WEEK 51: ALMOST THERE

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my Leap Year W22 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 great it is to have such a loving and supportive wife! Half the things would not get done with out her help! Love you amor! 

EXECUTION (strategies used):  W51, check. 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 and Implementation Intentions strategies this week, as I was not able to complete 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.

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): One more week left in my Leap Year process and and made huge strides this weekend in finishing my first manuscript. 

In the beginning of my Leap Year process, I envisioned I would have learnt everything I would need for the book by the W45 or maybe the W46. Answer, No!

It is very surprising to me, but I am still learning and making huge breakthroughs to share in the book. I have never really noticed, but the book has always been about a process, and with any process, the learning occurs before, during, and after. It never stops. 

This idea of learning has been a central focus in the last couple of weeks, and I have had the pleasure to listen to Josh Waitskin's book "The Art of Learning."

Josh is an American chess player, who was identified as a prodigy and won the US Junior Chess Championship in 1993 and 1994. In addition, he has won world championships in martial arts, and become an author as well. 

I have been listening to his audio book on my 10 minute walk across campus during lunch, and gained a huge learning about "The Downward Spiral" this week. 

What is the "Downward Spiral?" Have you ever been in a stressful situation and find you have a defining moment where you make a crucial error, which causes you to unravel? This could in the form of a test, game, or maybe even a job interview. 

Josh explains that one mistake is usually not fatal, but rather it is the second, third, and the fourth mistakes made in succession which cause us to melt down in these crucial situations. 

Think about the last time you were playing a competitive game or activity. Do you remember the first mistake, the second, third, or do you just remember a point when you lost control? For me it has always been the end result of the loss, not how I got there.  

I learned this happens because we are stuck on "What was" and are not open to "What is." Maybe you had complete control of a game, and then one move evened the playing field, but you still took actions where you think you are still in "complete control" which causes you to make fatal errors, which cost you the game. 

The key is to understand that mistakes are a trigger to be aware of the "Downward Spiral." Sometimes, all you have to do is take a deep breath and come back to the present moment. This allows you to see the "What is" rather than holding to "What was."

This idea of making critical mistake by avoiding the current moment is also validated by Dane Maxwell, the creator of The Foundation. He has become a self made millionaire and has created various software businesses, without knowing one line of code. 

Dane has a motto "Resist nothing and welcome everything." A big part of his success has been cold calling, or calling business people without knowing them, and identifying their biggest pains. This is extremely awkward for most people, as you often have difficulty talking to strangers, but is crucial step of his process to create successful software businesses. 

He mentions members (people who have joined The Foundation to learn about duplicating his results) will never get to a big enough pain to solve if they are not present on these calls. For example, if you go into one of these calls with an agenda and are only looking to validate a certain idea "What was", then you close yourself off from being present to "What is" and the endless pains that are presented during a conversation. 

Thus, this week I am training myself to pause when I make a mistake, however small, and then take a deep breath, so that I can avoid getting sucked down into the "Downward Spiral."

What went well?

Weekly task completed and another key learning gained for the Leap Year process. One more week to finish the first manuscript!

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

Embracing the moment = being present. Not resisting or trying to change it, but rather just embracing it.

What is something to avoid next week?

Resisting the current moment. Embrace it, and then create the solution from "What is." 

Thanks for tuning in and see you in W52!