How to be more disciplined without becoming a robot

In the wild paradise of the internet, there's always some guru saying that waking up at 5am and taking a cold shower is the secret to success. And if there's one thing that's trending, it's productivity - as well as its cousin, the notorious burnout.

In the theatre of modern life, being disciplined has become a violent sport - almost a competition over who can ignore their human desires the most in the name of high performance.

Imagine a world where you wake up at 5.15am, drink a green juice or bulletproof coffee and run 10 kilometres while listening to a podcast about ‘quantum productivity’. If that sounds like a dream come true, congratulations! You've just wished you were in machine mode, where even your leisure time is timed to generate ‘existential efficiency’ reports.

The irony? Discipline is indeed necessary for life, but our society has taken this idea and started selling it in the best ‘life hacks’ style, all at a modest price, of course.

It sounds very practical and pretty, but come on, capitalist grasshopper. Before you turn into a caffeine- and spreadsheet-fuelled automaton, let's philosophise a little about how to tame this beast of discipline without having to sell your soul to the god of unbridled profit.

Being disciplined and productive is perfectly possible, even better it's achievable and you won't need to become a cyborg programmed by some coach in a tight shirt. All without a nervous breakdown and even without having to read ‘The Magic of the Morning’, thinking it was a divine revelation (my own experience). Yes, even if nobody tells you, there is a middle ground between absolute laziness and the cult of high performance, and all without turning our lives into an eternal episode of ‘Black Mirror’.

Let's start by poking - very lightly - at the wound of the status quo.

The Great Misunderstanding: Discipline ≠ Modern Slavery

Let's say the word discipline has been hijacked. In the past, philosophers like Aristotle saw discipline as a path to virtue - the ethos of those who sought excellence (not followers). Today, it's been repackaged and has become synonymous with working until you're sick or die. (Ps: That's not discipline, it's alienation with a productivity filter, hint hint).

Disciplining yourself isn't about becoming an efficient machine, it's about building an honest relationship with yourself. It's more about self-mastery and less about self-exploitation.

Simone de Beauvoir said that ‘...freedom is the act of choosing oneself at every moment...’ - that, ladies and gentlemen, is discipline and not chaining oneself to a toxic productivity agenda. It's consciously deciding where we're going to invest our time, our focus and our energy.

How to have more Discipline: The Dilemma between Zen and Corporate Zombie

The problem today is that we have come to confuse discipline with obedience. Obedience is a slave; discipline is free.

Thinkers like Michel Foucault have already warned us about the techniques of power that discipline includes. These techniques are subtle forms of control that we internalise and that shape our behaviour. Discipline, in this context, can be seen as a technology of power that is imposed on us, domesticating us for the proper functioning of society.

But what if we could subvert this logic? What if discipline were a tool for personal liberation, a means of achieving our own goals, detached from the incessant pursuit of capital accumulation?

Nietzsche, with his usual audacity, told us about the ‘will to power’, not as domination of others, but as the driving force for self-overcoming. Genuine discipline, therefore, would not be imposed from outside, but would emanate from an internal desire to grow, to conquer oneself. It's the difference between being a robot programmed to obey and an artist who sculpts his own life with care and dedication.

Of course, this idea wouldn't have gone down too well in the factories of the 19th century, where workers learnt to dance to the music of the machines - today, choreographies are made for engagement metrics. The school? Nothing more than an assembly line for ‘useful minds’.

Simone de Beauvoir already spoke brilliantly about freedom as a constant project, a daily ethical construction. In this spirit, discipline isn't a prison, it's a bridge. Between what you want to be and what you're willing to do to get there.

You don't have to wake up at 5am. But you could stop scrolling through your social media feed until dawn, the meaning of your life won't appear in the next story.

The Invisible Monster

You know him well, maybe you're even him - sometimes - you just don't realise it.

You're the one who wakes up to one or more annoying alarms - and who presses ‘snooze mode’ several times before getting up and is already listening to a productivity podcast while in the bathroom, then answering emails or scrolling through social media while munching on an isolated protein bar and treating any form of rest as a moral failing and useless ‘for not doing anything’.

a cybernetic-looking woman holds a cup of coffee

That robot is the legitimate child of a society that has convinced you that your only function on this planet is to produce. Not to reflect. Not to feel. Not to create. Just produce, easy to understand and execute. You're just another member of the Borg collective. It lives in us whenever we feel guilty about resting and when we look at a beautiful sunset while thinking ‘I should be doing something useful with my life’.

