How are you burnt out when you’re barely making progress?

It’s not because you’re lazy.

It’s because you’re trapped in a system designed for failure. 

I know this because I once was as well.

I became a master of being busy without being productive. 

I ‘felt’ productive, but made no real progress. 

I spent over 90% of my free time on tasks that never moved the needle.

I say my “free” time because not all of my time is free. 

We all have to balance work, training, and relationships. 

But I always feel I need to do more. 

And I always find a way to do more. 

If you’re anything like me, then you know you can be doing more as well.

The challenge isn’t wanting to do more. 

The challenge is actually doing more in a world that is chaotic by default.

How many times have you had a perfect week, where you optimised your task completion down to the second? 

Zero? 

Me too.

We might never achieve that perfect week, but we can always get closer to it.

So get your notebook and a pen.

Take some notes on what I’m about to say. 

Structuring Your Goals

If you want to make real progress, stop relying on vague intentions. 

Structure your goals like this:

1️⃣ Write the goal. 

2️⃣ Write: “I will be on my way to achieving this goal by doing the following:” 

3️⃣ Write: “I will make it easier for myself to start making progress on this by:”

Let’s go through this together. Here are mine:

Goal 1: Make enough money so that I do not need to work full-time. I want to provide for my future family and live a fulfilling life. 

I will be on my way to achieving this goal by doing the following:

• Treating my content creation like a business, not a hobby. 
• Provide real value, not just dopamine.
• Iterate on content over time.
• Construct valuable, tangible products, both physical and digital, to help people who suffer from problems I have already solved.

I will make it easier for myself to start making progress on this by:

• Establishing a content creation and publishing workflow
• Dedicating blocks of time to deep-work throughout each day.
• Having small, achievable targets for content, business product creation and planning each day.

Goal 2:Achieve lifetime personal bests in health, fitness, strength, and boxing ability. 

I will be on my way to achieving this goal by doing the following:

• Giving myself weekly and monthly targets for training consistency, before setting targets for outcomes.
• Prioritising recovery when needed and not being hard myself if I don’t get stronger every week.

I will make it easier for myself to start making progress on this by:

• Laying out training clothes the night before so I eliminate the friction of deciding what to wear, and I can just put on the clothes and train.
• Starting off with slightly reduced volume and intensity of training to allow my body to adapt without getting too sore or tired.

Goal 3: Maintain strong relationships with the right people and let go of those who drain my energy.

I will be on my way to achieving this goal by:

• Being fully present when socialising. 
• Giving no time to people and things that actively detract from my progress and self-actualisation.

I will make it easier for myself to start making progress on this by:

• Being more vigilant with deep work in my own time so that I can switch off and not be mentally elsewhere when I’m with people I care about.
• Blocking off work sessions before social outings, so that when I step away, I know I’ve earned it.
• Stepping back for a brief period of time to re-evaluate which friendships and relationships are helping me, and which ones are hurting me.

So we’ve written out our goals, we know what progress will look like, and we know what we can do to help us get over that resistance of starting.

Sounds simple—because it is.

Why Do We Still Struggle to Execute?

We want to achieve these goals like our life depends on it—because it does.

So why do we still fall short?

The Psychology of Resistance

Your brain isn’t wired for success.

It’s wired for survival.

Success requires risk.

Your brain’s default setting is to avoid risk at all costs.

That’s why you procrastinate.

That’s why bad habits feel easier to maintain than good ones.

That’s why motivation alone will always fail.

Every time I tried to build new habits, I’d fall back into old patterns.

Until I realised this:

Your future is dictated by your systems, not your willpower.

Willpower is unreliable.

Motivation fades.

But systems make action automatic.

You don’t become disciplined by “trying harder.”

You become disciplined by making success easier than failure.

The System Test

If you want to train consistently, do you have your workout clothes laid out the night before?

If you want to eat clean, is your fridge stocked with the right food or filled with junk?

If you want to get more done, have you scheduled deep work time, or are you just hoping to “find time” somewhere in your chaotic day?

Here’s the hard truth:

You are perfectly optimised for your current level of success.

If you’re not making progress, it’s because your systems are designed for stagnation, not growth.

The Fix

The good news?

You can rebuild those systems.

Start today:

1️⃣ Identify one habit you want to improve.

2️⃣ Remove every friction point slowing you down.

3️⃣ Design your environment so the right action becomes automatic.

Because the difference between those who achieve their goals and those who don’t?

It’s not effort.

It’s execution.

And execution is built on systems.

Your Challenge:

Pick one system in your life that’s broken.

One habit you keep failing at.

Reply to this or drop a comment below with one system change you’re making today.

If you don’t know where to start, tell me your biggest struggle, and I’ll help you design a system that removes the friction.

But if you just read this and do nothing?

Nothing changes.

Your move.