WEEK 46: GROWTH MINDSET

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my Leap Year W17 post into 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 am for health and the ability to recover from sickness. I had body aches, sinus congestion, and a sore throat all week, and was able to see how much more I am able to do when I feel 100%.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  46 total weeks complete! 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, and Got 2-Minutes strategies this week, as I was not able to complete the task until Saturday morning. 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 am not motivated or do not feel like it...

Be a PRO: I actually learned this strategy through insights from Jeff Goins, Tim Ferris, and James Clear. 

First, Jeff Goins mentioned in a podcast that “action will follow mindset.” Second, 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. Third, Tim Ferris 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” by having the mindset to show up consistently and completing the work.

The difficult thing about being a pro requires us to consistently follow through. Yet, 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 and leads us down a path of frustration. There will be days when you do not want to complete a key habit or activity, but develop the mindset of a “Pro” by showing up, sticking to your schedule, and then completing the tasks that move your forward.

Early Scheduling = Implementation Intentions: This is a strategy that I credit to completing my tasks consistently on a weekly basis. In this strategy, you first PLAN to complete a task at a SCHEDULED time (day and time) in a specific location as early in the week as you can. More specifically you fill in the following statement.

I plan to [task] on [day] at [time] in [location].

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 life presents you with something that needs to be attended to during the original scheduled time. Lastly, research shows that you are 2X to 3X more likely to follow through on your actions. I learned about this strategy from James Clear, who is a great blogger that writes on the science of human behavior and how to build better habits. He shows the research on how Implementation Intentions help you follow through on your plans and achieve your goals.

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. All you have to do is focus on what you would do in the first 2 minutes of starting a task and then complete those actions. If you complete those steps and want to stop you can, but I find that I look up at the clock and see that I have been working fro well past 2 minutes when I do this.

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 put, 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): Only six weeks until the completion of Leap Year process...wow! Six weeks in the past seemed like such a long period of time, but now I feel that is not enough. A lot to do in that time, but I trust that "we will figure it out!"

Here are my reflections for the week.

What went well?

Task complete and I was able to make a huge connection between the "Aggregation of Marginal Gains, growth mindset, and Japan."

First, lets start with the "Aggregation of Marginal Gains." I have mentioned this in previous weeks, but it is the idea that looking for and making 1% improvements in any area of your life consistently can produce meaningful results. This came from the strategy used by Dave Brailsford to help the British cycling team capture its first Tour De France title. 

Second, I watched a Ted talk this week on the power of "Growth Mindset" or the belief that the mind is malleable and is always able to grow and learn. It was a very interesting clip and Eduardo Briceno talked about studies that showed that students that were environments that praised effort, celebrated failure, and focused on the PROCESS did significantly better than students that had "Fixed" beliefs, such as "I am not a math person."

Third, is Japanese word Kaizen, which means "change for the better." It is used a lot in business and it is the belief of working for continual improvements. It is drastically different from perfection, where everything has to be set a certain way before you start something. Kazien is experimental in nature and allows you to iterate many times over, as you are looking to only continually improve the process.

So how do all of these connect to the Leap Year? Well, I have learned to look for daily 1% improvements to help me close the gap between where I currently am to where I want to be. Additionally, the focus is on the completion of the tasks and the process, not on the results. This belief has led me to learn and grow in ways that I would have never thought possible roughly 11 months ago. 

Thus the Leap Year has helped me learn the valuable lesson that we, yes you, and I can all learn and GROW through the consistent completion of small improvements done consistently.

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

Take better care of my body. We take our health for granted most times and drink and consume anything, without any regard to the effect it will have on our bodies. It is like given the keys to a Ferrari but filling it up with sludge you find in a dumpster.

I was operating at less than 100% for most of the week and totally felt different mentally and physically. This helped me realize that I like being healthy! And what keeps you healthy...eating well and exercising. 

Thus I plan to monitor what I eat on a meal by meal basis and ask "Is this the best fuel for my body?" in order to improve my health this week.

What is something to avoid next week?

Consuming food or beverages that take me away from a healthy lifestyle. 

Thanks for tuning in and see you in W47.