Бесплатный фрагмент - Anti-Training

From the Author

Hello.

No one specifically planned this book. There was no goal to “write a bestseller.”

The idea for the book was born… in a group chat, after yet another “developmental” training. You know the ones: “Get up at 5 AM!”, “Become unstoppable!”, “1% every day!”, “You are a project that needs improvement!”

My colleagues and I returned from the conference room to our workstations — tired, slightly irritated, with a feeling that “we’ve been motivated again.”

Someone wrote in the chat: “Why aren’t there any ‘anti-trainings’? Where the main goal is to do nothing.”

Then colleagues started brainstorming the idea. Someone added: “A training on skill degradation. With a ‘Master of Laziness’ certificate.”, “A lecture: ‘How to Lose Concentration with Pleasure’.”

We laughed. Joked. Shared memes. But the more we wrote, the clearer it became: this is not a joke.

Then I thought: what if we base a book on these ideas? What if we make “anti-training” not a meme-joke, but a practice — the very one that brings back peace, ease, and the right to say “not now”?

I connected the collective mind of my colleagues and AI — and this book was the result.

Important: Anti-Training is not about abandoning all your tasks and lying on the couch for months (hello Ilya Ilyich Oblomov). It’s about reclaiming your right to pause, to recover, to choose. It’s a tool for those tired of the race, to find their own rhythm, not to lose it completely.

With warmth and gratitude to the colleagues with whom it all began, Ruslan
St. Petersburg, 2025

Introduction

Welcome to the liberation zone.

You don’t have to read this book to the end. You can put it down. Forget it. Come back in a month. Or never come back at all.

And that — will be a victory.

You Are Already Enough

If you’re holding this book in your hands or reading it on your smartphone screen — you’re probably tired of the endless “must,” feel guilty about resting, compare yourself to those who “get everything done,” try to “become better,” but feel like you’re becoming… emptier.

You are not alone — we all live in an era of total productivity culture.

Where what you do is valued more than who you are.

Where the measure of success is not joy, but KPIs.

Where rest is not a right, but an “investment in efficiency.”

Where “doing nothing” is not a state of being, but a diagnosis: “procrastination,” “laziness,” “burnout.”

But what if all of this is a lie?

What if you are not obliged to become better?
What if you don’t need to “get everything done”?
What if rest is not a recharge for new achievements, but an end in itself?

This book is not an instruction manual. Not a guide and not a system.

This is an invitation to stop.

What is “Anti-Training”?

“Anti-Training” is the deliberate, conscious, sometimes even theatrical violation of the rules of productivity culture.

It’s trainings on skill degradation, lectures on anti-motivation, practices of strategic inaction, meditations on the theme “I don’t owe anything,” final certification in the mastery of postponing tasks.

It’s philosophy, therapy, and rebellion in one bottle.

“Anti-Training” is not a refusal to develop. It’s a rethinking of what we used to call “development.”

Sometimes the most radical act of growth is to allow yourself not to grow.

What “Anti-Training” Definitely Is NOT

It is not laziness. Laziness is when you want to, but can’t. Anti-Training is when you can, but don’t want to. And you’re proud of it.

It is not procrastination. Procrastination is fleeing a task with a sense of guilt. Anti-Training is a conscious choice not to do it — without guilt.

It is not sabotage. Sabotage is destroying the system from within. Anti-Training is leaving the system. Simply. Quietly. With a blanket and a cup of tea.

And it is not a call to chaos. It’s a call to a natural rhythm — one that doesn’t fit into a Google Calendar.

Who Is This For?

You — if you feel guilty that “nothing is done.” If you set an alarm for 5 AM and then hate yourself for oversleeping. If you read self-development books… to feel worse. If you are tired of being “good,” “responsible,” “effective.”

This book is for those who want to reclaim their right to peace, spontaneity, meaninglessness, to simply being.

How to Read This Book (Hint: Don’t)

You can read it in order — if that makes you feel calmer. You can open it at random — like a mood capsule. You can not finish chapters — if you feel: “I’m fine as I am.” You can use it as a coaster for your cup — that’s therapy too.

The main rule of “Anti-Training”: there are no rules.

Exercise #0: “Stop. Right Now.”

1. Put the book down.

2. Stand up.

3. Stretch.

4. Look out the window.

5. Say out loud: “I give myself permission to do nothing.”

6. Wait 30 seconds.

7. Feel the tension leaving.

8. Smile — even if it feels awkward.

Only now — if you want — can you continue.

(If you don’t do this — no big deal. The rule is already broken. That’s the beginning.)

What Awaits You Inside

You will find here:

— A Diagnosis — how the culture of productivity broke you (and why it’s not your fault).

— Philosophy — from Taoism to Camus — why “non-action” can be the highest form of action.

— Practices — how to break your daily routine with pleasure, eat dessert first, and be consciously late.

— Rituals — to reclaim your right to peace, chaos, and simply living.

The Last Thing You Need to Know

This book will not make you better. It will remind you: you are already — a sufficient person.

Welcome to “Anti-Training.” You are already a winner — simply by being here.

The deepest transformation begins not with action — but with permission to do nothing.

Part I: DIAGNOSIS: “How Productivity Culture Broke You”

Chapter 1. You Are Not a Machine. Stop Treating Yourself Like One

You are not a mechanism. You are not a project. You are not a KPI. You are — a human being. And sometimes, the best self-care is to do nothing.

You Didn’t Break. You Were Broken

Imagine: you are a car. You are started every morning at 6:30. You are fueled with a “healthy breakfast.” You are directed along the route “work — gym — courses — sleep.” You are checked for “efficiency.” You are repaired when “productivity drops.” You are praised if you “drove further than others.” You are shamed if you “are standing still.”

