WEEK 30: P.E.R.= PLANNING, EXECUTION, REFLECTION

DPA = Discover, Pursue, and Achieve. WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  This week I plan to help a friend and record a review for Zephan Moses Blaxberg and post my week 1 post in the site Medium. I uploaded videos from The Foundation site to turn WT = DT. Lastly, I plan to turn those small WTs into Grateful Time, where I look to see what I can be grateful for in those situations. For example, last week I thought how great it was to have a car, how it makes life easier when I was getting gas.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  I was able to EXECUTE (More about this in the Reflection area) on my plan and complete the weekly task. No new strategies to share this week, but I am noticing that although I incorporate each strategy, some are used more than others depending on what comes up. For example, I relied heavily on Implementation Intention strategy, as I actually had to change the time I completed the task twice before I could actually complete it. The core strategies that were used are listed below and are divided into groups that help you overcome obstacles and the  I CAN'T statements that usually arise with them.

MOTIVATION: I CAN'T find the energy or reasons to...

1. Equal Odds Rule: This strategy I learned from James Clear and this strategy was actually coined by a Harvard-trained phycologist Kevin Simonton. He researched the impact of scientific publications and the effect on its readers. Keith found that any given scientist could write a game-changing publication or an average one that could be easy forgotten. James went further and made the connection that you could be an artist, teacher, lawyer, athlete, or the average Joe schmo like you and me, and we are all equally likely to produce a great piece of work or an average one. Essentially the only determining factor is frequency. What do I mean by this? The more you create, the more likely you will produce a great piece of work. Why? Well, if you think about it the more that you produce, in whatever area that you work in, the more chances you get to creating an excellent piece of work. The higher number of attempts allows you to produce more average pieces, that might be easily forgotten,but you are also able to learn more skills from this increased production. This in turn, increases the probability that you produce a great piece of work. In simple terms, the more you create, the more likely you will create an excellent piece of work. 

2. Seinfeld strategy:  I learned the Seinfeld strategy that from James Clear. It is called this because a young comedian once asked Jerry Seinfeld how to become a "better comedian." Jerry said take a huge calendar and place a big X for everyday that you write jokes, and if you can place an X for every day of the year, then you will become a better comedian. This strategy makes your progress visible and provides additional motivation to continue the streak of completing weekly tasks that move you towards your goals for the year. 

3. 3-Bucket System: I learned the 3-Bucket system from Jeff Goins who breaks up the process of writing into three easy steps. First, create a place (physical or digital) where you can collect ideas. Second, schedule a time to draft the first version without the pressure of making edits. Third, edit your draft after you have taken time away from it. This process makes writing much easier and I find myself producing better writing in a shorter amount of time. 

FEAR: I CAN'T because it is not perfect, that is not how I thought it might go, or I do not have the skill or resources to.....

4. CVFA: This strategy really helped me be aware and release judgement if things do not turn our a certain way. I learned this strategy from Tony Robbins and the initialism for the strategy is CVFA. In this strategy you stay Committed to your Vision, but are Flexible with the Approach. This comes in handy when you plan do complete a certain action earlier in the week, but have to complete something else to meet a pressing deadline. As long as the new task allows you to be Committed to your Vision, then you can be Flexible with your Approach. Don't beat yourself up, and try to control everything to the point that you get frustrated. Take a breath and think if the task still helps you be Committed to your Vision, if so, then be Flexible with the Approach. If not, then stay committed to your original plan.

LACK of CONFIDENCE: I CAN'T because I am not  a person that can...

5. Agreements: I was able to learn about this powerful strategy from Jack Canfield called agreements. In this strategy you keep and fulfill all of your agreements. By doing this, you boost self confidence and you slowly prove to yourself that you are a person that is able to complete whatever you agree to. This in turn, allows you to take on more challenging tasks, as you have trained the subconscious mind that you are able capable of such endeavors. My suggestion is to first start small, prove to yourself by consistently completing easy actions that you have agreed to. Second, only commit to things that you know that you will be able to complete. After you have proven to yourself that you can keep your agreements and your confidence grows, take the opportunity to agree to more challenging tasks on the process of discovering, pursuing, and achieving your dreams.

