How I Actively Read
Reading is an active sport!
I always have two books going, one print and one Kindle. I have recently read and follow along with How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens and Adler’s How to Read a Book. I follow their guidelines in how I actively read.
For me, the key to reading is turning it into a habit. Here is my post on how I use Tiny Habits to successfully achieve this.
To make reading a habit, I have set a low daily goal of reading one page. I describe my aim low to overachieve thoughts in this post (LINK).
This has helped me build a daily reading habit.
My Workflow
My workflow is a combined digital and analog system. I use the Kindle, print books, the Readwise, and Evernote apps, along with a notebook and 4x6 cards.
I engage with my books by taking notes, documenting my criticisms, agreements, and disagreements with the authors, along with highlights. Thus, I am constantly engaging with the author.
My workflow is slightly different based on the book type.
Kindle book
I read on both my Kindle Paperwhite (link) and the Kindle app on my iPhone. They seamlessly sync, so I am always at the exact location on all my devices. I ready and actively highlight and enter notes on what I read. As I read, my highlights are automatically synced to Readwise and are served up to me daily based on the algorithms I set. I have set Readwise to automatically sync my highlights to Evernote.
I have a separate Readwise notebook with all my highlights in Evernote.
Print Books
Print Library Book
If the book is available from the library, and I have not done my pre-book review, I will get the library book to see if the book is worth purchasing. If the book is a book I will read, I’ll eventually buy my own copy.
I use a notebook for library books to capture my notes, highlights, and thoughts as I read. I capture my ideas about the author’s points and then note the book’s page number.
After completing the book, I prepare a 1-page summary of the book and my three actions or takeaways.
This is all done in my Book notebook – currently, a Minimalism Art B5 Dotted softcover notebook.
I review my physical notes and distill the best ones down and add them to Evernote. Along with my book summary, I add my three Take-Aways to Evernote and my Book Actions Pages document.
Print book – Owned
For these books, I am highlighting and writing notes in the book during reading. I am folding pages for critical sections; I highlight words I want to look up. I am physically interacting with the book in the book.
After I completed the book, I set the book down for a few weeks.
It’s been two to three weeks, so now I go back and review my highlights and transfer the key thoughts, ideas, and quotes to Evernote. I also write out the summary of the book and identify three takeaways/actions from the book for me.
All Reading Notes
After I have everything distilled down in Evernote, I take one more pass, identify the key, foundational notes, and physically write them out on 4 x 6 index cards.
I write the highlighted note out in my own words; I add 3 – 4 theme words on the top line on the back of each card. Next, I note the author and book or article. I then note the page from the book on the front of the note.
I then transfer the themes to a Numbers database with the book noted. I then note any other notes related to (manual backlinking) and finally add the note to my box. Filed alphabetically by the first or key theme.
How do you capture and process what you read? Share it below in the comments.
Celebrate Small to Go Big
I celebrate small to go big. Here is how I do it.
Tiny habits. I have been going through BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits book. I’ll have a review published shortly. Using Fogg’s techniques in the book, I have made significant, consistent improvements in critical areas.
“I change best by feeling good, not by feeling bad”
That is BJ Fogg’s maxim on change, and it is working for me. I’m not relying on willpower or “grit” daily to complete my habit items. Instead, I have the bar set low and celebrate right away.
To develop actions into habits for critical areas, I set a small, easily achievable daily target. Don’t laugh, but I mean small; Reading – 1 page.
Content Creation 5 min. Yes, I set the success bar that low.
I read one page and then immediately celebrate. What happens?
I get a dose of dopamine; I get another dose when I check it off in Streaks (the Habit tracking app I use). Same thing with content creation. Using the timing app MultiTimer (here is my review) to count down for 5 min. When the timer goes off, I give a little clap and celebrate. What tends to happen is I just sit back down and continue writing. Long past 5 min.
What makes this successful is that after I celebrate, psychologically, the pressure is off on keeping my streaks alive and achieving my daily goals. And what is interesting is what happens next. I read continuously throughout the day.
A physical book, my phone’s Kindle app when I have a second, even before tennis starts on my Kindle. I end up reading probably 30 minutes a day. All stress-free and in my minds’ eye, “extra reading.” I feel great; I don’t have the stress of coming to the end of the day and needing to read 10 pages or something. I have cleared all I need to do in the morning and feel great. Really works for me.
Same works for exercise.
I started my strength habit by doing 1 exercise. Yes, I go down and do a curl or even a few wrist exercises and check it off. What has that turned into? Anywhere from 25 – 60 min of strength 4 days a week. But I am sure to check off the Streaks app.
So, I would look to set yourself up for success low, build that habit, feel good about what you are doing and go from there.
