WEEK 37: JUST START

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to  write my W8 Leap Year post in the site Medium and send out an email to Josephs' and others about biggest obstacles they are facing on Wednesday at 6:00 PM in study. 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 be given the opportunity to provide a speech for the graduating seniors. It is not everyday that you can provide messages that will guide the future leaders of the world.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  I was able to complete the weekly task on the first scheduled date. Although I use a combination of many strategies throughout the week, there are always some that are used more than others depending on what comes up. For example, I relied heavily on the Got 2-minute strategy, as life presented many other challenges that needed to be attended to this week.  The highlighted strategy 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...

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. Often times they can be accomplished in a short amount of time, so don't judge if you will start something by how much time you think you have, just start! 

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Week 37 planned and executed. Below are my reflections. 

What went well?

I was able to complete the weekly task in the face of numerous challenges. It was a very busy week and I had to help organize the senior graduation, write a speech, attend prom, and last attend and deliver a benediction at graduation. In addition to being a husband and father and completing work to start my software company in The Foundation.

This is where the Got 2-minutes strategy came into play. Although there were times in the week where I thought I would not have enough time to complete both the weekly task and fulfill all of my other responsibilities, I was able to accomplish everything! This was done by just thinking of the first 2-minutes of starting each task, and then starting. For example, I had put off finalizing the speech I was going to give at graduation for two weeks, but had to finish and rehearse it this week. Although I knew I had to do this task, I put this off until Tuesday. I finally told myself to just focus on sitting down, opening the speech, and start editing. Guess what, I completed everything in less than 15 minutes. It is true what they say when "The hardest part is starting!"  

Additionally, I was able to connect this idea of "just starting" to the overall Leap Year process. At the beginning of my journey I remember reading a lot of articles where successful people urged everyone to find what they love. This was the path to fulfillment, but what troubled me was the fact that most of these individuals also suggested to quit what you were currently doing, so that you could focus solely on this pursuit.   Although this idea has worked for some, this felt very daunting and impractical for me. This in turn, led me on to the question "Can you pursue, discover, and achieve your dreams in the face of everyday challenges without quitting your job or drastically changing your life?" 

Now after 37 weeks of my Leap Year process, I can say a very confident YES! Where as, I would have laughed at someone if they told me I would be able to write the majority of a book, learn strategies to overcome procrastination, become a better writer, and all the other things that I have been able to accomplish in this time just by completing at least 1 action a week. I still really can't believe it, but I am so thankful that I have stuck with the process and how it has given me the knowledge to pass to you.

Hopefully this gives you that additional boost to stick to your weekly task, as you will never know until you try!

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

Identifying stressful situations and deciding actions that you will take in advance. We often revert back to unhealthy habits when placed in stressful situations, as we usually do not plan in advance. Just by thinking ahead of these situations and deciding what you will do can help you foster better habits. 

For me, this has been in the form of eating out! I have done a great job of transforming my eating habits, but keeping these while going out to restaurants is still my achilles heel. I know that I need to plan and decide in advance in order to permanently master healthy eating habits.

What is something to avoid next week?

Plan and decide a set of actions in advance to stressful situations.

Thanks for stopping by and see you in W38.

-- 

WEEK 36: COMMIT 100%

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my W7 Leap Year post in the site Medium on Wednesday at 6 PM in study. Also, I plan to meet the Josephs on Tuesday at 12:15 PM in office. 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 basic health. Just to be have the use of all faculties and able to recover if I had an illness. 

EXECUTION (strategies used):  Weekly task completed, but not at the first scheduled time. Although I use a combination of many strategies throughout the week, there are always some that are used more than others depending on what comes up. For example, I relied heavily on the Be a Pro, Implementation Intentions, andCVFA strategies this week, as I was not able to complete both tasks until Saturday. The highlighted strategies that were used in the week are listed below along with the I CAN'T statements that they help overcome. 

1. Early Scheduling = Implementation Intentions: This is a strategy that I credit to 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. 

Three 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 you have to deal with something else at the first planned time. Third, you are 2X to 3X more likely to follow through on your actions. 

2. CVFA: 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 to complete a certain action at a specific time, but you end up completing the task at a different time or complete something different altogether.

In the past, I would usually beat myself about this and would feel super frustrated that things did not go as exactly as I thought they would. Then I realized that as long as I am taking a step forward, then it was still a OK. This led me to ask if the new situation allowed me to be Committed to my Vision. If the answer was yes, then I could be Flexible with my Approach. For example, I planned on writing a blog post in the site Medium in W34, but then I had to deal with finalizing the book cover. Although this was not what I originally planned, choosing the book cover still allowed me to be Committed to my Vision of finishing my Leap Year and completing my book. Thus, I took a breath, then another, and then chose to be Flexible with my Approach.

