooting most of it. To be fair to myself, I also have a lot going on, but I have been doing more thinking than doing, and I should probably get down to the "doing" part. ;)
This is a great video!!! I 'm definitely struggling to manage all of my projects from school work, work, and RU-vid stuff.Thanks Hank. You are awesome as always! :D
Thank you, Hank! I am in a big juggling time in my life because I have 2 jobs and I am getting my MLIS via online school (6 hours) and OMG the things! All the things! Thank you for your assistance in my progress.
I've thought this for a while, but I'd like to say thank you Hank Green. You have inspired me to work toward being the better version of myself I didn't think I had time to build. All your projects and channels make me want to consume their knowledge like the vital, sweet nectar of life that it is. I hope someday I'll be as crazily driven and accomplished as I see you to be. So thank you for your inspiration. It's meant a lot to me.
Perfect timing...Hank talked about the exact things that I'm currently freaking out about: Not getting much done and thinking everyone is going to hate me or forget about me because I get nothing done...And the only cure is to push myself out of procrastination into uncomfortably doing things, before I got really sick or burnt out. My trick to motivate myself is to think about what will happen if I get really discouraged and stop doing things: Then all the things I envisioned will never exist, or at least not exist in the way I wanted. So I have to get it done for the mere reason of "making it exist", no matter how long it takes. Some projects might need to go into hibernation for a while, but just don't quit.
Hank, maybe all that time you spend scrolling tumblr isn't doing much for YOU, but if it weren't for that, I wouldn't be selling stuff at DFTBA Records, or have such an engaged tumblr audience, and that makes a huge difference to me, personally.
This made me feel SOOOOOO much better at how I handle my life, which is basically do ALL THE THINGS! and then try to do all of the things that Hank suggests. So, thank you. I really ought to watch this channel more...
I needed to hear this because I'm undertaking a lot right now. Hearing it from you who I admire for not stopping, ever, helps so much. It is a bit of a boost in my confidence to see that I have figured out and am doing some of what you proposed already.
Just what I needed to hear! I'm currently writing my thesis and often find myself procrastinating (duh). I also found that just starting somewhere and not thinking about it too much is very helpful and takes away a lot of the pressure. And I just deleted Candy Crush this morning so I can spend my time more wisely!
I really needed this. I am slowly building up my work load after going cold turkey due to burning myself out, and I'm trying to figure out the whole getting things done without going completely mad.
Man, you should absolutely try mindfullness meditation for your number 4. This has been the main driving force in my life since I started. It keeps it all together and refreshes your mind significantly. 10mins a day is all you need.
That was excellent and inspiring, Hank, I'm totally on your page with the problem solving thing. Thanks for reminding me on the doing nothing and thinking thing.
Brilliant! I had an absolute brain-freeze at work today. Next time I sense that coming I will think "Do not fear. Fear is the mind-killer." And hopefully that will solve everything.
This is super helpful since I just bought a house and have so much to do! Also, the Dune mantra has also been mine since 2002! Hank, thanks for continuing to add perspective on my life. Also, do DNA sequencing on SciShow!
aah that not looking down the cliff one is soooo goooood. that's the one I always use. last semester I had an overwhelming schedule, and I managed it super well for about 3 weeks, but then people started loading on things I really couldnt get done, and it was like they were pointing out the cliff. So I freaked out, could no longer sleep, got sick because ulcerative colitis, which meant I could not spend as much time on the things I needed to get done, which made the cliff look much much higher. I ended up having to drop a class just to break the cycle of stress - insomnia - illness - more stress. TL;DR: DO NOT LOOK DOWN THE CLIFF
This was an extremely useful video. Sorry that I can't be more detailed than that. It's just inspired me to get some stuff done so I'm glad I watched it. I'm looking forward to applying these steps to my next set of things. Thanks!
This video couldn't come at a better time for me, haha. I have so many videos I'm working on right now and a mountain of schoolwork...ha. Nice to see Hank here :)
Great video. I am in my 3rd year of uni doing full time study, and i also have 4 different part time jobs and an internship this year. I wholeheartedly agree with the first tip, make commitments you HAVE to keep. Particularly in the morning, because then if you are not a morning person like me you have to get up to go do all the things :D. And like Hank said, don't think that everybody has it all together, cause they don't. As someone who has been struggling with depression for a long time, being busy is a great distraction but if you don't want to crash and burn, take time for yourself. Do your favorite things, for me I find so much peace in taking 5 minutes to write about my day before I go to bed :)
lol i have a heat transfer exam in 3 days and im sitting here at my desk in front of all these books with the "stupidphone" in my hand trying to throw it on my bed for the past 30mins :'D
I think its also good to not overthink everything because I know that when i overthink about all the things I want/need to do, I end up freaking out and doing nothing.
