WEEK 80: THE VALUE OF REPORTING

PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

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): Welcome back to another installment of the Leap Year process. this week I want to discuss a learning that highlights the importance of measuring and reporting your performance. 

Thomas Monson said "When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates."

In the past couple of weeks I have discussed DIPs, or the lowest point in taking on something new, is a trigger for you to analyze your daily decisions and actions. Think about the last time you took on a new challenge, you probably thought about quitting at one time or another due to the stress, anger, anxiety, and fear you felt due to the lack of progress you were seeing. However, what determines how much progress you make? Your principles or the daily decisions and actions you take.

John C Maxwell wrote "You will never change your life until you change something you do DAILY. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine."

The key is not continuing doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. I mentioned a three step process last week where you 

1. Identify using the Pareto principle (20% produces 80% of your results) 

2. Drill down and analyze the 20% to identify improvements.

3. Implement and track your performance.

This is where the quote comes in. I have been tracking my daily actions using the Streak app, and although this has helped make some improvements I was missing a HUGE step of the process. REPORTING.

Reporting is defined as the the spoken or written account of something one has observed or done. Simply put you analyze and reflect on my actions. Although I had been measuring if I talked to clients everyday (a 20% activity), I did not look at the stats and did not analyze my approach of how I was doing that. 

For example, I just looked at my Streaks app and saw for the last 7 days I succeeded 29% of the time to speak with clients. 75% for the last 30 days. Now, how I have missed not looking and then reflecting about the results so I could see what adjustments needed to made?

I think back to all the times in the past where I did not achieve a goal before my Leap Year process, and would ask myself "Why can't I do this?" or "I guess, it was not meant to be." When all along it was a simple two step process which was tripping me up.

WOW! Now I know you can accelerate your progress in anything you want to change just by first measuring/tracking your actions. Then second, report, or analyze, reflect, and implement changes on a weekly basis. 

What does this look like in real life? First, use the Pareto principle to identify the 20% of your activities which produce 80% of your results in achieving your ultimate outcome. Second, find a mechanism to track these important actions. This can be either digital or physical, but make sure you are able to see the statistics behind them. This is why I love the Streaks app (4 USD) as it tracks and provides instant stats on six behaviors you want to change. Third, take time to report on your performance every week. This involves analyzing your stats, reflecting on what can be changed, and then implementing these changes in the following week. Then press repeat!

So want to accelerate your growth in any area of your life? Then use this simple strategy to speed up the process of achieving your dreams. 

What Went Well?

Weekly task completed and new strategy on how to accelerate growth and progress crystalized.

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

REPORTING on my daily actions to ensure accelerated growth.

What is something to avoid next week?

Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. 

WEEK 79: IDENTIFY, DRILL DOWN, TRACK & ITERATE

PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

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 wanted to expand upon the learning I have been talking about in the previous weeks.

Seth Godin says everyone hits their DIPs, or when a project becomes difficult and not much fun to complete. I wrote this happens because we are focused solely on the end result, as we are constantly thinking about the lack of progress we have made. Thus, doubt, anxiety, and fear creep in and we start identifying the many challenges, the reason why it is too difficult, and might start asking ourselves if it will ever happen. 

Last week, I said feeling a DIP is a trigger for you to analyze your principles, daily decisions and actions, as these govern if you achieve your goal. For example, if you are not loosing weight, instead of thinking about how many pounds you have to lost, reflect about what you are doing currently and identify what needs to be changed. 

Now this is where I want to expand this week. What does this mean to analyze principles? Well, this was huge for me, but I was able to learn three questions you can ask yourself when you face a DIP.

First, understand when you encounter a DIP, it is a trigger telling your actions are not producing the results you want. I will be honest, this part sucks, but know it is your internal guide self correcting your process. Thus, if you feel depressed, burnt out, or just asking yourself if you will even accomplish your goal, then follow the process below:

Step 1: Identify

List the end goal you are trying to achieve and list all the activities you are doing to achieve it currently. Now analyze each one and see if it is allowing you to make progress in reaching your end goal. 

I have mentioned the Pareto principle before, but it deals with the idea that usually 80% of your results are produced from 20% of your actions. Thus, what you need to find are those 20% actions which produce 80% of your results and eliminate the others.

For me, I am hustling to get three to four software businesses off the ground, but like I mentioned in past weeks no one has signed on the dotted line when it comes time to decided. My business partner and I have many interested parties, but no one has taken the leap yet. This has led us to doubt what we were doing and being frustrated as we have not achieved our end result of getting paying customers. 