Let me tell you something, this thought is not yours, but that of people who monetise your attention, your anxiety and your time. Exaggeration? Read on.

Visions of Discipline

Simone de Beauvoir, with her lucid analysis of the female condition, showed us how social structures often impose invisible disciplines on us, limiting our choices and moulding us into predefined roles. Her quest for autonomy and freedom required relentless personal discipline, a refusal to bow to other people's expectations.

With his mathematical and philosophical ideas, Pythagoras spoke of the importance of order and harmony. He believed that discipline was something that extended far beyond the simple fulfilment of rules, something deeper that reflected our search for inner balance, the consistency between our thoughts and actions.

Stoicism, on the other hand, defended self-discipline as the road to virtue and acceptance of the things we can't control. Meanwhile, hedonism whispers in a hoarse voice that momentary and immediate pleasure is the only truly relevant goal.

The middle ground, as always, seems to be the ideal - and the most labour-intensive to achieve. We can seek pleasure, of course, but without it completely distracting us from our long-term goals. Let's say it's like eating half a tin of carrot cake with Belgian chocolate ganache icing at the weekend, knowing that we have an appointment with the dietician on Monday.

Behaviourism, with its reinforcement and punishment experiments, tries to condition us to desirable behaviours through rewards and corrections. But do we really want to be like Pavlov's puppies, salivating at the sound of the productivity bell? Genuine discipline comes from an internal understanding of why we do what we do, and not just from seeking an external reward.

Discipline and Freedom: An unlikely marriage?

The apparent contradiction between discipline and freedom is just that: apparent. Again using the Stoics as an example - especially Epictetus - who already taught us that true freedom comes from internal mastery. It's not about doing what you want and when you want, but knowing what's worth doing and standing firm, even - and especially - when no one is looking.

Virginia Woolf, at the height of her visceral writing, would say that you need ‘a room of your own’ - an internal space for reflection and choice, which can be summarised as space, time and silence.

Both Epictetus and Virginia were talking about the same thing in different ways: Structure as freedom, not prison.

Healthy discipline is an architecture of existence. A pact between you and your ability to create meaning, even in the midst of chaos.

But it's important not to fall into the trap of thinking that discipline and austerity are synonymous. In fact, all of this also boils down to healing our relationship with time. We should stop seeing the hours as coins and start seeing them as brushes.

Demystifying Self-Discipline

Discipline is that stubborn muscle you need to exercise. At first, it hurts, you sweat, you think a million times about giving up and maybe even cry a little in the foetal position. But with time and constant practice, it gets stronger, allowing you to lift heavier weights - metaphorically or literally, it depends - and all without your mental sanity ‘going to buy cigarettes and never coming back’.

Therefore, being disciplined - in my experience - means being consistent with your own objectives, not those of your company's HR department or those of other people. It's having the courage to choose a comfortable and constant cadence in a world that values erratic haste. It's sleeping eight or nine hours a night with your mobile phone in aeroplane mode. It's reading at least 10 pages of a book without checking your mobile every three minutes.

a woman sitting in a crowd reading a book

Real discipline is subversive. Because it implies self-knowledge, and self-knowledge is the most dangerous weapon against a system that wants us alienated, tired and sick.

Practices & Tips for Loose Discipline (all without having to become a Drone)

Let's get down to business. Here are several (not so) secret practices that I've sought out, studied and practised - some to this day, not only on how to have more discipline, but also on how to optimise it.

Choose the one(s) that make the most sense to you and just go!