What techniques do you use for setting habits? Share with all of us in the comments below.
Active Reading
I’m currently reading How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren. I’ll post a full review, but I wanted to share a quick tip.
Active reading is the authors’ argument. Only through active reading do you increase your understanding, not just your knowledge. For every book, they offer 4 questions that must be asked.
There are four basic questions you need to ask and answer about every book:
What is the book about as a whole?
What is being said in detail, and how?
Is the book true, in its entirety or in part?
What do I make of this book, what does it mean for me?
I have these questions on a simple 3 x 5 card I use as the bookmark. I am reminded of these questions every time I open the book.
Any tips you have that enhance your active reading habit?
You Need to Be An Infinite Player
Infinite players change, pivot, and adjust more successfully than finite players.
You need to be an infinite player.
Let’s get the definitions straight – What is an infinite player? - An infinite player’s outlook is towards value creation and contributions that span generations. Infinite players don’t view the game as life-ending but just evolving and improving. Life provides them with the ability and opportunity to provide lasting value. – a long-term view, that by definition, you embrace change, evolving and such that the “game lives on” beyond you and there is not an end game win. They typically embrace just causes and think broadly. The goal of the infinite player is to evolve, grow, stay in the game, innovate.
Contrast that with the finite thinker. They are more of a short-term winner vs. losers, see the end of the game as either winning or losing. An example of a good sport would be American Football. There is a specific time for the game, and at the end, the higher score wins. Game over.
Life isn’t like that.
Change is inevitable and needed to survive and contribute. Having an infinite mindset is critical. Being an infinite player with a long-term view towards value creation and contribution allows you to:
Change quickly as you don’t have to wait for the perfect moment. If timing is off, the short-term implications are minimized over time.
Not be concerned with perfection. You’re not paralyzed by waiting for the perfect time. You can take action because you know any short-term bumps don’t matter in the long term. You can take action. Ship the minimum viable product and iterate from there. You have a vision of what you want to contribute, which is just a point on that continuum.
Focus on easy, small wins. As Jeff Walker says, you can focus on “Getting to the First Dollar”. You can take the focused steps need to prove your concept and ultimate value to the customer.
You can address issues as they come up, and you feel like you are in control of what is transpiring. You don’t let things happen because of fate; you take action. You improve. Don’t assume anything; take action.
Have greater control over your actions than your results. You focus on what you can control and not on the score or outcome.
Be a process and systems thinker. You work a process rather than jumping around trying to get quick results. You take advantage of systems thinking because a successful system creates insight and new ideas. As Jim Afremow in The Champion’s Mind put it, “Always focus on the process and execution rather than worrying about the desired, or worse, the feared result, whether you are staring down a putt on the 18th green to win a tournament or to break 80 for the first time.”
Ask great questions like James Clear proposed “If you keep living the way you are, what will your life look like in 20 years?”
Be decisive. Sometimes you need patience other times; you need to take action. You’ll know when.
Understand the value of small changes because you are in it for the long haul. You know the importance of small incremental change and have the vision and time to see the returns. Remember saving 10 minutes a day = 1 week of effort and time within a year. Small changes add up.
Take a more measured approach to change. You have time to go through the 5 steps Hugh Culver outlines as key to successful change in your life:
Become crystal clear about the challenge,
Determine the best possible solution,
Adopt a belief that you will succeed,
Take action and pay attention to evidence of your success, and
Repeat.
Take advantage of valuable feedback loops. Feedback loops are vital components to drive and inform change. You take advantage of more feedback loops. Better information can lead to better and more meaningful change. Feedback is the key to change and to learn.
Be motivated by sustained impact. Your answer to a higher calling. You don’t need a massive, quick change to remain motivated. The key is sustained change, not quick change for a dopamine hit. The old 1% change adage.
Take advantage of the momentum from minor changes. They become habitual and routine. Change to improve.
Be an infinite player and embrace change and improvement. Your focus on the long-term allows you to ride out short-term bumps and deviations. It is easier to put these changes in perspective. You will be able to change, adjustment and to pivot easier. You can do it. This will lead to less mental and physical stress in your life.
Have a more meaningful life by moving towards infinite thinking.
Break Through Perceived Limitations
We all face limitations; are they real or perceived?
The majority of limitations we face or think we face are perceived, not real.
Merriam-Webster defines limitations as “1 : an act or instance of limiting. 2: the quality or state of being limited. 3: something that limits: restraint. 4: a certain period limited by statute after which actions, suits, or prosecutions cannot be brought in the courts.
Even physical limitations can be perceived.