I remember that in W6 I shared my frustrations of not completing my originally planned tasks and it led me to finding this strategy. Although I still beat myself and try to control everything sometimes, this strategy has helped me to flow with things as they come. So remember, don’t beat yourself up when things do not go according to plan. As long as you stay Committed to your Vision, then be Flexible with yourApproach. 

3. Be a PRO: I actually learned this strategy through Tim Ferris and James Clear. First, James Clear wrote that it does not matter what you want to become better at, the only skill that separates a "Pro" from an "amateur" is the ability to show up. Showing up entails sticking to a schedule and doing the work, especially when you do not want to. This is the only thing that separates the two!The difficult thing is that being a pro requires us to be consistent, and we often let the challenges of everyday life get in the way and only attempt to do the work when we feel motivated. This produces small gains if any at all and leads us to frustration. Pros' consistently show up, day after day and fall in love with the boredom and monotony of sticking to their schedules and completing the tasks that take them closer to their goals and produces their best work.  Tim Ferris, a professional in life-style redesign, said on his 4-Hr Work Week blog that "Practicing key habits when we don't want to is the most key habit to all." This reinforces this idea of being a "Pro" just by showing up. 

There will be days when you do not want to complete a key habit or activity, but to be a "Pro" just SHOW UP! Fall in love with the boredom, stick to your schedule, and complete the tasks that move your forward.

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Another week has come and gone and another big X has been added to the Leap Year calendar. I now look up and see 36 big red X's in a row and feel a sense of accomplishment. In the beginning of my Leap Year process, I could not envision all the things that I would learn by W36 and this will be the same for you if you have just started your own. It will be hard at times, but I urge you to just "Show Up" and do the work, as this will lead you to places that you never thought possible. For example, I had no idea how to write a book and was unsure that I would  finish. Where as now, I know with certainty that I will finish the book and my only worry now is that there might be too much information. 

So keep on keeping on and show up and complete your tasks! 

What went well?

Like I mentioned above I was able to complete the weekly tasks, but not until Saturday. I can remember that this would stress me out in the beginning of my Leap Year process, but I was able to use the strategy to Be a Pro and complete the work. In addition, I had to use multiple Implementation Intentions in combination with the CVFA strategies to follow through, but the key thing is that I was able to complete the weekly task. 

This week Megan was sick, which shifted our weekly schedule and there was an opportunity to have dinner with one of former students that I could not pass up. In the past, I would have viewed these events as obstacles and would stress out about how I could complete everything that I wanted to. Where as now, I know I will execute and complete the task no matter what challenges life presents me. 

During my Leap Year process I have heard the phrase "success leaves clues" many times. We often times, me being included, make success more complicated than it is. You might be asking what do you mean by this and if it was that easy everyone would be successful? Well, let me say that the formula for success is quite simple. First you commit 100% and then stay disciplined to actions that move you forward. That is it! The hard part is following through. In essence success is mechanical, as the steps are easy to follow, but we just have to follow them. 

I have learned through my Leap Year process that "freedom" is experienced through discipline, and discipline is an action that follows commitment. Dane Maxwell and Andy Drish, founders of The Foundation and owners of multimillion dollar software businesses say that "100% commitment is easy, while 99% is a #%$@%!" This is so true as being 100% committed doesn't allow space for doubt and does not consume all of your will power as you follow through on what must be done, no questions asked. Where as, being 99% committed allows you to not follow through 1% of the time, which in turn opens up the door for a little doubt. 

In the teaching profession there is a saying that "You give them (students) an inch, they will take a mile." This supports this idea of 100% commitment. If you commit 100%, there is no space for doubt to creep into your mind and there is no question when you are faced with a difficult decision. While, if you are 99% committed there is a 1% chance that you will not follow through. This can easily open the door to more doubt and uncertainty, which makes it difficult to stay disciplined to you key actions, ie complete your weekly task.

So make success mechanical and take the guess work out of the process. Commit 100% and be disciplined in following through on actions that move you forward in your Leap Year process.

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

Finding more balance during the week. Between writing every morning, investing into The Foundation, and completing the weekly task, and being a husband, and father...I have found that I have cut "fun" things out of my life. This is an area that I know that could use some improvement. 

