How does one become super functional?

[Anonymous]

I am thinking of this colleague of mine who is in his early-mid twenties and he is an impressive young man. He has a meticulously scheduled day of hyper productivity and self-development and seems to innately be driven and disciplined.

He says he wakes up at 5 am to workout, eats healthy, comes to work and is a star employee. After work he goes to crossfit or mma and then makes dinner, studies for his professional development certificate and goes to bed.

I asked him what his new year's resolution was and he said "to be more disciplined!"

How are some people wired like this?

Is this something one can develop?

[Anonymous]

Part of it is less thinking, more doing. Simplify, automate, repeat. And yes, you can work on it.

[Anonymous]

You can work on it. But yes, some people are born with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am thinking of this colleague of mine who is in his early-mid twenties and he is an impressive young man. He has a meticulously scheduled day of hyper productivity and self-development and seems to innately be driven and disciplined.

He says he wakes up at 5 am to workout, eats healthy, comes to work and is a star employee. After work he goes to crossfit or mma and then makes dinner, studies for his professional development certificate and goes to bed.

I asked him what his new year's resolution was and he said "to be more disciplined!"

How are some people wired like this?

Is this something one can develop?

Easy to do this before marriage or kids .

Can kind of do it then but need to prioritize and be organized. Create more systems. Recharge when you can. Be grateful. Have many friend orbits and communities.

[Anonymous]

I only do this in waves. Works for me.

- married w two kids , work fulltime.

[Anonymous]

This was my dh. He actually has ADHD. When he has a very meticulous, strict schedule- he easily follows it and gets stuff done. He has very detailed 5 and 10 year plans.

[Anonymous]

Fine in your 20s and unattached, but I wouldn’t want to have kids with someone like that. These people can be very selfish about their time and prickly when their routines are thrown off. Also likely to be very hard on kids who might not measure up.

[Anonymous]

No. You need to be born with the right genes, OP. You can twiddle around with the brain you have, but you will never drastically change your functioning - unless you have untreated ADHD and can successfully medicate it.

[Anonymous]

People I know like this have good jobs, no kids, and are mostly unmarried.

I have a longtime colleague I consider super functional and it has been interesting watching him evolve as he has gotten married and had kids. He has slowed down a lot but he is still fundamentally excellent at everything he does.

It is easy to streamline your life when it is already pretty simple.

[Anonymous]

Some people have more energy and need less downtime and/or less sleep. It’s okay to not be them.

Two workouts a day is a lot…

[Anonymous]

If you eat healthy it’s easier to do it. Healthy nutrients fuel your mind and your body.

[Anonymous]

Each night I make a list of what I'm eating the next day. Sometimes I have two days written out.

I always have an on-going to do list. I update it throughout the day. Takes 20 seconds or less.

[Anonymous]

if you eat healthier, its easier to do
if you don't drink, its easier to do
if you stick to a schedule, its easier to do
if you get enough sleep, its easier to do
if you have some of the right genetics, its easier to do

so it all sort of compounds on itself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Part of it is less thinking, more doing. Simplify, automate, repeat. And yes, you can work on it.

I have a colleague like this. She has two young kids and seems to be genuinely thriving, not burning the candle at both ends and on a crash course to burnout like some "have it all" types. She has said explicitly that this is her secret - she doesn't take time to (over)think or weigh options, she acts, gets it done, and moves on to the next thing. But ultimately you just have to be wired that way - if you aren't born with it, you can't force it. At least not sustainably...

[Anonymous]

Probably anxiety and perfectionism and rigidity and he is a mess inside!

I have ADHD and can be hyper productive for long stretches but wouldn’t say it is healthy. I eventually crash.