PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT): This week I planned to expand out the first chapter in the book and also learn how to add digital resources to Scrivener. I scheduled to complete these tasks on Tuesday at 4:30 when Meggo and Tae are at play date. In terms of turning WT= DT, I uploaded the "learn scrivener fast" website into my browser, and an article on how to read more by James Clear. In addition, I put a reminder in gTask Pro to finish reading Tony Robbin's new book, Money...Master the Game.
IMPLEMENTATION (strategies used): This week I utilized three main strategies and incorporated a new one. I have listed them below with their immediate benefits.
1. The 3-buckets system of writing. This has been a staple of mine for the past 5-6 weeks and I can't say enough about how it has made the process of writing so much easier for me. The system breaks down the writing process into three steps. First, you create a location where you can store all of your ideas. Second, you draft the first version. Third, you take some time away from your draft and then edit the document at another time. Before using this system it would take me much longer to try to do all of these things in one sitting, where as now I can pump out my weekly posts much more efficiently. I learned this strategy from Jeff Goins so go check out his page if any of your are aspiring writers.
2. The 2-minute Rule. Ever feel overwhelmed with a task even before you start? Well, this is where this strategy comes into play. Instead of thinking about all the things you have to do in order to complete a task, just focus on the first two minutes of starting it. Then, just complete those actions, and then decide if you want to finish or not. Often times, I find myself completing the first two minutes and then realize that I have been working for 30 minutes. This follows Newton's First Law of Motion, which states that "an object in motion, tends to remain in motion." The hardest part is initiating the task, so if you just focus and complete what it takes to start, then you will usually complete more than you thought. This was learned from James Clear.
3. Got a minute? Additionally, I have also started implementing a strategy to work hand in hand with the 2-minute rule. It has had profound effects on my weekly task and post in the past two weeks. Like I said before, most tasks seems overwhelming as you think of all the things that you have to do before it is completed. This in effect, for me at least, would talk me out of completing the task. Usually, I would think there was not enough time, but the funny thing was that I would OVERESTIMATE how much actual time was needed to complete a task. This happens quite regularly and can be explained by Vierordt's Law, which states that when estimating a previous task, people overestimate short durationsand underestimate long ones. This connection was huge for me. The 2-minute strategy is great, but if I only had 10 minutes or even five minutes, I would not even try to start a task. Where as now, I know that in my mind I am overestimating how long it takes to complete parts (short durations) of a weekly tasks. In turn, any Waiting Time that I have, even as small as two minutes, I use to work on completing the weekly task. If I an not completing the task or a part of it, then I use this time to improve myself in one way or another through books, websites, or other material that I chose at the beginning of the week. Moral of the story, meaningful results can be achieved in small amounts of time.
4. Read More (NEW). With the access of information today, there in no lack in finding information from someone who has done what we want to do (Become a Pro). From videos, to blogs, websites and books, there is an abundance of resources. I have found that digital books are my preference of choice. I upload new books frequently and read during my WT during the week. The issue for me has been how to read more of the books that I have downloaded and process their information, so I can turn them into specific actions. Enter James Clear. I was looking at a blog post and saw exact title, "Read More." This strategy is very straight forward, all you need is a timer and a book. His simple strategy is to read for at least 20 minutes a day. That is it. By reading every day the knowledge becomes like compound interest, or starts out slow but grows very quickly after the initial stages. For example, if you took a regular size paper and kept folding it in half, by the 30th fold the width of the paper would be able to reach from the earth to the moon. Our minds can not grasp that idea, but it has huge ramifications. This week I started implementing this strategy and uploaded books on Sunday and set the timer on my iPhone and read for 20 minutes throughout the day. He says it is better in one sitting, but for me I had to read 10 minutes in the morning and had to get the other 10 throughout the day. Let's see where it takes us.
REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Second week in a row that I was able to complete the task at the scheduled time and was able to do more throughout the week, as I scheduled to complete the task at a time earlier in the week. I am finding that it is becoming easier to complete the tasks on schedule and actually devote more time to additional work, which in turn accelerates my progress towards my goals. This, I feel is because of two main reasons.
First, is because of quality systems. What I mean by this, in the beginning of this process I really had really no other system in place, other than completing one task a week towards my goal. There were no strategies I was using to make the the work easier. Today I have been able to learn new strategies that have helped me become more efficient, and although the weekly tasks might be getting harder, the overall process of completing them is getting easier. Counterintuitive, I know.
Second, is the "aggregation of marginal gains." I talked about this last week, but it is the concept that making 1% improvements in areas of your life that you want to improve, if done on a consistent basis can produce meaningful results. In short, just by showing up every week and devoting time to discover, pursue, and achieve your dreams in small ways can lead to some amazing results. I think back to the beginning when I had no idea how I might write this book, but now have gained the necessary knowledge, but most importantly, executing this knowledge to help me pursue and achieve my dream of sharing this knowledge with you. This would have never happened if I would have taken a few weeks off, but the discipline to complete the weekly tasks has compounded my knowledge and ability to complete the tasks. As I reflect, I know this is the toughest thing for us today to understand, as we live in an era of instant gratification. For example, if you want to know the capital of Slovakia, you can Google it and know in less than a second. Where as in the past without internet, you had to go to a library, checkout a book, and then find the information two hours later. But I am learning that meaningful things take time to grow and often times you are not able to see the fruits of your labor instantly. So wherever you are on this journey of discovering, pursuing, and achieving your dreams have faith that the work you are completing fits into a larger picture, and I can guarantee you that if you consistently show up every week and put in the time to Plan, Implement, and Reflect about your weekly tasks, things will begin to change in amazing ways. So I leave you with this huge challenge to be disciplined and committed to showing up every week, and letting these 1% gains take you to places you never thought possible.
Thanks for tuning in and see you in week 20...which will be the post for 5 months...wow!
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