I recently completely cut my hair. Last time I'd done something like that was for St. Baldrick's. Although I have a lot of respect for people who participate in charities like these, this time, I didn't do it for that.
I've wanted to improve my work ethic forever. I'm all over the place and tend to just work on whatever I want. I've recently gotten into beats, which is where a lot of my time has gone.
But I still procrastinate. More than I like.
I've tried a lot. I cleaned my room. Made it so that things had their own place so it wouldn't immediately go back to being a mess. I then bought a whiteboard. Having things I have to do written on there takes away the energy I tend to spend just thinking of what I need to do. Additionally, the workload always seems bigger when it's in your head. Written down, it becomes less intimidating.
So I knew what I had to do. Make a list of my tasks and then do them, and let myself have downtime afterward.
Except that's not what happened.
I would be on the right track and then veer away a couple of days later. I knew the basics of a system that works for me, yet was only using it on an on and off basis.
At first, I felt like I was taking all this seriously, but truth is, I realized I wasn't. In order to really improve my work ethic, I would have to make some sort of sacrifice. I didn't know what it would be until it just came to me.
I was born and raised in France, and there, both men and women really care about their hair. I knew men who got haircuts every three or four weeks. My hair is both something I really care about, as well as (in my opinion) one of my best physical characteristics.
So I cut it all of.
Mark Zuckerberg wears the same outfit every day, as he says that the energy put towards choosing an outfit is alleviated if you don't have to choose at all. Similarly, I figured that if I cut all of my hair, the energy I put towards thinking about it and fixing it will dissipate, be put towards something else.
On top of that, it was an action that let me put less energy into looking good, to be able to focus on working.
I can't speak for its long term effectiveness, but honestly, it's been working so far.