The first step in anything is awareness, and I am definitely aware of this and will make it a point next week to add in some small pockets of "fun." Maybe a game or watching some funny clips with Meggo or laughing uncontrollably with my son. 

What is something to avoid next week?

Ignoring to have fun along the process! 

Thanks for stopping in and I will see you in W37!

WEEK 35: BE A PRO

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write the W6 Leap Year post in the site Medium onWednesday at 6PM in study. 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 grateful that we are to have a healthy and happy son. He has the use of all of his faculties and laughs constantly!

EXECUTION (strategies used):  The streak of completing weekly task on the first planned date is now up to two! I was able to follow through using the Implementation Intentions strategy, as it has helped me follow through and complete the tasks on a consistent basis. In addition, I used another old strategy that I had not used in a while this 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 the Be a Pro strategy this week, as I was able to fall in love with boredom and overcome my temptation not to complete the task. 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. Early Scheduling = Implementation Intentions: This is a strategy that I credit to 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. 

Three 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 you have to deal with something else at the first planned time. Third, you are 2X to 3X more likely to follow through on your actions. 

2. Be a PRO: I actually learned this strategy through Tim Ferris and James Clear. First, James Clear wrote that it does not matter what you want to become better at, the only skill that separates a "Pro" from an "amateur" is the ability to show up. Showing up entails sticking to a schedule and doing the work, especially when you do not want to. This is the only thing that separates the two!The difficult thing is that being a pro requires us to be consistent, and we often let the challenges of everyday life get in the way and only attempt to do the work when we feel motivated. This produces small gains if any at all and leads us to frustration. Pros' consistently show up, day after day and fall in love with the boredom and monotony of sticking to their schedules and completing the tasks that take them closer to their goals and produces their best work. 

Tim Ferris, a professional in life-style redesign, said on his 4-Hr Work Week blog that "Practicing key habits when we don't want to is the most key habit to all." This reinforces this idea of being a "Pro" just by showing up. 

There will be days when you do not want to complete a key habit or activity, but to be a "Pro" just SHOW UP! Fall in love with the boredom, stick to your schedule, and complete the tasks that move your forward.

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Week 35 in the books! I am almost 2/3 through my Leap Year process of pursuing, discovering, and achieving my dreams this year...wow! At times, it almost seems like yesterday when I started, but then there are other times when I look at all I have learned, and it seems like so long ago.

I was reminded of the importance this week of sticking with your key habits in order to be a "Pro." Life presents us with daily challenges that can take us away from pursuing the things that we want. However, these are the times that we need to take a breath and reflect on what strategies have helped us overcome similar situations in the past or learn a new one to help us in the present moment.

For example, there was a situation at work where I had to deal with a difficult person. I think we all have those people in our lives that make it a challenge to work with. To make a long story short, I reacted instead of thinking what strategies that I had used to deal with difficult people in the past. As you can probably guess, this only led to frustration. Meggo, being the great wife she is, calmed me down and told me to think of what I had done in the past to overcome similar situations. I took a breath and remembered that these situations are best dealt with by not reacting and taking action, but letting them play out. After that, I was able to think clearly and let the problem go. Funny thing, is that once I got to work the next day the problem was resolved by the end of the day. The moral of the story, stick to what works, strategies, in times of frustration or stress.

You will have times on your Leap Year process where life will present challenges in the form of situations, people, or a combination of the two. You might react, that is fine, but then take a breath and then reflect on what strategies have worked in the past or what new ones ( I will provide these for you) that you can learn to help you overcome these situations. Then move forward with that choice.

What went well?

I was able to use the "Implementation Intentions" and "Be a Pro" strategies to complete the weekly tasks this week. For example, this week I thought how writing another post in the Medium site would not make a difference and the temptation to not complete the task crept into my mind. Although I only thought this only for a brief moment, I reflected back earlier on my Leap Year process when I felt like my weekly tasks would not make a difference. Then I remembered the "Be a Pro" strategy. Then, there was no more struggle in mind as I knew I just had to SHOW UP and do the work! 

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

I have actually been helping two fantastic people start their own Leap Years' and have not done a great job of meeting with them in the past two weeks. I want to do a better job of carving out some time so that I can support them pursue, discover, and achieve their dreams. There feedback has been invaluable to me, so I plan to use an Implementation Intention and set a time where we can meet.

What is something to avoid next week?

I will not resist any situation next week. Although a situation may seem difficult on the surface, I will take the advice from Andy Drish and Dane Maxwell and not resist it, but welcome it, as I know there can be learnings from all situations. 

