After a conversation here with another HN user[0], I'd like to ask high-performers how it is they do what they do.

First, what do I mean by "high-performer": someone who is doing what seems like two or more full-time tasks during their everyday life. In the case of [0] the user in question is a dad, full time at school, and has a full time job.

Second, by "how you do what you do" I mean: when it comes down to the point of action how do you move into an action? When does the choice happen? Did you offload that to a list a week prior? How do you handle feeling overwhelmed? Do you even have a sense of overwhelm when moving in to an arbitatrary task? Do you feel exhausted or mentally non-functional with any frequency? What does your sleep, food, and exercise routine look like? Do you meditate?

I just want to know if I'm lacking something fundamental: something physical (chemical imbalance? gut microbiome?), some lack of character development (do I lack "grit"? am I undisciplined?), or something else entirely.

In the case of the conversation in [0], the user has some external motivation; having faced death by cancer, he now wants to live his best life possible. Is this something I can apply to myself? I ponder death on a regular basis (2 to 4 nights a week, not in a sense of suicide, but considering my own mortality), and that doesn't seem to have the same sort of effect.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19357028