I caught myself thinking this recently. Despite the fact that my life has never been better, my goals are far away, which sometimes makes progress indiscernible. It led me to think about how I could progress towards my goals faster. A provoking thought entered my head. What if I really let myself go?
I've never really given myself one hundred percent towards a goal for an extended period of time. I've never had to. Every time I do, I find that either the goal changes, or I become adept at reaching it so I don't have to devote one hundred percent of myself. If someone waved you a check of a million dollars or pounds in your face and told you to type the entire text of the bible over and over again for several years on end, sacrificing your social life, your personal hygiene, your health, would you do it? If not, where do you draw the line? Would more money change your decision? The promise of a better life? Or would you do it if you could give slightly less than one hundred percent , like maybe if you could keep a small part of your social life?
Life isn't usually that simple. There's never a simple case where you can simply do X for Y days and receive Z, at least not for significant values of Z. There will be interruptions, unclarities and changes of mind. It might look simple to you at first glance, but it never is. The best way to simplify your situation is by knowing more. Know more about your profession, your situation and what you're good at. The more you know, the more you'll realize that it's not an easy road. But also, the more you know, the more you realize that there is a road and it is possible to travel it. If you know what you're doing.
tl;dr: expand your knowledge, don't expect anything.