how to get shit done

20 Jan, 2026

1. Identify your must-dos from want-dos

For me must-dos are stuff like go to work, pay bills, prioritize sleep, brush teeth, eat healthy. Want-dos are stuff like side projects, going to gym, doing hobbies, writing this blog, seeing friends, cleaning the apartment. Basically everything that's not necessary for my life to keep spinning forward.

When doing the separation, be brutally honest where things belong. Most of them go to want-dos.

2. Do your must-dos, and then chill the fuck down

Do what you gotta do. After that you're free. Don't think "I should do x", then not do it, and then feel shit about it. After doing what you gotta do (which would be work for most people, maybe some family duties), you're under no obligation to be any more productive. It's a trap, all in your head. Productivity is a fucking meme. And yes I know this doesn't sound like a tutorial on how to get shit done, but just trust me and keep reading.

Note: if you've chased the productivity-dream for years, this is the hardest part. It's gonna take a while to de-program yourself from the "must do more" mindset.

3. The dopamine hole

After you finally chill, you will probably end up watching movies, playing games, scrolling tiktok or whatever. You'll probably feel guilty about some of it.

Now it's time to identify that there are two types of leisure time: the good and the bad. The separation is easy – do you feel good, or not-so-good after the time you spent?

For example, for me stuff like seeing friends or watching movies are the good kind. Afterwards I feel inspired, entertained and like I actually really enjoyed my time. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the good kind of leisure time. In fact it's really important for our well-being and recharging. Not only is it fun it also works as a fuel for everything else we do in life.

The problem is the bad kind of entertainment, the dopamine hole. For me it's things like Instagram reels and YouTube videos I'm not really interested in but clicked because of the (probably ai generated) thumbnail which managed to hijack my curiosity for a teeny bit. Afterwards I don't feel recharged at all - instead I feel drained. Because I wasn't really relaxing (my brain was constantly processing the information flood), or engaging with anything meaningful.

4. Don't be a dopamine junkie

Now all you gotta do it make it as hard as possible to access those ugly dopamine holes, the ones which aren't actually to your benefit - but instead are just stealing your attention. This part sucks because you're literally fighting against a billion dollar machinery trying to hook you, trying to make you check "just one more" thing. It's a slow process. Over time you will learn what are the worst traps for you, what kind of limiting or blocking works and what doesn't.

You could start by uninstalling unwanted apps for example.

5. Now you're free

If you successfully did parts 2 and 4 you're free – not living in the "should" fantasy, and not a prisoner of endless dopamine holes. If you made it here congratz, really. It's not easy. Now the magic happens.

When you're not preoccupied with the things you "should" do, and not trapped on your phone, your mind will crave to do something. The side project you've been talking about for months? Best thing ever. The squeaky hinge that has bothered you for over a year? Why not just oil it, takes like 2 mins. Reorganizing messy cabinets? It's just like playing Tetris!

The best thing is, living life this way, doing things this way, makes it all just so effortless and fun. I don't consider myself productive, I don't really even think about it. But looking back, my weeks are always filled with so much stuff I've done. It all just comes naturally and I don't force any of it (expect work and brushing my teeth)

This way of living also allows you to organically find out what you really value in life and want to spend time on, instead of what you think you value. Occasionally I code side projects but have noticed that I care about that stuff wayyy less than I thought I did. If you're not doing something without forcing it then why the hell do it in the first place? Life's short, do stuff you enjoy <3

6. What about the hard stuff, like sticking to a gym routine?

Great question, glad you asked. Yes, there will probably some want-dos which requires discpline and routine. For example I'm excercising 4-6 times a week and it's not always fun to go there. Sometimes you kinda just have to force yourself. Right?

Yep. After you've honestly recognized your must-dos, and found out you have some want-dos which requires routine and discpline it's okay to set obligations to yourself. Some of our dreams requires them, and that's okay.

Just be honest with youself, is this really a thing I want to be strict about? Because the more obligations you have, the less powerful they are. Save them for the stuff you really care about. I'd also recommend to set the obligations as minimal as possible: make sure you're doing what's necessary, and let the rest come naturally from your passion and desire to get better at whatever your thing is.

Afterwords

Looking back, I first wrote about limiting internet usage and giving up todo lists back in 2022. That's crazy, time really flies!

I became interested in optimizing my time-spending about 10 years ago, only to find out that the less I optimize, happier I am. I've been living this way more or less the last 3+ years and it's working well for me. Not sure if this is something that would work well for most people or not. Maybe I'm just weird and have to use hacks like these. Or maybe this is the default state for most people whose default state is not to get obsessed optimizing every little detail in their life.

Like with everything, take what resonates and forget the rest :)