"eat vegetables and exercise regularly" type of advice

@aaaaasaysreinstateMonica yep, basics

it doesn't work though

@aaaaasaysreinstateMonica sure it does, thats why people do it.... this issue is just laziness and lack of focus which we'll all lapse into without self discipline.

One simple technique is to use a loud alarm clock and leave it out of reach of the bed.

@aaaaasaysreinstateMonica - "eat vegetables" advice or perhaps just "it's time to be an adult" type of advice.

I mean, the alternative is to stick only to jobs where being on time and reliable doesn't matter. And that's a tiny paddling pool compared to "normal" jobs.

@thursdaysgeek behavioral change is a bit more complicated than that

it;s complicated if you analyse and make it a big issue. Pretty simple if you flag that and just do it like everyone else. Assuming OP went to school as a kid he's done it before. Just now he has to hold his own hand.

Don't hang with friends or watch movies on the last night of the weekend. If you're in bed and can't sleep, read a few pages in a book that's sort of interesting but not so exciting that you have to finish it that night.

If a person without legs complains about not being able to walk the stairs, would you call him/her "lazy" or without "discipline"?

@AndreasRejbrand something tells me that if the op wasn't being enabled by a lack of consequences this magical "disability" would miraculously disappear

@eps: Could well be the case.

@AndreasRejbrand You can't learn how to grow replacement legs. You absolutely can learn to change your own behavior. Might there be some legit medical reason for the OPs issues? Possibly, but most likely its just a lack of self control.

@aaaaasaysreinstateMonica OP didn't mention medical issues in the question. Assuming them in the answer is inappropriate for Stack Exchange, and even more inappropriate to suggest that another answer is wrong for not making such an assumption. I would even suggest that the combination of this answer and your answer provide a comprehensive plan.

@Clay07g could you point me where community discussed "Assuming them in the answer is inappropriate for Stack Exchange" ?

A medical condition would have shown up long ago and been mentioned in lieu of the laziness, but in any case I just answer the question posed, not make up my own. This question was very straightforwards.

@aaaaasaysreinstateMonica It's inappropriate everywhere. If someone asks you "How do I climb stairs?", the answer isn't "Consider consulting a orthotist because you might need prosthetic legs". Well, I guess that's technically a true answer, but it's not very comprehensive.

This is too high level advice, and as such totally useless. It tells me that you, and all these upvoters, don't understand the problem OP is facing. Lucky you, I guess.

@hyde yep it may be useless as everyone has to work this out on their own. It's not difficult, but the will has to be there. No amount of detailed advice makes up for lack of self discipline. So that needs to be solved, after which most of the OP's life problems will probably solve themselves.

@Kilisi I get the feeling you've never had to deal with a medical issue that would result in something like this. It's rather frustrating, and saying that it's just a question of willpower is hurtful. Also, unless you're a sleep specialist, I don't think you're justified in saying that a medical issue would have been identified earlier. There are plenty of variables that can mask something like that for years.

To the question "I'm not doing well at this thing, how can I improve?" the response "Improve" is about as constructive as children on video games telling each other to "git gud".

See also this Q&A

I'm not a therapist or mental health expert, if you are, feel free to downvote and construct your own answer.

Why is this on the Low Quality Post Queue ? If you disagree, as said by @Kilisi, feel free to downvote

@LioElbammalf no, the answer is "prepare, repeat and force yourself when necessary". Fundamentally that's the only way to improve at anything.

@freakish "fundamentally the only way to improve" would be synonymous with "Improve" - one just uses more words to sound like it carries more meaning.

@LioElbammalf what? Since when these are synonymous? It is your comment that carries no meaning. We learn habits our whole life by repetition. We also change them by repetition. Sometimes it is hard, sometimes not possible. Either way that's how neural networks work. Maybe some day we'll have a magic "turn me into a superhuman" pill, but not today.

@freakish If there is only one way to achieve something ("fundamentally the only way") then saying "Improve" and saying "Do this thing that is the only way to improve" are the same summation of the provided answer. Your comment just seems to support what I initially said - I don't see where your "no" comes into things.

@LioElbammalf Yes, the provided answer is correct. The only way to improve is to try to improve. The only way to learn speaking is to try to speak. The only way to learn riding is to try to ride. The only way to learn maths is try maths. The only way to learn to get up at 7am is to try to get up at 7am every day. You misunderstand the outcome (improvement) with the process (prepare and repeat, often fail but still continue). These are not the same things.

@freakish There is a difference between correct and useful. At no point did I say there was any false information in the answer, only that it provided no real constructive advice. If you ask me how to get better at riding your bike and I tell you to do it by riding the bike (or "Sit in the saddle and move your legs with your feet on the peddles" if you want more words involved) I've not said anything wrong but neither have I said anything useful.

@LioElbammalf this is extremely useful. Mostly because it destroys the naive view that there are magic ways to improve. There are none. There's only hard work. And lots of time needed.

And what is really not useful is everything you've said so far.