I finally realized, we entered into our DIP, as we were solely focused on not having a customer yet. Furthermore, I recognized this was our internal guides screaming at us to analyze our principles. Thus I listed out all the activities we were doing:

-Fixing bugs in our software

-Reaching out to others about making software more efficient

-Contacting people in various markets

-Watching and rewatching videos on the process

-Taking notes on the process

-Talking to people about the idea

-Listening to audiobooks to learn how to interact with people

There are more, but this gives a pretty good idea of what we were doing in our spare time. Although all of these things do help us in one way or another, I saw a lot of them were not super helpful in getting our first clients. Then I was able to identify we were only talking to a few people about our ideas, and learning sporadically how we could better interact with them. 

Step 2: Drill Down

Now after you identify the actions which produce 80% of your results, drill down and identify what you are currently doing and see how you can improve those individual actions.

For example, we were talking to some people about our products, but they were all from different niches. Thus, I saw we would make more progress if we were to talk to solely 1-2 niches, instead of 8-10. Think of it as using a rifle versus a shotgun to focus on a target.

Step 3: Track and Iterate

This step is crucial. Next, implement and track your improved 20% actions for the next week or so. Iterate and keep experimenting to clarify what works and what doesn't.

For me, I will talk to more people within a niche about our ideas and keep experimenting with the strategies provided from the book "How to Win Friends, and Influence People" to better engage possible clients. 

Wala! There you have it. A three step process to turn a DIP into an accelerator. 

To end, I wanted to share how super frustrated I was when we hadn't achieved our goal of getting our first paying customer.  However, Albert Einstein wrote 

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."

That is exactly what we were doing, completing the same actions over and over again expecting a certain results.

Thus, I have learned a DIP is a trigger for you to take a step back and review your daily decision and actions. I can guarantee you will accelerate your growth and reach your goals faster if you follow this three step process. Furthermore, you can eliminate the negative emotions related with a DIP and  use it as a stepping stone on the path to achieving your dreams. 

What Went Well?

Weekly task completed and huge learning about DIPs being triggers crystalized

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

Try to do EVERYTHING and expect results. 

What is something to avoid next week?

Eating junk food. It really makes me tired and lethargic...TIME taker for sure. 

WEEK 78: FOCUSED ON RESULT = CONCENTRATING ON UNKOWN = UNCOMFORTABLE FEELINGS = DIPs.

FRIDAY, 8AM IN OFFICE

PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

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 wanted to share a learning I had about fear. There are many examples, such as the fear of being viewed differently, fear of not being able to deliver, or the fear of looking foolish in front of others. Although it can take on many different forms, it can usually be boiled down to either the fear of failure or success. 

In previous weeks I have discussed the idea of Inevitable Thinking, or the strategy where what you decide becomes a forgone conclusion as you set up the conditions to make it a reality. The conditions I have learned are your principles, daily decisions and actions, which will help you achieve the result you set out to complete. 

This learning has been timely, as I have been going through some DIPs, low points where what you are trying to achieve is 0% fun, in areas of my life. For example, I have been devoting every minute of my spare time to launch my first software business and although a lot of people are quite interested, no one has committed to paying for one yet. 

I will be honest and say there was a string of weeks where I doubted myself and wondered if I was ever going to close a deal. Then I learned about Inevitable Thinking, which allowed me to drop the disbelief. It taught me to believe that closing a sale for one of my software companies is a forgone conclusion, it is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. What I need to focus on is the principles, or daily decisions or actions, which will get me there. 

The problem is we all focus on the results today. Lose X number of pounds, make X number of dollars, live in a house a certain size. I have learned focusing solely on the end result will produce our DIPs, as we are not creating a desired result. Thus we think constantly about what we have not accomplished and start doubting our abilities to the point where we might even quit what we have started. Essentially this lack of clarity of whether or not you will accomplish what you set out to causes you to deal with a flood of uncomfortable feelings; doubt, anxiety, and FEAR. 

This is where I had my AHA moment. The path to our dreams will be hazy and unclear at times and this lack of clarity will have us asking, "...am I ever going to get there?" Thus you start focusing solely on the end result, which opens the door to uncomfortable feelings like doubt, anxiety, and FEAR. Thus FOCUSED ON RESULT = CONCENTRATING ON UNKOWN = UNCOMFORTABLE FEELINGS = DIPs. 

Thus if you catch yourself in a pool of uncomfortable feelings, take a step back stop thinking solely about the end result. These moments are actually a trigger for you to analyze your daily decisions or actions, principles. What are you doing on a daily basis? What actions are you taking? Are those actions taking you closer to your ultimate outcome?

