I really hate how if I'm innatentive of time enough, dinnertime just sort of happens without anything having really happened all day

[JoshRaed]

Does anyone relate to this? Like where did the entire day go? I wake up at 7am and somehow get blindsided by 7pm.

[ueonts]

You should structure your time. And if it's a problem of discipline, there are three things that work for me, but they may not work for you. What I do is make sure that I don't go to bed until I have gotten everything done that I wanted to that day, and if that means losing sleep, it means I lose a little sleep. Two, I don't do this as much, but I used to punish myself a lot for doing things wrong. Like if I would miss a deadline or fail to follow a goal I would make myself do push-ups. This wasn't always effective so I don't know if I would recommend it. But for small things, like maybe remembering to take your shoes off when you enter a room, and saying that if you fail to do so you'll do 5 push-up- might work. And the third thing is to stop caring about comfort. This is the cause for pretty much all lack of discipline and there are a few ways I do it. I try to make something gross in all my meals. I used to really hate onions so I would use those, but I started to get used to the taste so now I use baking soda. Another thing is keeping the AC off in my car. The main idea is just not getting comfortable when you don't have to.

These are just things that help me, I don't know if they will work for you, but I hope maybe some of these helped.

[Lensing]

Does it bother you?

If yes then structure your day, make a plan, have daily habits.

[NickRowler]

What are you doing during the day? Are you just browsing social media and that’s it?

Set up things you want/have to do. Maybe have more activities that are more full filling. It could be something as simple as watching an engaging TV show instead of TikTok shorts. Do lessons on Duolingo. Listen to a podcast while doing chores. Maybe take a trip to the library and spend an hour just reading and not touching your phone.

[JoshRaed]

Is it a good idea to go to the library when there are multiple books I haven’t finished reading in my house already?

[NickRowler]

You could do that too. I only brought up the library because sometimes the environment of our homes can have other distractions. It also gives you an opportunity to get out of your house.

[SleepingPoppy]

I remember you talking about a schedule in the past, I think the trick with schedules is to keep them realistic. You don’t want to schedule every minute.

Something more realistic might be… 20 minutes reading before you get out of bed. Some time between breakfast and lunch you either draw or write, your choice. After lunch take a walk. Then free time until dinner.

This is just an example. You don’t have to be like, “I will draw from 9:05 until 10:22”, but you could set a timer for an hour when you do draw, and if you find yourself drifting, remind yourself you can stop when the timer goes off. Again, just an example. You could simplify this all down to just one goal per day, even if that’s just a walk.

I also think to have the mindset “before I can do X necessary thing, I will do Y goal thing.” Which is why reading before you get up for breakfast can work. You want to get up? You want to eat? Better finish your reading! Though when I was studying for a test, I would do one chapter every night before bed. So you think about how to fit things into your day in the way that you think will be most effective.