Sounds like you're a very intelligent guy that has always relied on an external fix for productivity. In my experience, productivity can only be consistently generated through discipline and habit formation. Nootropics and modafinil might be a healthier alternative to your previous drug usage but even those are a band-aid solution to a more chronic problem. Someone recently told me that they reached a crisis in their life when they weren't producing to their desired level (creative field-cinematography) and that their perfectionist tendencies further prevented them from producing before they fixed all the minutiae. He wasted months in a vicious cycle of perfectionism and procrastination. In retrospect, he said he should have plowed through the resistance and that the work itself would've cured any of the original stagnation. I know your post was asking how to be more productive but I had a moment of fruition when I realized that the work itself was often the fix. So arranging your daily routine to maximize your productivity can often break through these barriers. Anyways here are some things that've helped me..
-Gain momentum in the morning via small victories. Take a cold shower, chug a liter of water with a shot of ACV
-Put yourself in an environment to get work done. Leave your house, go to the local library, starbucks etc.
-Ketogenic/Intermittent Fasting diet. For some reason, I feel more cerebral during diets with long fasting periods.
-Daily exercise. Either first thing in the morning or as a midday study/work break. I have more raw energy in the morning (even though I'm not a morning person) and it feels like a waste for me to spend that time working out but alas some people seem to get utility from it.
-Meditate. I do Wim Hof breathing exercises for ~5min, which clears my mind and allows me to dive deep into 5 minutes of subsequent meditation.
-Bright Light Therapy. Reset your circadian rhythm and wake up earlier. Although you still sleep the same number of hours/day, getting up earlier somehow seems to increase my productivity.
-Keep an excel chart with <5 items to accomplish each day. Fill in the squares red/green depending on if you accomplished them. This helps you visualize your productivity and often is sobering in how little you get done. For example, my columns are 8 hours of sleep, wake up by 7am, gym, and study 4-5 hours.
-Gain momentum in the morning via small victories. Take a cold shower, chug a liter of water with a shot of ACV
-Put yourself in an environment to get work done. Leave your house, go to the local library, starbucks etc.
-Ketogenic/Intermittent Fasting diet. For some reason, I feel more cerebral during diets with long fasting periods.
-Daily exercise. Either first thing in the morning or as a midday study/work break. I have more raw energy in the morning (even though I'm not a morning person) and it feels like a waste for me to spend that time working out but alas some people seem to get utility from it.
-Meditate. I do Wim Hof breathing exercises for ~5min, which clears my mind and allows me to dive deep into 5 minutes of subsequent meditation.
-Bright Light Therapy. Reset your circadian rhythm and wake up earlier. Although you still sleep the same number of hours/day, getting up earlier somehow seems to increase my productivity.
-Keep an excel chart with <5 items to accomplish each day. Fill in the squares red/green depending on if you accomplished them. This helps you visualize your productivity and often is sobering in how little you get done. For example, my columns are 8 hours of sleep, wake up by 7am, gym, and study 4-5 hours.