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: T
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.
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