When scientists study physical exhaustion, they find that exhaustion occurs not when the body faces a hard limitation like glycogen depletion but rather when the person experiences the maximum level of perceived effort they are willing to tolerate. The scientists argue that perceived effort tolerance’s psychological limit is reached before the true physical limit is reached. Read more about this in Fitzgerald Matt, How Bad Do You Want It?
Okay, we encounter a limitation; how do we determine if it is real or perceived? Step back and objectively ask these five questions:
· Have I faced this limitation before?
· If so, how did I handle it?
· If I didn’t break through it, what could I have done differently?
· Have a successfully navigated a similar limitation before and pushed through?
· Here is how I moved through other limitations before; how can I use what I learned from that experience?
Get Your Self-Confidence where it needs to be.
Now we have put the limitation in the proper perspective. We need to get our confidence and self-worth in an excellent place to be then able to tackle it.
Do you have the proper confidence or self-worth? This is critical. If you constantly compare yourself to others and if losing, or backing down to limitations, makes you feel worthless as a person, it should be clear why this is damaging to your mental health.
It would be best if you worked diligently to maintain a positive view of your self-worth. Remember, self-worth is 100% internal; and 100% in your control. Own your self-worth.
Let’s attack the limitation.
You’ve got your self-worth on a great track, now what?
Attack the limitation with these Five steps made popular by Hugh Culver:
1) Become crystal clear about the challenge (we already did this!)
2) Determine the best possible solution,
3) Adopt a belief that you will succeed,
4) Take action and pay attention to evidence of your success, and
5) Repeat.
You’ve tried everything – time to break the rules if the rules don’t work for you.
Don’t always follow conventional thinking when there is a better way. Look at things from a different perspective, attack them from the opposite side. Flip your attack.
It may be time to bring in Discipline and Persistence.
Persistence is essential because success is rarely imparted on the first attempt. One of the keys to successfully executing the complexities of anything is a devotion to the principle of persistence.
Take your actions and break them down using systems thinking. Focus on creating a process that generates a hammer that will break down your limitation over time. Focusing on executing the strategy vs. ruminating on the limitation will provide you the willpower, discipline, and energy to move forward.
In the end, only you can push through, so do it. But as Tony Robbins puts it, “here’s the truth: the ultimate thing that stops most of us from making significant progress in our lives is not somebody else’s limitations, but rather our limiting perceptions or beliefs.”
You and only you can place limitations on your progress - you completely control your trajectory.
In the end, no one can do the job of you better than you can! Break down those limitations.
What limitations have you broken through? What techniques were successful for you? Let us know in the comments below.
Improve your Weakest Link
Should you improve on your strengths and ignore your weaknesses? Absolutely not. I say you spend 70% of your energy on your strengths and 30% on improving your weaknesses.
When we think of weakness, many think in terms of physical strength. I like the Gallup definition of weakness as “anything that gets in the way of your success.” We all have weaknesses.
Seth Godin has a great post where he argues you can make your greatest improvement by focusing on the “laggards.” This has a direct application to you personally. He has some mathematical examples the prove his point.
Here are the reasons I go with the 70-30 split.
Focusing too much on your weaknesses, you risk impacting your self-confidence, enthusiasm, and overall performance in life. Don’t drive yourself to the negative, unproductive mindset. It would be best if you stayed in the productive growth mindset.
You have strengths that can actually directly improve your weaknesses. Do you not give up easily? Do you have an infinite mindset? These can be great attributes to use against areas of weakness.
Focusing energy on your weaknesses is aided by a unit view that Career Buzz has in that “maybe your weaknesses are also strengths or have a corresponding strength. By focusing on your weaknesses, you are actually equally improving a strength. Do you view persistence as a weakness as you don’t know when to quit? Maybe working on identifying the right time to quit will give you the skill to understand when you are close to a breakthrough and should keep persisting?
Don’t completely ignore your weaknesses as they can’t be completely ring-fenced. Weaknesses can bleed over into other areas of your life. Just like strengths bleed over into other areas of your life, weaknesses can as well.
They may be holding you back in areas of your life that are critical and preventing you from achieving your ultimate life’s vision.
When you jump into the 30% of focusing on your weaknesses, here are some helpful tips to remain productive:
You are not your weaknesses. Don’t personalize them to the point they define you.
Detach from your weaknesses – view them independently and objectively as something that can be either ignored (yes, that is okay or improved on).
Truly believe that you can improve your weaknesses. Ask yourself What If? What if I can improve X? What would my life be like? After asking What if and truly believing that improvement is possible, you can move to improve it?
You can improve it; you believe it now; just put together a plan or system to move you towards improvement. Set metrics, track progress, and constantly adjust your course to make the progress you want.
