WEEK 66: KEEP ON KEEPING ON

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my Leap Year W36 post into the site Medium on Wednesday at 6 PM instudy. 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 my dad teaching me how to drive both manual and automatic cars. 

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): This week I was reminded of the power of being 100% committed, and I read a great quote while writing my weekly post for the site medium from Deepak Chopra. 

Commitment is the ultimate assertion of human freedom. It releases all the energy you possess and enables you to take quantum leaps in creativity. When you set a one-pointed intention and absolutely refuse to allow obstacles to dissipate the focused quality of your attention, you engage the infinite organizing power of the universe.    

The purpose of the Leap Year process is to identify a passion so you can find the highest expression of your talents. This will allow you to achieve your dreams and create freedom in your life. I have mentioned in the past that freedom is created from discipline and discipline is produced from commitment. 

Andy Drish and Dane Maxwell, founders of multi-million dollar software companies say "100% commitment is easy, while 99% is a @%&$#!"

This quote supports the idea of being 100% committed. 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 you will not follow through. This can easily open the door to uncertainty, which makes it difficult to stay disciplined to the key actions, ie completing your weekly tasks for your Leap Year process. 

Like I mentioned above I was reminded of why it is so important to be 100% committed. This was a super crazy week, as we got in an accident on Sunday, which required me to deal with the insurance company, rent a car, and get reimbursed from the parties at fault. In addition, my wife and I had to go to three different government buildings to get documentation prepared for our move to China in June. Furthermore, I had to administer and grade over 30 semester finals for my math classes. 

Oh right, there is also work in The Foundation I am completing in order to get my first SaaS business off and running. This all in addition to completing my weekly task of writing my W36 post in site Medium.

In the past, I would have been lucky just to complete all the things surrounding my family and work. Now, I am able to both juggle my responsibilities as a husband, father, and my 9-5, with the additional time going into finishing the book and starting multiple SaaS businesses. 

The Leap Year process has helped me cultivate 100% commitment, which in turn has produced the discipline to complete the meaningful tasks in my life. This in turn, will allow me to achieve my dreams and create freedom in my life. And, I hope the Leap Year process can help you cultivate 100% commitment, which will allow you to create freedom in your life.

What went well?

Weekly task completed in the face of tremendous life challenges. 

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

Taking a moment to pause in the middle of day instead of running from one task to another. Even if it is three minutes, take a moment to pause and calm both mind and body.

What is something to avoid next week?

Not drinking enough water. I definitely feel the difference both physically and mentally when I do not do this. 

WEEK 65: THE RESOURCE OF TIME

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my Leap Year W35 post into the site Medium onWednesday 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 was to finally have defined a life purpose. It has allowed me to add focus to my activities and maximize my useage of time. 

EXECUTION (strategies used):  W65 completed! 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 TRUST strategies this week. The highlighted strategies that were used in the week are listed below along with the I CAN'T statements they help overcome. 

Procrastination....I CAN'T because I am not completely sure or am not qualified to...

TRUST: This is a strategy that took me over a year to finally internalize and came from the learnings from Benjamin Hardy, Dane Maxwell, and Seth Godin.

The path to achieving big things will always be hazy, unclear, and filled with uncertainty. This lack of clarity will bring about feelings of fear, but know this is a natural part of the process. Just have a "bias towards action" and embrace the dance with fear on a daily basis. Lastly, understand your comfort zone is but a small dot within your safety zone, so do something which terrifies you everyday for 20 seconds. This will help you to stretch your comfort zone and take on things you never thought possible. 

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): This week I was gave a talk to a group of high school students about the use of time. I enjoyed the experience and it really helped me crystalize more ideas from the Leap Year process.

The talked centered around three main ideas. Purpose, Meaningful change, and Procrastination.

I first highlighted the power of having a purpose to maximize time. I started the presentation by asking for two volunteers. I instructed the first one to just walk around the room, where as, I told the second one to walk form point A to B. Once the second volunteer finished, I had them sit down, but I asked the first volunteer to continue to walking around the room. Then, I posed a question to the whole class

"...how does this situation represent how most of you use your time?" 

It took them a moment, but then they connected the dots. I explained, without a purpose you are like a hamster in a wheel, always working, but getting no where. Where as, with a purpose you are able to focus your actions and accomplish something in less time. 

Next we discussed meaningful change. Today we live in a world where we are bombarded with the results of fantastical stories. A person who lost X number of pounds in X number of weeks. A person who earned X amount of money in the shortest amount of time. Essentially, these stories provide us with quick fixes that focus on extreme results. 