For my example, above I was just focusing on why I did not have customers. Then I looked at my principles and saw I trying to do so many things...making sure the software was more efficient, learning more content, but was forgetting the most important thing when you want more customers...talk to people about my products. Thus, I shifted my focus and started on trying to talk to at least one person a day about my products. This has lead me to finding more potential customers and more opportunities than I had before. 

Thus, if you catch yourself thinking constantly about the unknown and in a DIP, then take a step back and analyze your principles. You will find your daily actions will probably not align with the ultimate outcome you are trying to achieve. 

What Went Well?

DIPs, in-laws visiting, and routines not set, but weekly task completed. 

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

Focus on principles, not the end results. Thus avoiding feelings DIPs on a more regular basis. 

What is something to avoid next week?

Focusing solely on results. 

WEEK 77: SYSTEMS = PROCESS = PRINCIPLES

PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

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): Last week I wrote about Inevitable thinking, or believing what you decide is a forgone conclusion because you set up the conditions to make it happen.

Imagine if you were to harness this power every time you took on a challenge? Loose 10 lbs and keep it off, no problem! Quit smoking, easy. The major difficulty is there is an element of uncertainty caused from the unknown. This lack of clarity on the HOW and WHEN produces uncomfortable feelings. Doubt, anxiety, and fear cripple us and stop us from taking action. Thus we sabotage ourselves before we even start.

Think about  the last time you stopped yourself from taking on a challenge or trying something new? You probably convinced yourself not to try as there was a possibility you might fail or you because you had never done something like it before? I can raise my hand here, as I must have talked myself out of starting the "Leap Year process" for many years, that is right years, before I finally took action.

This is why I want to dive deeper into the setup and lay out it step by step, so you can harness the power of Inevitable Thinking. 

I have discussed before the importance to focus on systems, or the process, over goals to make progress. Don't get me wrong, goals are great to plan, but to make progress you must have a singular focus on the system. For example, how many of us make a goal and start to take action, but quit a short time after we start? Why is this? Well, at first we are driven by the end result, but lose motivation and interest when incremental or no progress is made. The singular focus is on the result, thus it is harder to stick with your systems when you do not see a lot of progress.

Syntax, or order, plays a huge part here. Once you set your goal, then decide on the systems which will help you get there and solely focus on consistently implementing and improving them. I can promise you will be able to sustain your new habits, which will in turn help you achieve your goal. For example, the Leap Year process involves devoting time every week to pursue and discover what you are passionate about. Imagine if I would have solely focused on writing a book and starting software companies and neglected the systems, completing the weekly tasks, everyday. Do you think I would be sitting here 76 weeks later writing this post to you? I doubt it! However, I focused on completing the weekly task no matter what challenges life presented me. Week in week out, it is about Planning, Implementing, and Reflecting on the weekly task so I can improve the process for the following week. This has led me to clarifying what my passions are, writing a 55,000+ word manuscript, starting multiple software companies, and a whole slue of other amazing things. All in the face of everyday challenges of being a husband, father of two, holding a 9-5, cooking, buying groceries...

Furthermore, I want to connect what I wrote in W73 about principles and how it can help reverse the crippling effect of fear of the unknown. Dr. Stephen R. Covey said 

"We control our actions, but the consequences that flow from those actions are controlled by principles."

For example, your body is governed by principles and will become unhealthy if you only consume unhealthy foods. Your finances are governed by principles and you will become in debt if you spend more than you have. You control the action, but the consequences that follow are governed by PRINCIPLES.

So what are principles? Principles are the compound effect of daily decisions. Doing something one time, like drinking a beer or smoking a cigarette, will not have a damaging effect on your health. Where as, these activities done over a extended period of time can cause major health problems. 

Thus if you want to create better outcomes, then improve the daily decisions you make, thus creating a positive compound effect. 

Here is big AHA moment.  Systems = Process = Principles. Thus when you want to achieve a goal, decide and then use Inevitable Thinking to your advantage by first believing what you want to accomplish is a forgone conclusion, and second focus on the systems/process/principles to make progress to achieve that result!

What Went Well?

Weekly task completed in the face adjusting to being a new father of two, a husband, new schedules...(list goes on).

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

Prioritizing. Learning to cut away tasks which do not need to be completed right away and focus on the ones which ones need immediate attention.

What is something to avoid next week?

Trying to complete everything all at once.  Prioritize!