In a previous post I talked about how regimentation, habituation, and mastery are the three different parts of the self improvement process. I’ve talked almost exclusively about the last two - Habituation is the thrust of the whole project what with constant SRHI scores and Mastery is something I talk about a lot when it comes to overcoming skill plateaus.

But I’ve largely ignored describing regimentation - though initially I talked about it a little bit (HERE, HERE, and HERE).

I have severe problems with the mental framework of regimentation, and this severely undermines the structural integrity of this project. What do I mean?

I have an inability to move from one task to the next during the day without carrying the worries of one to the next. I have problems delineating the line between work and relaxation. Lydia has repeatedly suggested I take up a hobby, but I’m largely incapable of doing something purely for the fun of it and not subsume it for some sort of larger project of mastery.

I also have great difficulty in properly planning out a week with tasks that need to be done. I often make the mistake of planning things out in terms of objectives that need to be completed, and biting off way more than I can chew. This results in immense frustration and tension.

For example, yesterday I took some time to plan out the next three weeks in regards to launching a new website. Today’s task was to format one draft of a post. Unfortunately various small bits of that work caused me great difficulty. Italics doesn’t show up properly. The post videos and photos don’t show up properly. I have to edit down the video using software I am not familiar with.

Because I’ve planned it like this the task becomes difficult to win. I’ve programmed goal-oriented thinking with process oriented thinking, which means failures at small points make me frustrated because I feel like I’m failing, and because of that ending time for work extends out for the entire day. And I end up collapsing, “failing”, giving up, but with immense mental self flagellation, which drains all my willpower, preventing me from having a “springiness” of self. It makes other tasks later in the week harder to start.

I just saw a meme about DragonBall Z:

It’s a funny Reddit meme about a fictional martial artist, but basically it illustrates training. Each part is incredibly important - not just the training, but the recovery time and “feeding the machine.” Arnold Schwarzenegger also advocates this in his autobiography. He trains hard, but he warns against grasping too hard. Worrying about tasks causes you to work against yourself - when he works he plays and has fun as well, which contributed in his successes.