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.
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