Since it's Friday and Hank filmed this in his office, I thought this was his Vlogbrothers video for today and he was going to talk about all the things he's doing including interviewing the president.
Thanks Again Hank. A guy has to wonder if the universe just lines things up to happen at just the right time. I have to add the other work you are doing on You Tube is spot on as well.
A lot of good tips here, but I couldn't help but to react to the tip "commit to things in a way that makes you feel terrible if you not finish them". Yes, he mentioned one of the risks - feeling terrible because that you didn't finish it. The second risk he didn't mention is the risk that you in order to not feel terrible force yourself to do more than your brain and body are able to handle, risking burning yourself out to avoid feeling terrible. Be aware of your limits.
Yeeaaah. You really did just make it sound like it's the worst possible fate to do the things that you have to do - but thanks for this video; personally, could not have come at a better time for me.
Your explanation of all the thing that need to get done gave me anxiety lol the tips I found very useful are to like you said brake it down into small doable tasks, even after 5 min of working on something it seems less daunting because you've started now. Also do the Urgent vs. Important tasks matrix thing seems to make sense to me personally.
I'm going to try to stop avoiding my essay now. I tried adding the incentive of getting something off my Amazon wishlist for each assignment I complete but that only motivated me to write one paragraph of the 7 pages. The advice to not look at the big picture is helping. I just need to write some sentences into paragraphs and not focus on how many paragraphs that is.
Watching this as someone who's recently been feeling a little overwhelmed, was super inspiring! :D Thanks for sharing ^.^ Also, sometimes when i need to take a break and "do nothing" i hula hoop :)
***** How to Adult Thanks for making a video for me!! I know that was not your intention, but BOY did I need that! I just went from being a stay at home mom to being a grad student, an employee and oh yeah, still a mom! I've been struggling with ALL THE THINGS and this really helped. Thanks.
Right now I'm trying to blog, work on an animation project, watch the insane amount of anime I need to watch for my blog, and write both fiction and non-fiction ebooks for Amazon. So it's easy for me to get overwhelmed. I don't always do everything I want to do in a day. Sometimes after work I'm too tired for any of it. Sometimes I just want to space out and play an easy video game or watch some dumb bullshit.
I find it so easy to add all the things and then find it incredibly difficult to understand why I added all the things and yet still end up bored rigid! I'm 50 and still haven't attained how to adult :D
I've watched, and re-watched, and made other people watch this video so many times I feel like I'm personally responsible for a marked percentage of the views...
Hank and co, I always find it easier to be committed to do things is to get sticky notes and write said tasks down. Thus I know I am obligated to do said tasks.
One of the tricks I use is I freak out ahead of time. Especially for tests and big projects. I will let my mind go through the process of freaking out about something way in advance or at least a little in advance. Then when I am doing the test or other thing and I hit the point where I would actually start freaking out, my brain sort of goes, "Wait. We already did this. Next step." And it will move past the freaking out with out me actually freaking out. I have been using this for years. It is rather helpful. But I think it depends on how your brain works and how you train it to work.
About the mental juice rejuvenation, there's research (kind of a lot of it) that suggests that self restraint is a depletable resource (ego-depletion). Ao if you've worked for a long time and start playing candy crush, looking at tumblr /facebook/reddit or distracting yourself in any other way, you should just commit to that for a while. Doing those things will restore your ability to resist doing them when you're not supposed to. However, if you feel guilty about it, it actually wont help you gain back self restraint. You should probably set an end time for it, so you don't waste all of your time. But for the love of Darwin, don't get all "I should have been working", because it's not gonna help you then. So yeah, if you didn't do those things you may actually crumble under pressure.
I think this is when a "week in the life" video would be very helpful. Like I've gotten to a point where I know what I *should* be doing. Actually seen it being done by various types of creatives or business people would be cool. Something like from this article. www.fastcodesign.com/3032874/infographic-of-the-day/the-daily-routines-of-26-of-historys-most-creative-minds