Sound familiar?

Modern self-development culture has turned us into machines for producing achievements.

We read books to “maximize potential.” Listen to podcasts to “not waste time.” Set the alarm for 5 AM — to “get ahead of ourselves.” Record every minute in Notion — to “not miss the meaning.”

But here’s the catch: You are not a machine. You don’t have a “100% battery resource,” no “power-saving mode,” no “warranty period.”

You have a body that gets tired. A soul that wants to breathe. A mind that sometimes just wants to stare at the ceiling.

And that’s not a flaw, it’s a sign of life.

The Story of One Breakdown

The productivity culture didn’t appear out of nowhere. It grew out of the industrial era, where a person was indeed part of a mechanism:

— arrived on time,

— fulfilled the quota,

— didn’t get distracted,

— didn’t get sick,

— didn’t get tired.

Today, factories have become digital. Machines have become laptops. Foremen have become habit trackers. And the “production quota” has become personal quarterly goals.

We still live by an industrial calendar:

— Monday = start, — Friday = finish, — weekends = maintenance.

But nature doesn’t know Mondays. The body doesn’t know deadlines. The soul doesn’t know “annual plans.”

When you ignore this — you are not “disciplining yourself,” you are breaking yourself.

Why “Grow Every Day” is Violence

Have you ever been told:

“Grow every day!”

“Become 1% better!”

“Don’t allow yourself to stand still!”

It sounds inspiring. In practice — it’s a quiet form of violence.

Because:

— Nature doesn’t grow linearly. Trees don’t stretch upward every day. They sleep in winter. Bloom in spring. Rest in summer. Prepare in autumn. — The body doesn’t work without pauses. Muscles grow not during the workout, but during sleep. The brain learns not during a lecture, but during idleness. — The soul doesn’t develop on a schedule. Insights come in the shower, on a train, in silence, not on the “meditation 7:00” schedule.

When you demand constant growth from yourself — you are not “motivating.” You are executing yourself for the natural state of rest.

The Anatomy of the Word “Should”

The most toxic word in the language of self-development is “should.”

I should get up early. I should reply to the emails. I should finish the course. I should be productive. I should become better.

“Should” is an internal warden. It sits on your shoulder and whispers: “If you don’t do it — you’re bad. If you don’t manage — you’re weak. If you don’t grow — you’re a failure.”

But who gave it the right? Who appointed you an eternal debtor to the system, your career, Instagram gurus, parents, society?

No one.

The contract is considered signed — when someone believed that “must” is more important than “want.”

It’s time to terminate it.

Anti-Discipline as an Act of Mercy

Anti-Discipline is not laziness, not procrastination, not sabotage.

It is the conscious choice to stop being a mechanism.

It is allowing yourself to sleep through the alarm — and not scold yourself, not reply to an email — and not feel guilty, eat pizza for breakfast — and not consider it a “failure,” do nothing — and call it a “successful day.”

It is reclaiming your right to humanity.

Exercise: “Humanity Check”

Step 1. Close your eyes.

Step 2. Ask yourself: “What do I want right now — not what I should?” (Don’t think. Just catch the first impulse.)

Step 3. If you want to — do it. Even if it’s “do nothing.” Even if it’s “lie down.” Even if it’s “stare out the window for 10 minutes.”

Step 4. Notice that no one died. The world didn’t collapse. No one punished you.

Step 5. Congratulate yourself. You just managed to perform an act of anti-discipline. And perhaps the most important one — an act of self-love.

Quote of the Day (for your fridge)

You are not obligated to be productive. You are not obligated to be useful.

You have the right to simply be. Here. Now. Without plans. Without goals. Without guilt.

An Important Clarification

Anti-Discipline is not a refusal to live. It’s a refusal of violence against oneself in the name of “productivity.” If you feel that “you don’t feel like doing anything” — not for a day, but for weeks, months, with a loss of interest in what used to bring joy — perhaps you are not in “rebellion mode,” but in a state of burnout or depression. This is not weakness. This is a signal. And it deserves attention, care, and, if necessary — professional support. Anti-Discipline teaches you to listen to yourself. Sometimes — the most honest answer to yourself is: “I need help.”

What’s Next?

In the next chapter, we’ll talk about the “honor student syndrome” — why “I get everything done” often means “I no longer feel joy.” And for now — put the book down, stand up, stretch, look out the window. Say out loud: “I am not a machine. I am a human. And today I choose peace.”

The main thing is already done.

The first step to freedom is not action, it’s — permission to do nothing.

Chapter 2. The Honor Student Syndrome: When Success Became an Addiction

You did everything — and you still feel bad. This is not a failure. This is a signal. You didn’t break. You’re just tired of being good.

The Honor Student Inside Almost Destroyed You

Remember yourself in school. Raising your hand first. Writing perfect notes. Doing homework a week early. Fearing a bad grade like the apocalypse.

We grew up. But the system didn’t.

Now you:

— set annual goals in Notion or Jira,

— take online courses “to get ahead,”

— report to yourself in a habit journal,

— feel guilty if the day passed “without benefit.”

You are an adult honor student. And your new “A” is your KPI, salary, likes, number of books read, trainings completed, “productive” days in a row.

But here’s the paradox: the more you “get done” — the worse you feel. The more you “achieve” — the greater the emptiness inside. The more you “become better” — the less remains… of you.

The Anatomy of an Honor Student

An honor student is not about knowledge. It’s about a dependency on approval.

You don’t do it because you want to. You do it because you must be worthy.