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.