The Lean Discipline: How to Boost Productivity Without Relying on Motivation

In 2013, Lia Grimanis from Canada set the world record by pulling a 7,711 kg (17,000 lbs) truck for a distance of 30.48 meters (100 feet).

In 2023, Jordan Steffens from Australia broke a new record by pulling a hydraulic crane weighing 20,300 kg (44,753 lbs) for a distance of 5 meters (16.4 feet).

But, in 2009, Kevin Fast from Canada had already pulled a military CC-177 Globemaster III airplane, weighing an incredible 188.83 tonnes (416,299 lbs) for a distance of 8.8 meters (28.9 feet), setting one of the most iconic strength records.

How is this possible?

The secret must be motivation and willpower, right?

Wrong.

There’s something much simpler behind these feats.

Without it, none of them would have succeeded.

In fact, with enough of this, even I, with very little motivation, could pull all three vehicles stacked on top of each other.

What is it?

Wheels and a nearly frictionless surface.

If I had enough wheels under those vehicles and there was little friction between them and the ground, I could pull all those vehicles together with one hand.

I’m not exaggerating.

Now, I don’t want to downplay what these people achieved.

Under the conditions they had, these were incredible accomplishments.

But they wouldn’t have been able to do it without this "trick".

Imagine Kevin trying to pull that airplane without wheels:

The fuselage scraping the ground, creating huge friction.

He wouldn’t have moved the plane even a few centimeters.

Now, imagine me standing on solid ground, pulling a plane with lots of wheels, on an icy, slippery runway.

Under those conditions, I could pull the plane easily.

But what does this have to do with discipline? And what is "Lean Discipline"?

Let me explain.

Discipline is doing the tasks you know you need to do, even when you don’t feel motivated.

Lack of discipline is when, because of reasons like 'laziness or lack of motivation', you don’t do those tasks, even though you know you should.

Think of these tasks as a block.

Doing the task means moving the block from point A to point B.From phase 1 to phase 2.

It means getting the task done.

The effort you put into this task is your motivation, your determination.But, the more friction there is, the harder — or even impossible — it becomes to move that block.

That’s why you need to put "wheels" on your task.

Or remove the obstacles creating friction.

You need to make the task easier so that your limited motivation is used more efficiently.

You don’t want to wear yourself out pushing a block that could move much easier if you worked on the conditions around the task.

Many coaches and gurus fill your head with the idea that motivation is everything.

That motivation is the most important thing.

Yes, motivation is important.

And yes, there are ways to increase your motivation.

But the truth is, your motivation has a limit.

If you use your limited motivation on tasks full of friction, you’ll run out of energy for other important things.

Putting wheels on your tasks means planning and organizing them to make them easier.

Removing the mud from the road involves other tactics.

Many of them are dopaminergic.

Dopamine: The Molecule That Controls You

These tactics help remove the laziness from your subconscious.

They remove the anchor your subconscious mind uses to avoid tasks.

Because when you’re on autopilot, your subconscious will try to keep you away from those tasks.

So, besides making the task easier, you need to make it easy for your subconscious to want to do it.

That way, even when you’re on autopilot, you’ll be more disciplined and more productive.

And if you don’t yet understand what I mean by subconscious and autopilot, I’ll cover this in more detail in future articles.

But, James, how do I put wheels on my tasks and remove the friction?

Great question!

I’ll be bringing you many strategies that you can implement in your day-to-day life.

They will help you be more disciplined with less effort.

And also make sure your effort is directed in the right place.

Will all the strategies I bring here work for you?

Not necessarily. Nobody is the same.

But you will find many that will indeed work for you.

And some might even work better for you than they did for me.

You will need to be your own lab.

You’ll need to test, quickly and easily, which strategies work best for you.

I’ll share strategies that I can’t live without.

Strategies that work great for me.

But I’ll also share some that didn’t work so well for me,  but worked incredibly well for others.

Yet, they might be perfect for you and your situation.

And all this with zero mysticism.

Zero fluff.

It’s all science: biology, neuroscience, anthropology, and behavioral economics.

Backed by facts, good sources, and books that are current and insightful.

So, to summarize:

Disciplined action is more about removing friction than relying on motivation.

Put wheels on your tasks — plan and organize them to make them easier.

And remove the mud from the road.

Leave the road polished to fight the laziness of your subconscious.

Because when you’re on autopilot, your subconscious will try to stop you from being productive.

And trust me, I’ll show you how it works:

You, me, and everyone else are on autopilot most of the time.

That’s just how the human brain works.

You can’t change that, but you can definitely work around it.

If you leave the road clear and well-prepared, even on autopilot you’ll be more disciplined.

And remember: I’m not here to pull you out of your comfort zone.

I’m here to help you build a new, more comfortable, disciplined, and productive zone.

Subscribe and stay tuned, as I’ll be going into more detail on these strategies in the next articles.