WEEK 34: FLEXIBLE APPROACH

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to post my Leap Year W5 post in the site Medium on Wednesday at 6 PM in study. 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 grateful I was for being able to walk to a butchers to buy fresh meat. The great thing is that they cut what ever you want to order!

EXECUTION (strategies used):  Week 34 was a return to completing the weekly task on the first scheduled time. AgainI have relied heavily on the Implementation Intentions strategy, as it has helped me follow through and complete the tasks on a consistent basis. In addition, I used an old strategy that I had not used in awhile this week as well.  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 CVFA strategy this week, as I was able to bypass my stubbornness and complete the task in a way that I had not previously thought of. 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. Early Scheduling = Implementation Intentions: This is a strategy that I credit to 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. 

Three 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 you have to deal with something else at the first planned time. Third, you are 2X to 3X more likely to follow through on your actions. 

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.....

2. CVFA: This strategy helps me overcome my fear of things not being perfect and allows me to release judgement if things do not turn our a certain way. I learned this strategy from Tony Robbins and the initialism for the strategy isCVFA. 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. Usually I beat myself and try to control everything to the point that I get frustrated, but this strategy has helped me overcome this. So remember, take a breath and think if the task still helps you to be Committed to your Vision, then be Flexible with the Approach. If not, then stay committed to your original plan.

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions):

What went well?

Like I mentioned above, I was able to complete the weekly task on the first scheduled time, so that was something that went really well. In previous weeks, I had not been able to this, so I felt a sense of accomplishment this week. This also allowed me to devote more time to writing the book.

Another thing that went well is that I was able to incorporate the CVFA strategy. Although, it was difficult to complete the weekly task, I was able to execute by using strategies that I have been able to learn through my Leap Year process. The CVFA strategy is composed of two parts, and I realized that I am really good at the first part of the strategy, which is being Committed to my Vision. 

Before I started my Leap Year process, I really had no concrete direction or vision, which kept me from taking steps towards my dreams. Although I wanted to do certain things, I rarely took the actions or executed to realize these desires. Where as now, I have a vision of completing my Leap Year process and am 100% committed to it. For example, last week I was invited to a happy hour on Friday and I had to make a decision on whether I should go or go home and write another section of my book. In the past I would hesitate and probably would have gone out. Now, the decision is automatic as I always ask "does this take me one step closer to my vision?" If it does, then I am all in, if not then I can say no to the activity much easier. 

Completing my Leap Year has been a huge benefit for me, and it has provided a vision to pursue. This purpose has guided my activities, which has accelerated my progress towards me reaching my goals and it can do the same for you!

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

Like I mentioned above the CVFA strategy has two parts. The first part of being Committed to my Vision is definitely the easier part for me. The other half of being Flexible with the Approach is something that I have not mastered yet. I often try to control too many things and get frustrated if they do not go a certain way. This leads me to judge everything and makes me not the best person to hang around with (sorry Meggo for those times). 

This week was a perfect example. I started writing my post in the site Medium and the words were flowing naturally and I thought to myself I would be done with the task within 15 minutes. Then I got to the part of the post where I needed to fill in a strategy that I had used in previous weeks. In my mind I thought I wrote about this already and had it in Scrivener (writing software). So, I opened up Scrivener and quickly scanned for it, but I could not find it. In my mind I KNEW WITHOUT A DOUBT that I had written about this strategy, so I started opening up the individual sections within Scrivener and analyzing all the text. One after another, I kept opening each section, but could not find the elusive text.

As you can probably guess, my frustration kept rising after every section that I opened. Only after opening all the sections did I think that I might not have written about this strategy. At this point I could have been Flexible with my Approach and wrote in the strategy probably within 10 minutes. However, did I do this? No, I took the next 30 minutes to open up each section again and in addition to the emails pertaining to my weekly posts to see if I could find it. Frustrated, tired, and running out of time (Tae needed to be fed dinner) I finally gave in and wrote in the details for the strategy.

Guess what, it took me 7 minutes. I timed myself. So instead of taking 30 minutes to try to do things an certain way, I could have completed the task in 7 minutes just by being Flexible with the Approach. 

Next time, I know the cue will be when I feel super frustrated, I need to see if I am trying to do complete something in a certain way I envisioned earlier in the process. I will re-evaluate if that is still the best approach, if not, then I need to be Flexible and choose another way to complete the task.

What is something to avoid next week?

Thinking everything has to go a certain way. Need to be Flexible with Approach! 

Thanks for tuning in and see you week 35.

