The four keys to success

Motivation, productivity, efficiency, and getting things done—there, I’ve gone and spoiled the punchline in the first sentence.

These are four attributes that you’d expect to find in an educational establishment as prestigious as Duke University. Sadly, you don’t. Studies have told us that twenty percent of Americans are chronic procrastinators. It would seem that procrastination is king and productivity is not prioritized. However, let me be clear. This is not a critique. At most, it is a mild rebuke, because we have all felt it: the energy drain of exhaustion and boredom that makes focusing on work incredibly difficult and makes productivity next to impossible. The energy drain makes procrastination a friend who will save you from work by providing entertainment in its place. I understand that. I also understand, though, that there are people who want to be motivated and efficient and productive, but just don’t know how.

“Wait… Aren’t we all born knowing how to motivate ourselves? Born knowing how to stay on task, get things done and be efficient?” No. Of course we aren’t. We aren’t robots, brought into the world preprogrammed to work nonstop until we’re shut down. We’re just people. As with all skills, we must learn how to stay motivated, how to maintain productivity and how to overcome the deadly drain of energy that accompanies hard focus and attention. We must learn to harness the four keys to success. That’s what this column will explore.

My tagline, “simplifying success,” underlines my core belief. While success is hard to define, the road to success can be broken down into a few, much simpler steps. If you can stay motivated, automate productivity, develop the skill of efficiency and constantly get things done, then success is an inevitable byproduct. It’s a winning formula. Whatever your goals are, I have no doubt that they can be achieved by finding those four attributes within yourself and your life.

Still, while we’ve broken down success into several, more accessible, categories, those broad subheadings are each challenging in their own right. Each deserves individual attention. My goal is to share with you, my readers, whatever tips, tricks, hacks and facts I come across in my wanderings to help you move toward these ideals.

I've happened to align my passions with activities that are conducive to finding the sort of discoveries worth sharing. I write every day, which teaches me more and more about dedication to myself and my work. I try (and often fail) to go to the gym on a regular basis, which instills motivation to work through present pain for future rewards. Reading, my nerd hobby of choice, is perfect for mining nuggets of golden advice in the form of quotable quotes and for discovering the character traits of successful people. I’ve developed many simple systems to try to give myself the most chances to be my best self, and these are the results. I don’t have all the answers, but I'm learning a lot.

To people who say that motivation is something to be sought inside oneself, I will say that sometimes you just need a little extra push, something tangible, to start doing your work. Maybe a little trick or helpful reminder to slip into the productivity mindset. That’s what I hope to help provide, to share the perspective of someone who has nothing better to do than learn exactly how to achieve his goals.

Jack Dolinar is a Trinity sophomore.

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