Be wary of productivity gurus: they profit from your insecurity. If someone promises that your life will change in 7 steps (with or without a planner), run. Life is more chaotic than that, and what works for one person may not work for the rest of the population. Remember: Buddha learnt to meditate without needing an online course, so you can too.
Define your ‘whys’ clearly: why do you want to be more disciplined? If the answer is just ‘to make money and impress my neighbours’, perhaps you lack a deeper purpose.
Set priorities that make sense to you: not to your boss. Not for your husband/wife/children, in other words, no-one but YOU.
Start small, think big (but don't put too much pressure on yourself at first): don't try to run a marathon on the first day. Start with small, achievable goals and gradually increase them.
Have a routine, but treat it as an outline, not a court judgement: flexibility is also discipline. Rigidity is the fastest way to giving up.
Manage your distractions (unless they're really fun): identify what prevents you from concentrating (social media, side conversations, the rambling of your own mind) and find strategies to deal with it.
Avoid multitasking like avoiding a financial pyramid scheme - unless you REALLY have the capacity to do it: doing everything at the same time is the shortest route to doing nothing properly.
Include rest as part of the process, not as a reward: rest is not a reward. It's a physiological, mental, emotional and creative need. Use the Pomodoro technique with wine: work for 25 minutes, rest for 5 and on the fifth cycle replace the coffee with wine, for example.
Embrace the art of saying ‘no’: saying no to useless meetings and other things we don't want or need (including people) is like saying ‘no’ to an overdose of sugar - it hurts at first, saves later.
Use technology to your advantage (without becoming a slave to it): there are many applications and tools that can help you organise your progress. But remember, they are tools, not masters.
Practise mindfulness and self-care (broken robots don't produce): sleep well, eat real food and make time for activities that give you pleasure. Concentrate on your present, you don't need to become the Dalai Lama. You just need to be aware of where you are.
Create rituals (without falling into neurosis), not just tasks: Making coffee can be a ritual of focus. Writing can be a ritual of presence. Drinking coffee while reading a book is more effective than marking ‘read 10 pages’ in your diary. Rituals give meaning to actions and create pleasure in practice. And pleasure is addictive - or why do you think rituals are still used so much in religions and so on? Rituals are sacred, routines are bureaucratic. Use this to your advantage.
Let go of the lash of penance, be comfortable with inconstancy and allow yourself to fail: Discipline is not linear. There will be good days and not so good days. The important thing is not to give up at the first slip, so train like a Zen monk, but allow yourself a lazy day. Even the samurai had days off.
Develop self-compassion (because you are not - yet - a superhuman, regardless of whether you think you are or try to be one): Be kind to yourself, especially in times of difficulty. Excessive self-criticism is paralysing.
Deal with procrastination as a symptom, not a character defect: You don't procrastinate because you're lazy. Maybe it's fear, or insecurity, or tiredness, or even boredom... Investigate!
Reinterpret failure: You made a mistake? Good. Now you have data, not a reason to flagellate yourself.
Replace self-criticism with self-responsibility: ‘I only fuck up’ is self-punishment. ‘I made a mistake, I can do better’ is maturity. One phrase builds, the other destroys.
Embrace creative leisure: discipline lives where entertainment dies. Anyone who can't spend 10 minutes in silence with themselves is going to be held hostage by the algorithm. Uninstall social media. At least for a week. Go on, be strong. As Bertrand Russell once said: ‘Boredom is a breeding ground for ideas.’
Give the algorithm a holiday and give your intuition time: those who live by notifications become products. Silence your mobile phone and listen to yourself. Ps: You have really good ideas. So listen to yourself.
Have a greater motive than your bank account: goals motivated only by money or social validation become sand dripping through your fingers. Discipline requires purpose. Ask yourself: ‘What exactly do I want this for?’
Create micro-habits, not existential marathons: Don't try to become a Buddhist monk in 3 days. Start with 10 minutes of reading, 5 minutes of meditation, 2 minutes of conscious breathing. It's the accumulation of small actions that moves mountains.
Automate what doesn't matter, prioritise what moves you: Steve Jobs always wore the same clothes. Not because he was a Zen monk and certainly not because he couldn't afford to buy new ones, but because he understood that focus is a limited resource. Save your energy for creating, not for deciding between jeans or a sweatshirt.
Always doubt that ‘great is the enemy of good’: Perfection is a trap to justify burnout. Prefer ‘done, not perfect’ - even your coffee can be bad and still work.
Reward yourself without guilt, celebrate micro-victories, but in moderation: Celebrate your achievements, even the ones you consider small, this will help you reinforce positive habits. Finished an email without sending someone to hell? Congratulations. Only those who live/work with people know how much this counts as a victory.
Practise ‘cold ignition’: Start boring tasks without thinking and do them first. As Nietzsche would say: ‘Sometimes you have to jump into the abyss and discover that it is shallow’.
Mix work and pleasure (in moderation, of course): write reports while listening to heavy metal. Read a philosophy book in a pub. Chaos can be extremely productive. Just don't use it as an excuse for a lack of organisation in your home or acts of a sexual nature in public.
Cultivate discipline like a novel, not like a military regime: Discipline isn't something you impose, it's something you seduce. It's a daily flirtation with your best self, not a rallying cry.
Practise patience (discipline is a marathon, not a 100-metre race): Significant results take time. Don't get frustrated if you don't see changes overnight.
Find a ‘discipline partner’ (if you're the type who can stand the company of another person or who needs encouragement from someone): Sharing your goals with someone can help you stay motivated and accountable, BUT be absolutely careful with this. Choose someone you really trust and (preferably) who shares the same goal as you. Otherwise: Grow in silence! You don't have to tell anyone about your dreams, goals and plans.
Remember that your value doesn't lie in what you produce: you're valuable even if you spend the day staring at the ceiling, scratching your bum or even dragging chains around the house.