The problem with this is we all get hooked by these results and become super motivated to go out and try to duplicate the results. We try to make drastic changes and try to do everything at once. This migt continue for a day, or even a week, but in the end, we usually quit and are in worse shape them when we started. WHY? We overwhelm ourselves with too many actions and are not able to cope with all the changes. Thus we revert back to our comforts or old habits. I explained meaningful change occurs, incrementally, and is produced with small actions taken consistently. 

This is where I highlighted the power of 1% and introduced the Aggregation of Marginal Gains. As you know this is a cornerstone of the Leap Year process. The idea is to start with a change and look how you can improve by 1%. Then once it becomes easy, you add another 1%. If done on a consistent basis it can produce meaningful results. This is the strategy which allowed the British cycling team to win its first Tour de France in the early 2000's.

Lastly, I explained there is no magic formula for success. It requires work. Unfortunately, most of us avoid it due to a common foe. What is the name of this menacing villain? 

PROCRASTINATION. 

We often times avoid doing the work, as we are not motivated, think we do not have enough time, or lack the skills to complete something meaningful. However, Procrastination is simply an excuse to put off the work that moves you from where you are to where you want to be.  

I then outlined three specific strategies to provide the steps when you tell your self common I CAN'T statements. These are the same I CAN'T statements I list above in the EXECUTION section. They are Implementation Intentions, Got-2 Minutes, and TIME. All three are strategies I have learned and apply today in my Leap Year process. 

What was amazing is this talk was centered around maximizing time, but it parallels the Leap Year process. Time is the golden resource. We can never get back time, where as money and other things, we can always get more. As I reflected this week, I saw the Leap Year process allows you to maximize time. It does this by clarifying a purpose to pursue and discover what you are passionate about. Next, it provides the framework to make meaningful change with incremental, small actions taken consistently. Lastly, it provides the strategies to overcome the enemy of creating the work to achieve your dreams, Procrastination.  

Call to Action

Want to maximize your time for the things which matter most to you? Use the Leap Year process to learn how to maximize time, and close the gap between you and you achieving your dreams. 

What went well?

Weekly task completed and making more connections with the Leap Year process and how it can help maximize your use of time. 

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

Being fully in the moment. I find myself always turning away when I talk to someone, as I thinking about where I need to go to next. 

What is something to avoid next week?

Not facing someone when talking to them. Face them squarely and listen, and be present to the conversation. 

WEEK 64: INCREASE AWARENESS

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my Leap Year W34 post into the site Medium on Wednesday at 6 PM in the 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 it was to be a father of two healthy children. Parenthood is not easy by any means, but there have been small moments that have taken my breath away.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  Weekly task completed. 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 TRUST strategies this week. The highlighted strategies which were used in the week are listed below along with the I CAN'T statements they help overcome.

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Last week I wrote what it entails to take on challenge. It involves having a pretty good idea of where you are going, but not the knowledge of all the steps which will take you there.

An important part of this process came to me as I was reflecting about the week, and I wanted add this to the learning from last week. The unknown, or the idea of not knowing exactly what the end result will be, can produce many uncomfortable feelings. Fear, anxiousness, anger, and awkwardness are but a few.

We are creatures of habit and love the comfort of certainty and love to do things where we know what is going to happen. For example, my wife and I love to go to our favorite restaurant, as we know we will get a certain level of food every time we go. Although it might be exciting to try something else, the possibility of not knowing deters from trying something new.

I have said before the path to your dreams will be hazy and unclear at times, and this is where the challenges arises. Which path do you choose? What actions should you take? Or, what decision should you make?

This lack of clarity produces unwanted emotions and we usually try to avoid them at all costs. However, this is where you have the opportunity to embrace the challenge and the uncomfortable feelings that come with it. This is a key part of the process. You must be able to sit with, learn from, and use these feelings in order to overcome the obstacles on your path to reach your final destination.

Tony Robbins has said

"The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the level of uncertainty you can comfortable deal with."

I have learned embracing challenge requires you to welcome uncertainty and the feelings that come with it. Is it easy, no. Do you want to quit at times, yes! The key is to know you will encounter these feelings along the way to your dreams. Do not try to avoid or change them, but rather interact with them.

Call to Action

When embracing challenge, know you will have to face uncomfortable feelings along the way. Do not try to change them, just recognize them, and use them to your advantage. For example, use the nerves before giving a big presentation to your favor. Nerves are caused from adrenaline, and adrenaline is a source of power to move you forward.

Next, break challenge down into simple actions, then focus on the process of consistently following through on them in order to make progress.

What went well?

Weekly task completed and crystalizing the steps to embrace challenge.

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

Increase awareness. Do not judge or try to control everything, but rather be present to what the current situation is offering. This will allows us to maximize the creativity in every moment.

What is something to avoid next week?

Resisting or controlling situations.