WEEK 33: A DO NOT DO LIST

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

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to post in the site Medium on Tuesday at 6:00 PMin the study. 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 great it was to be able to walk to grocery stores to buy all my food items. In China we had to plan a 30 minute trip by car at least to buy food, so being able to walk everywhere is something I am super grateful for.

EXECUTION (strategies used):   Similar to the past couple of weeks, I was not able to EXECUTE on the scheduled time. I have relied heavily on the Implementation Intentions strategy, as it has helped follow through and complete the tasks on a consistent basis, even if it is not on the first scheduled time. I am going to continue what I started last week and only highlight the strategies that I used the most to complete the weekly task. 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 again this week, as I had to plan when to complete the tasks around Megan being away from home. The highlighted strategies that were used in the week are listed below  along with the I CAN'T statements that they help overcome. 

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 credit to 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. 

Three 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 you have to deal with something else at the first planned time. Third, you are 2X to 3X more likely to follow through on your actions. 

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Week 33 in the books, and again I was able to work around the everyday challenges that life presented me this week in order to complete the weekly task. I had to wait to until Saturday to post the W4 post in the site Medium, which I first planned to do on Tuesday, but the key thing is that I completed it! The great thing is that I am ok with NOT completing the task at the scheduled time, as I now know that I have strategies that will help me complete the task no matter what. This is something that used to stress me out and caused a lot of frustration. Know that this will happen in given week of your Leap Year, but just remember to stay committed and use the Implementation Intentions strategy to help you find an alternative times to complete the weekly task.

Additionally, I wanted to share a better structure for the reflections. Usually, I write about my learnings and future actions in a free flowing manner, but I learned something from the work I am doing in The Foundation, that has accelerated my learnings and will hopefully help you with yours. 

Here is the template that I will start following:

What went well?

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

What is something to avoid next week?

This structure has three inherent benefits, as it helps you cultivate more gratitude, identify areas that you need to learn more about with a specific actions to take, and identifies things to avoid in making progress.  Below I share why each is important.

Gratitude is one of the most important qualities to posses, as it allows you see all situations as an opportunity. If you are grateful, there is no room for anger, judgement, or any other negative emotion. Cultivating this quality in your life can truly transform your it. I can definitely tell when I am not in this state as I constantly judge what is going on in my life and close minded. Where as, in a grateful state, I am able to see things as opportunities to grow or learn and open myself to experiences that I would have never seen before. 

Dane Maxwell and Andy Drish are the founders of The Foundation and they have helped thousands of entrepreneurs transform their lives and enjoy freedom from the daily 9-5. They have researched for the last three years and found that the most successful individuals are the ones that learn experientially, or learn through experience. This allows them to take action, identify things that need to change, and repeat the process to improve what they are doing. That is why answering this second question is so important. It allows you to view completing your weekly task as an experience to learn from and improve. Another benefit is that you are able to identify a specific action that you can help you make an improvement and plan for the next week. 

Jack Canfield wrote in his book The Success Principles about creating a "Do Not Do List" in order to accelerate your growth. I did not fully comprehend the power of this until I started tracking things that took me away from making progress in my Leap Year. It was easier for me to avoid these activities once I was able to identify them. For example, before my Leap Year, I was not able to have only one drink at a social outing. This led to me having multiple drinks, eating way too much food for one person, and not feeling my best the next day. This in turn took me away from completing anything productive the next day, which only took me further away from living a fulfilled life. Although I would be aware of these harmful effects the next day, it did not hit me until I started my Leap Year and asked myself "What causes me to feel stressed and frustrated?" Answer, not completing the weekly task and taking steps toward a more fulfilled life. No surprise, but the over drinking was the culprit for all most of my stress and frustration. Finally it dawned on me that this was an activity that I needed to avoid, but I would have never realized it without asking myself what caused the most stress and tracking what the source of of it. The process of creating a "Do Not Do List" forces you to ask that question and track your behavior, so that you can truly see what takes you away from your highest self. 

Here are my responses for this week.

What went well?

I was able to execute and completed the weekly task using strategies that I have learned through my Leap Year. This would have never been possible before, as I would have never learned the strategies to overcome the challenges that everyday life presents.

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

Getting to sleep on time next week. It was a busy week (the truth is all of them are busy) and I pushed my bedtime back by an hour or more on a couple of days to get work done. This in turn, caused me to be tired the next day, which then affected all the other things for the day. The action for next week is to stick with my normal bedtime, no matter what. 

What is something to avoid next week?

Getting to bed late.