17 Apps, 23 Books and a Burnout Later: Why Discipline Is the Wrong Game

Published on Juli, 9. 2025 by Niko Fischer

3 AM. Laptop open. "Getting Things Done" lies open beside me, "Atomic Habits" covered in Post-its next to it. Just installing app number 17.

"More discipline," whispered a voice in my head. "Optimize harder. Track more. Plan perfectly."

€487 spent on apps. Countless self-optimization books. Pomodoro timers, time-blocking, habit-stacking – I had tried everything.

Result? Burnout. And the feeling of never being enough.

Then I realized: Discipline was never the solution. It was the problem.

The Optimization Spiral That Nearly Destroyed Me

As a software entrepreneur since 2007, I thought I understood productivity. Professionally, I coordinated teams, managed million-dollar projects, met deadlines. Everything worked.

But privately? Complete chaos.

My personal to-do list grew longer every day. Important emails stayed unanswered for days. Personal projects fizzled out after a few days.

"You need a system," I thought. So the hunt began.

The Book Collection of a Desperate Man:

• Getting Things Done (David Allen) – had been on my nightstand for 2 years
• Atomic Habits (James Clear) – was supposed to change my life, and it did, just not positively
• Deep Work (Cal Newport) – read while superficially testing 5 apps simultaneously
• The 4-Hour Workweek (Tim Ferriss) – led to 12-hour optimization days
• Eat That Frog (Brian Tracy) – I ate more frogs every day but never felt full

The Method Graveyard:

• Pomodoro Timer: 25 minutes of stress, 5 minutes of guilt
• Time-Blocking: Perfect plans for an imperfect life
• Habit-Stacking: 17 new habits that all failed after 3 days
• GTD: More time for the system than for the work
• Eisenhower Matrix: Important vs. Urgent – but what about "Human"?

Every new method brought the same message: "You just need to want it more. More discipline. More willpower."

The Moment Everything Became Clear

Then, on a particularly frustrating Tuesday, something strange happened.

I sat in my office, staring at my private to-do list with 23 unfinished tasks, feeling like a complete failure.

At the same time, my business was running like clockwork. Three projects simultaneously, all on schedule. My team was motivated, clients were satisfied.

The irony was perfect: Professionally productive like Swiss clockwork, privately chaotic like a teenager's room.

Then came the thought that changed everything:

"What's the difference between my business and my private life?"

The answer was so simple that I had overlooked it for years:

At work, I was never solely responsible.

• Projects were shared
• Deadlines were discussed together
• Progress was communicated
• Problems were solved together
• Successes were celebrated

Privately, I was optimizing myself to death – alone.

The 3 Insights That Set Me Free

1. Discipline Is a Warning Signal, Not the Solution

Every time someone says "discipline," your alarm bells should ring.

Discipline is what you need when you're doing the wrong thing in the wrong way.

Example: I needed "discipline" to wake up at 5 AM every morning and read for 2 hours. Why? Because I was too tired in the evening, because I had procrastinated unproductively all day, because I had overwhelmed myself with 17 apps.

The truth: People who have genuine joy in their work don't need discipline. They need breaks.

2. Every Method That Isolates You Makes You Less Effective

Look at every productivity method:

• GTD: You alone with your perfect system
• Pomodoro: You alone with your timer
• Time-Blocking: You alone with your calendar
• Habit-Tracking: You alone with your app

See the pattern?

200,000 years of evolution have optimized your brain for cooperation. Not for solo optimization.

3. Your Brain Is Built for Community, Not Self-Optimization

Here's where it gets scientific:

Humans never hunted alone. Never built cities alone. Never solved problems alone.

Why should we suddenly be productive alone?

Your brain is programmed to:

• Share responsibility
• Communicate progress
• Seek and give help
• Celebrate successes together

Every productivity method that isolates you fights against 200,000 years of evolution.

Spoiler: You will lose.

The Liberation: How I Stopped Optimizing Myself

The turning point came when I asked a simple question:

"What if I stop optimizing myself and start helping others?"

Instead of "redesign website," I wrote: "Show Tim my new website and ask for feedback."

Instead of "write business plan," it became: "Talk to Sarah about her startup experiences."

Instead of "develop workout routine," it became: "Go jogging with Marcus."

The result?

• No more procrastination
• No more guilt
• No more 3 AM optimization sessions
• And paradoxically: Got more done than ever before

Why did this work?

Because my brain finally got what it needed: Real human connections instead of perfect systems.

What This Means for You

You're not unproductive. You're not undisciplined. You're not broken.

You're lonely.

The productivity industry has sold you the idea that you have a problem. But the problem is the system, not you.

Here's the uncomfortable truth:

• Discipline makes you sick
• Optimization isolates
• Perfection paralyzes
• Systems don't replace people

Here's the liberating truth:

• You're already good enough
• "Good enough with people" beats "perfect alone"
• Your brain works correctly – it just needs community
• Real productivity doesn't feel like a fight

The Path to Relaxed Productivity

I'm currently building something that implements these insights. It's called PYNGUP and it does the opposite of everything I learned in 23 books:

Instead of perfect plans: Simple tasks you share with others
Instead of discipline: Social commitments that feel natural
Instead of optimization: Human connections
Instead of isolation: Community

Sounds too simple? That's exactly what I thought too.

Until I stopped thinking complicated and started acting human.

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If you're also tired of apps, books, and methods that don't work: You're not alone. And that's already the first step to the solution.

I'm transparently documenting more about my journey from self-optimization to social productivity here on nikofischer.com. Because building in public is better than perfect plans.

P.S.: The 17 apps? All deleted. The 23 books? Gave them away. The feeling of never being enough? Gone.

What remains: The realization that people are more important than methods.

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Share this article with someone who's also tired of the optimization spiral. Sometimes all it takes is one person saying: "You're not the problem." 🤝