In Brief (for those who have just arrived and are too lazy)

Discipline isn't a lash, it's a compass. It serves to guide you, not punish you.

Being disciplined without becoming a slave to work is finding a balance between the pursuit of goals and respect for your own sanity. It's about using discipline as a tool to achieve what really matters to you, without letting yourself be consumed by the pressure of a system that often wants us to be mere production machines. It's about having focus, creating healthy habits and persisting, but it's also about knowing when to slow down and enjoy life.

Society tries to sell us the idea that discipline is synonymous with obedience - to something or someone. That's a lie. Real discipline is a silent rebellion against the tyranny of ‘I don't have time’.

Did you like the article?

Leave your comments, suggest topics, curse my analogies, send questions, share with friends who are slaves to planners... We'll read everything and respond with pleasure!

Oh, and if you're the more demanding type, more questioning, more off the beaten track, then hurry over to the UN4RT website - our backstage with even more daring and visceral content, made especially for those who won't swallow superficiality even with brown sugar.

Discipline, yes. Not alienation. Resist, be disciplined, but in your own way and with style!

Author's note: This article ‘wrote itself in my mind’ between 3am and 5am, with the help of mosquitoes buzzing in my ears, a cat fight at my window and a healthy hatred of my Notion idea organisation spreadsheets. Irony is never accidental - it's a survival technique.

‘Illusion crumbles when we question reality.’ - UN4RT

Ah, get the sources, references and inspirations out there, just don't bother!

Black Mirror, British television series that was bought by Netflix. It was created by Charlie Brooker and focuses on dark themes in a satirical way, where the main focus is modern society. In particular, it talks about how technology can turn our lives into a ‘high-tech nightmare’.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics.
Ethos, a word of Greek origin with a philosophical concept. It is defined as the set of characteristics and ways of being that define the character or identity of a group. For the ancient Greeks, this word originally meant the dwelling place of man, in other words, nature. Ethos is moulded through education, example and constant practice, which forms virtuous character.
Simone de Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity.
Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish e a The History of Sexuality.
Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Borg, ‘Resistance is futile’, a phrase known by the “species” of cybernetic organisms from the fictional Star Trek universe. They believe that the solution to all the universe's problems is to turn everyone into a robot with no opinion of their own.
Pythagoras of Samos, Greek philosopher and mathematician, founder of Pythagoreanism.
Stoicism, a philosophy that teaches us to live according to reason, seeking inner tranquillity by accepting what we cannot control, focussing on our reactions to adversity.
Hedonism, a philosophy that defends the pursuit of pleasure as the main goal in life.
Behaviorism, a psychological approach that focuses on the study of observable behaviour, rejecting the analysis of internal mental processes.
Pavlov's puppies, a reference to a famous experiment conducted by psychologist Ivan Pavlov, which demonstrated the principle of classical conditioning. In the experiment, Pavlov used a sound (bell-like) every time he offered food to a puppy. After several repetitions, the dog began to salivate only when it heard the sound of the bell, even if it didn't receive any food. This was because the sound was associated with food, and the dog began to automatically respond to the sound with salivation, without the need for the presence of food itself. This phenomenon showed how behaviour can be conditioned by associations with external stimuli.
Epictetus, The Handbook (Enchiridion).
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own.
Buddha, or Siddhartha Gautama, was an Indian prince who lived between the 6th and 5th centuries BC.
Dalai Lama, title given to the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, considered to be the incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in 1935 in Tibet and was recognised as the fourteenth incarnation of the Dalai Lama when he was two years old.
Bertrand Russel, The Conquest of Happiness.
Steve Jobs, was one of the founders of Apple Inc. He was widely known for his vision, perfectionism and his ability to anticipate market needs, as well as his insistence on simplicity and user experience.
Notion, productivity application that integrates various tools. Developed by Notion Labs Inc. and launched in 2016.