PROCRASTINATION: I CAN'T because I do not have enough time, do not feel like it...

6. The Enkrateia strategy: Enkrateia is the antonym of Akrasia and means "in control of oneself"  and I learned this from James Clear. This involves three strategies in one to combat Akrasia, or simply put procrastination. First, create a Commitment Device, which increases the consequences of a bad behavior and decreases the effort to carry out a good one. For example, to eat less sugar, you can clear out all candies in your house, which reduces the effort to not eat sugar at home. Second, incorporate the 2-minute rule to initiate tasks, as the hardest part of following through is getting started. Third, utilize implementation intentions, or identify a [date] at certain [time] at a specific [place] to complete a task. By incorporating this you will be 2X to 3X more likely to follow through on what you planned.  

7. Early Scheduling = Implementation Intentions: This is a strategy that I was incorporating during my streak of completing my tasks on time, and it was a huge benefit this week. In this strategy, you first PLAN to complete a task and then SCHEDULE a time to complete the task as early in the week as you can. Two benefits are produced from doing this. First, you get a sense of accomplishment if you complete the task in the beginning of the week at the scheduled time. In addition, it allows you to devout more time to do additional tasks to reach your goals within the same week. Second, it provides more time to complete the task if life presents you with something that needs to be attended to during the original scheduled time. 

8. Got 2-minutes: I learned the 2-minute rule from James Clear and it helps you initiate a task, as usually this is the most difficult step. This strategy helps you focus on what you would do in the first 2 minutes of starting a task and then complete those actions. I often times do this and then look up at the clock and see that I have been working for well over 2 minutes. I have now merged this with the "Got a Minute" strategy, which is used to turn any amount of free time into productive time. It comes from Vierordt's Law, which states that when estimating a previous task, people overestimate short durations and underestimate long ones. Simply, we regularly overestimate how long it will take to accomplish meaningful tasks. task. Often times they can be accomplished in a short amount of time. So don't judge if you will start something by how time you think you have, just star! 

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions):  In week 14 I wrote about the power of EXECUTION, and how it trumps knowledge. Here is an excerpt: 

Knowledge is not power, but EXECUTION is. This came up in my weekly reading of Money-Master the Game by Tony Robbins. I say this because last week I gained the knowledge that I was not able to complete the task at the planned time as I did not incorporate earlier strategies that had worked. Although I had gained knowledge of what to do, but I still did not follow through on writing my tasks out in high traffic areas or scheduling out specific times to complete the tasks (implementation intentions). This week I will make it a point to EXECUTE and take action on the knowledge that I have gained, so that I can complete next weeks task easier. 

As you can see, I made a plan from the knowledge that I had gained, but failed to EXECUTE. The same situation arose in week 30, as I was not able to complete the task at the planned time, which led me making another plan to complete the task at another time. I actually had to do this a third time before I completed the task for this week, as I thought I did not have the necessary information. Don't get me wrong, this is great, as I now have gained the knowledge about different strategies to help me overcome obstacles from various situations, but I felt I was making more plans rather than EXECUTING.

In 1988 Nike coined the phrase "Just Do It." This phrase helped them increase their profits in the American shoe industry from 18% to 43% in the the decade that followed. The phrase came to mind this week, when I finally told myself that I had all he knowledge that I needed and I just needed to EXECUTE. Once I decided to"Just Do It" and start, I was able to complete the tasks within an hour.

This led me to think about the PIR structure that I use each week. This has served me well in the past 15-20 weeks, but Implementation does not highlight the importance of taking action and EXECUTING each week. Thus, I have decided to change the format to PER, P for Planning. E for EXECUTION, and R for Reflection. In addition, this has a nice ring to it as you complete a PER week within your DPA process to achieve Awesomeness this year! 

Thanks for stopping by and see you in week 31.