How Swami Vivekananda Achieved More in a Day Than Most Do in a Lifetime
Riya Kumari | Jan 04, 2025, 18:19 IST
Time management is like that one coworker who’s always cheerful at 9 a.m.—maddeningly elusive and impossible to understand. You wake up swearing today will be different, but then life happens. The meetings drag, the laundry piles up, and suddenly, you're two hours deep into a YouTube rabbit hole titled "Top 10 Ways to Fold a Fitted Sheet.
While we’re over here barely treading water, Swami Vivekananda was out there dominating time like it was his personal chessboard. No apps, no planners, not even a “5 Steps to Productivity” blog post. Just raw focus, purpose, and a mindset so sharp it could probably cut through our procrastination like butter. What made him so good at this? And more importantly, how can we steal his playbook to reclaim the hours we lose to memes and mediocre coffee?
1. He Had a Laser-Sharp “Why”
Swami Vivekananda didn’t wake up every morning thinking, What should I do today? Nope. He knew his purpose: to spread knowledge, spirituality, and good vibes (paraphrasing here). While the rest of us are Googling “easy breakfast ideas,” he was busy transforming the spiritual landscape of an entire century. The takeaway? Find your why. No, not the superficial why, like “to pay rent” (although valid), but the deep, goosebump-inducing why that makes you leap out of bed. Or, at the very least, shuffle out semi-enthusiastically.
2. He Was Obsessed With Focus
Legend has it that Vivekananda once told someone, “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life—think of it, dream of it, live on that idea.” Meanwhile, we’re here trying to juggle 57 tabs on our browser and wondering why we feel perpetually frazzled. Here’s the mic-drop moment: multitasking is a scam. Vivekananda’s approach was single-minded focus. If he was writing, he wrote. If he was meditating, he meditated. And if he was inspiring a generation? Well, you know the rest.
3. He Understood the Value of Time
Vivekananda didn’t treat time like loose change at the bottom of a handbag. He saw it as sacred—every second a chance to create, learn, or elevate. Picture this: you’re at a party, awkwardly clutching a drink, and Vivekananda strolls in. He wouldn’t waste time asking, “So, what do you do?” He’d probably say something mind-blowing and leave you questioning your life choices. So, next time you’re about to spend 20 minutes debating which show to binge-watch, channel your inner Swami and ask, Is this how I want to spend my golden seconds?
4. He Didn’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Swami Vivekananda had bigger fish to fry than getting worked up about petty drama. Gossip? Irrelevant. Comparing himself to others? Not his vibe. He kept his energy for the things that truly mattered. Meanwhile, we’re out here agonizing over who viewed our Instagram stories and whether we used the right emoji in a text. The lesson? Save your energy. Reserve your brilliance for the stuff that counts.
5. He Walked the Talk
Here’s the thing about Vivekananda—he wasn’t just spewing wisdom like an inspirational Pinterest board. He lived it. His discipline, his focus, his ability to inspire—everything stemmed from his own way of being. Think about it. How many of us are guilty of saying, “I need to prioritize self-care,” and then immediately scrolling through memes at 1 a.m.? (It’s me. I’m guilty.) Swami Vivekananda was a walking TED Talk, long before TED Talks were a thing.
1. He Had a Laser-Sharp “Why”
Why
Swami Vivekananda didn’t wake up every morning thinking, What should I do today? Nope. He knew his purpose: to spread knowledge, spirituality, and good vibes (paraphrasing here). While the rest of us are Googling “easy breakfast ideas,” he was busy transforming the spiritual landscape of an entire century. The takeaway? Find your why. No, not the superficial why, like “to pay rent” (although valid), but the deep, goosebump-inducing why that makes you leap out of bed. Or, at the very least, shuffle out semi-enthusiastically.
2. He Was Obsessed With Focus
Goal
Legend has it that Vivekananda once told someone, “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life—think of it, dream of it, live on that idea.” Meanwhile, we’re here trying to juggle 57 tabs on our browser and wondering why we feel perpetually frazzled. Here’s the mic-drop moment: multitasking is a scam. Vivekananda’s approach was single-minded focus. If he was writing, he wrote. If he was meditating, he meditated. And if he was inspiring a generation? Well, you know the rest.
3. He Understood the Value of Time
Time
Vivekananda didn’t treat time like loose change at the bottom of a handbag. He saw it as sacred—every second a chance to create, learn, or elevate. Picture this: you’re at a party, awkwardly clutching a drink, and Vivekananda strolls in. He wouldn’t waste time asking, “So, what do you do?” He’d probably say something mind-blowing and leave you questioning your life choices. So, next time you’re about to spend 20 minutes debating which show to binge-watch, channel your inner Swami and ask, Is this how I want to spend my golden seconds?
4. He Didn’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Meditation
Swami Vivekananda had bigger fish to fry than getting worked up about petty drama. Gossip? Irrelevant. Comparing himself to others? Not his vibe. He kept his energy for the things that truly mattered. Meanwhile, we’re out here agonizing over who viewed our Instagram stories and whether we used the right emoji in a text. The lesson? Save your energy. Reserve your brilliance for the stuff that counts.
5. He Walked the Talk
Walk
Here’s the thing about Vivekananda—he wasn’t just spewing wisdom like an inspirational Pinterest board. He lived it. His discipline, his focus, his ability to inspire—everything stemmed from his own way of being. Think about it. How many of us are guilty of saying, “I need to prioritize self-care,” and then immediately scrolling through memes at 1 a.m.? (It’s me. I’m guilty.) Swami Vivekananda was a walking TED Talk, long before TED Talks were a thing.