The Chaos of Freedom: When a Lack of Daily Structure Breeds Procrastination and Anxiety.

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Picture this: You've finally achieved it – the dream of working from home, being the captain of your own ship, the master of your time. The world is your oyster, and every moment of every day is yours to command. 

Blissful, right?

Wrong.

Without structure, this so-called "freedom" can quickly descend into an abyss of procrastination, mood swings, and a nagging sense that you're always behind the curve. 

Here's the gritty breakdown of a day without structure:

Morning - The Land of Lost Intentions

You wake up without an alarm, because, why would you need one? You’re finally your own boss!

The morning stretches lazily ahead, with a nebulous list of tasks floating somewhere in your mind. You start with a 'quick' glance at your phone, and before you know it, an hour has passed in the blink of a tweet. Breakfast becomes brunch, and then suddenly, it's noon.

Afternoon - The Swamp of Stagnation

Feels like that brunch was a bit much, and you recall an article someone once mentioned about the benefits of afternoon naps. A 'quick' power nap would be good, but you feel too guilty to go for it, so you just scroll the social media for a bit.

Next time you look through the window, the sun is on its descent, and a sense of panic sets in.

You hurriedly jump into a task but get side-tracked by the dishes in the sink, or that one email you remember you had to reply to.

OK, back to work. Just a quick wee fist, so you don’t get distracted later. On the way to the bathroom you notice your plants could use some water?

Evening - The Valley of Regret

The evening looms, and a strange melancholy sets in.

You think about all the things you could've achieved and the progress that could've been made. The absence of tangible accomplishments gnaws at you, inducing stress. You know you've been busy, but with what? 

The evening seems like a graveyard of wasted opportunities.

Night - The Plains of Anxiety

You try to salvage the day, working late into the night. 

The quiet hum of the night feels both soothing and distressing. As fatigue sets in, you're caught in a loop of despair, wondering why every day feels like a hurdle rather than a victory.

You decide to go to bad, but somehow can’t fall asleep, as your mind is racing with ideas and stuff you should have done.

For years, this is how most of my days looked like.

Now, let's drill down into the core of the issue.

Lack of Structure: The Silent Saboteur

When we don’t structure our days, especially in a work-from-home setting, we’re essentially handing the reins over to the whims of the moment. 

That "freedom" morphs into a treacherous terrain of endless distractions. 

• Without clear boundaries and schedules, the day loses its shape, and tasks stretch infinitely, filling whatever time you allot them (thank you, Parkinson’s Law).

• In the absence of outside accountability, there's nothing to keep the brain's penchant for immediate gratification in check. Every distraction becomes a siren call, luring you away from the shores of productivity.

And it’s not just about wasted time. 

An unstructured day is a recipe for a mental roller-coaster.

The sporadic rushes of dopamine from distractions are shadowed by dips in mood when the realization of lost time hits.

Freedom without structure is chaos in disguise. 

It's the perfect storm for procrastination, mood swings, and that relentless feeling of chasing one's tail. 

Especially when working from home, where the lines between work, rest, and play are inherently blurred, structure isn't a luxury—it's a necessity. 

Sexy? Hardly.

Necessary? Only if you want to achieve something!

So, before you toast to the freedom of being your own boss, remember: with great power comes the even greater responsibility of setting up a damn good schedule.

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one." -Mark Twain

I'm creating a course for Ambitious Procrastinators Creative Solopreneurs, who are brimming with ideas, but lacking in execution.

To move you stuff from your 'one day' pile to 'day one' and then 'done'.

• get clarity

• manage procrastination

• resistance, overthinking

• develop bias toward action

• manage distractions

  Subscribe now and get a front row access when it’s ready!