To Find Direction In Life, Do This First

Knowing Who You Are

If I asked you to list off everything you did yesterday, do you think you would be able to accurately tell me where every second of your day went?

For most people, I’d say that the accuracy of your answer would be close to 50-60%.

You could probably explain all the important tasks you did throughout the day— but you’d leave out the little, subtle crevices in between those tasks that are secretly contributing to who you are.

Because after all, we are what we repeatedly do.

In my last newsletter, I talked about how a lack of direction in life leads to laziness—and that most people aren’t actually lazy, but rather, direct their limited willpower/focus on things that make them feel lazy. (If you missed that newsletter, you can read it here.)

But I didn’t go into detail about how you can start to see what is shaping your thoughts, beliefs, and daily mood.

So allow me to introduce a useful tool I just found out about the other day.

The Tool

The best way to know exactly where your time is going is to use a time tracking app on your phone.

There are plenty of good ones out there, but the one I was introduced to thanks to my friend Eric who runs the Reysu YouTube channel, is called Timelines.

It has a really user friendly, simple UI (user interface), and all you do is:

1. Create tasks that you usually do in a given day (you can add new ones later)

2. Click on that task whenever you start it

3. Click on the task again whenever you end it, or click on a new task

and it will cleanly sort all your time spent doing things into blocks you can view on a calendar.

The only catch with this app is that it costs $40/year to use.

So if you want a cheaper alternative, you can use an app called ATracker instead.

It does the same thing, except with a less pleasing UI, but you can create an unlimited amount of tasks for a one time payment of $5.

If you do this for everything (yes, everything—whether that’s scrolling, tweeting, taking a dump, etc) you will finally be able to see exactly how much of your time is going towards beneficial/unbeneficial things.

And then, you can start strateigizing how to allot your time towards more beneficial things by either:

• Freeing up more of your time through task/habit removal (which will require it’s own strategy)

• Adding in more time to do the things you really want your life to revolve around

I recommend using these time tracking apps every day, for at least a week.

A week is long enough in your routine to see what your typical day looks like (although you may need to come back to these apps regularly in case you fall off the wagon, or your routine changes significantly.)

Another unintended consequence about using a time tracking app daily (that will encourage you to use it for more than just a week) is that, when you tap that button for whatever you’re doing in that given time period, it makes you want to be more intentional with your time, and not divert your attention to something else, so you aren’t constantly tapping between different tasks and activities.

So you might find you are more focused and disciplined just by virtue of being in the middle of an acitivity on the app.

Try out time tracking, stay committed to tracking every single task/distraction you do throughout the day, and watch how much more intentional you become, and how much you find out about yourself.

Developing Discipline

Let’s be honest.

You’ll probably never consistently stick to the tasks that will bring you closer to who you want to be, if you don’t have something to give enough of a shit about.

A purpose that defines “why” you’re deciding to do all of this in the first place.

Maybe you have that already, or maybe you need help figuring it out.

Either way, somewhere down the line, you’re going to need to acquire the tools necessary to build an unbreakable mindset.

I wished that there was a resource to help people understand what they’re actually capable of (which is always WAY more than what they think), and teach them the methods that I’ve used over the years to become the most financially, mentally, and physically fulfilled I’ve ever been.

A resource that would make you wake up and be proud of the life you’ve created, but also have such a level of peace that any unexpected occurrences could be let go without even having to try.

And that is why I created my Ultimate Self Mastery School.

The Ultimate Self Mastery School is a place for those who want to actualize their greatest potential, strengthen their self awareness, build better habits, and develop a fulfilling life.

The school features 14 videos with 15+ worksheets, a guided meditation, and an exclusive community where we all hold each other accountable and give further advice.

This course is a culmination of years of research on behavioral science, psychology, and of course, trial and error from my own life.

And it’s specifically designed for those who want to go deeper than superficial YouTube videos/articles, and gain a better understanding of themself.

Being able to actually apply the advice you receive, and get consistent feedback from like-minded people are probably the two most important factors in seeing permanent change.

And I’m guessing you currently feel like you can’t talk to anyone in real life about your struggles with self-development, right?

That’s why our community meets in a group coaching call every other week to make sure we are all staying on the path towards self mastery.

It’s also been an incredible way for everyone to open up about things that they have been going through, have accountability surrounding the habits we are trying to build/remove, and get feedback and advice without judgement.

And because of that, the friendships in there feel genuine.

It’s easily the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever created.

Here's some recent wins from our community:

Watch the intro video on that page to see if the course is right for you.

Hope to see you in the community.

Quote of The Week

Thanks for reading, everyone. Hope you enjoy your weekend.

-Cole