WEEK 32: HAVE MULTIPLE IMPLEMENTATION INTENTIONS

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

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to post another article in the site Medium on Tuesday at 6 AM in the the dinning room at my in laws house. I plan to turn those small WT's into Grateful Time, where I look to see what I can be grateful for in those situations. For example, last week I thought how thankful I was for technology while I was waiting on hold with a CC company.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  I was not able to EXECUTE on the scheduled time, but was able to incorporate the Implementation Intentions strategy to complete the task later on in the week. Additionally, I thought I might twist things up a little bit in this section and only highlight the main strategies that were used in the week. Although I use a combination of all of them throughout the week, there are always some that are used more than others depending on what comes up. For example, I relied heavily on Implementation Intentions strategy this week, as I had to plan when to complete the tasks around traveling. The highlighted strategies that were used in the week are listed below  along with the I CAN'T statements that they help overcome. 

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

1. 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.  

2. 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. I learned this from James Clear and it improves the likelihood that you will follow through on your goals up to 3X what you normally would do. In this strategy, you first plan a [TASK] to complete and then schedule a [TIME] and [PLACE] 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. 

3. 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 start! 

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions):  Week 32 in the books, but had to wait until Saturday to complete the weekly task. Like I said earlier, I relied heavily on the Implementation Intentions strategy and created a specific plan of action to follow through in the face of a challenging situation. 

There have been many great things that have happened since the birth of our first son Tae. Belly laughs, explorations of the house, and family snuggle times. Although these are great, there are other situations that produce stress. For example, traveling. Gone are the days of deciding to leave on a whim and go to the movies or a restaurant for an impromptu dinner. Even more stressful are 10 hr international plane flights, coupled with a two hour drive before you get to airport. The checklist before we leave has grown from something you keep in your head, to a full page of things to pack and complete before and during the trip. The process actually starts at least two days before we actually leave.

I learned in week 31 that I need to have a specific plan or use the Implementation Intentions strategy when I know in advance that I will be faced with a stressful situation. Although I choose a task, set a time and place to complete the weekly task at the earliest possible time in the week, I was not able to follow through at the first scheduled time as other things came up. One important thing that I have learned is to create another Implementation Intention at this point. This forces you to set another time and place to complete the task. You might even have to do this multiple times, but keep with it as you will be more likely to complete the task if you keep making them. 

This led me to reflect and allowed me to see my growth in my Leap Year. In previous weeks, I would stress about this and even though I would complete the task later on in the week, I would still feel frustrated and disappointed that I did not complete the task on the scheduled time. Now, I am much more at ease with not completing the task on the first scheduled time, as I know I have built in measures to ensure I will still complete the weekly task later on in the week. I actually did not complete the task until Saturday morning, which would have stressed me out in previous weeks. 

This brings me to a big learning, which is an answer to one of the big questions I wanted to answer before I started my Leap Year. The question was "How do I discover, pursue, and achieve my dreams in the face of everyday challenges?" In the beginning of my Leap Year, I had no idea how I would do this, while balancing being a husband, new father, working from 8-5, and all the other little things that happen in our lives on a daily basis. The easy answer is to be COMMITTED to your Leap Year and complete the task every week. You do this by using the strategies to help you overcome the obstacles that life will present you. For example, I had to use the implementation Intention strategy at least three times before I completed the weekly task, but the key is I was committed and completed the task.

Being 100% committed to something, cultivates discipline, which in turn leads you to freedom. Take for example eating healthy, if you are 100% committed to that goal, then you will be disciplined to eat healthy and exercise. You will be free from the temptation to gorge yourself on fried foods or other non-healthy habits if done consistently over time. This allows you to experience freedom from these vices. However, being 99% committed gives yourself the option to look for excuses, as there is that 1% of the time where you are not all in.

The gist of what I am trying to say is be 100% committed, as this will lead you to being disciplined and allow you to experience freedom in your lives. 

Thanks for stopping by and see you in week 33.