Remember to celebrate the victories along the way. Don’t wait until you have completely solved the nut before celebrating.
These tips should help you move forward by focusing more on your strengths while not ignoring and being held back too much by your weaknesses.
Add Value with Tracking
What you track needs to add value. No matter what you track, be it habits, workouts, investment performance, or as Olof Hoverfält does, every piece of clothing he wears for the last 3+ years. Don’t track to track; make sure you use the tracking information to add value to your life. Today ask yourself “Why am I tracking this?
Get Yourself Thinking with these Review Questions
We are all trying to put 2020 behind us and are looking forward to a better 2021. Just looking forward to next year is not going to automatically make it better. Hoping that ’21 set the bar so low that ’21 has to be better isn’t a full-proof strategy.
You have to make an intentional choice to make it better. If you can’t clearly state your mission, values, and goals, you need to do more thinking.
Here are questions that I have gathered from people like James Clear, Jim Afremow, and even Han Solo!, to review how things have gone in the past and how I want to intentionally experience the next year, month, day, etc.
I hope some of these questions provide you with inspiration to pause and think about where you are and what you want your future to look like.
Imagine the most important goal or project you are working on right now. Fast forward six months. Imagine the project has failed. Why did you fail?
If you keep living the way you are, what will your life look like in 20 years?
Do I take 100 percent responsibility for my successes and failures?
Have you played the victim? And how can you take responsibility for how you feel?
Imagine the most important goal or project you are working on right now. Fast forward six months. Imagine the project has failed. Why did you fail?
What limits have you placed on your own success? How can you break through these perceived limits?
When the rules don't work you break Them. Where do you need to stop doing the same thing so you can get a better result? Don't always follow conventional thinking when there is a better way.
How will I handle my current situation like a champion?
What will I do now to get to where I want to be in the future?
Sports Motivation Podcast is a Must Listen
The Triswimcoach.com blog had a recent post “Five books and a podcast to help you this offseason” and the recommended The Sports Motivation Podcast by Olaniyi Sobomehin.
I’ve been binging on this podcast over the weekend and should be on everyone’s listening list. Olaniyi publishes two podcasts a week and his direct, practical style is captivating.
An undrafted NFL player, Olaniyi knows what he's talking about. His website is Imnotyou.com.
If you are serious about success, you need to listen.
CIRCA Planner System Pilot
Background
I enjoy writing and adjusted my note taking to incorporate handwriting. I seem to remember written material much better than typed items. This is extremely important to me.
The constraint of having to write, or even re-write in some cases, forces me to distill down and filter the critical from the nice to have items. I have so much stuff in my life and wanted a way to reduce how much I took in and saved. Handwritten capture of notes does that for me.
Along with coffee cups, fountain pens are my other hobby, obsessions. Hard to use my pens when I am typing everything. I also enjoy great paper and wanted to figure out how to incorporate the written word into a digital process where necessary.
Enter Circa
What Is It?
CIRCA is an entirely paper-based analog system from the Levenger Company. The system uses disks to hold the cover, pages, and other inserts together. These round disks allow the flexibility to add, remove, and move the pages and inserts around. These disks are available in various sizes, colors and materials. Numerous covers and accessories are also available. The punches produce unique holes that work directly with the disks for retention.
What I like about the system is the ease with which you can add or move pages around. With the hole punch accessories, you can add any paper or pages you want to your notebook.
Using the disks instead of a traditional ring system (think Franklin Covey) is that the overall thickness of your planner is thinner. This is relative to the size of the disks you use and the number of pages and inserts you have in your planner.
How I use it?
I have essentially a 4 notebooks set up in the US Letter size:
1. A Work Capture Notebook with a few reference sheets permanently included
2. A Work Archive Notebook
3. A Home Capture Notebook
4. A Home Archive Notebook
The Work and Home Capture Notebooks
These are my everyday capture pads. These capture notebooks are comprehensive, complete places I can go for anything that I’ve captured. Every meeting, thought, note and to do item is captured in these notebooks. They are always open on my desk and I can quickly jot a note, draw out a diagram or capture a random thought.
When I am away from home or my office I capture notes on my Midori traveler’s notebook that fits nicely in my back pocket. Towards the end of the day I transfer all my notes from my Midori into my CIRCA or if it is as do to item directly into Nozbe my task management system.
This I also use two types of pages in the notebook – the Circa Full-Page Ruled Refill Sheets that I purchased a 300 pack of and the Freeleaf Note Pads hole punched. I have three dividers in the notebooks although I haven't used all of them yet.
As I don’t really travel with these notebooks they are holding up well and function well.
Being able to add pages I am able to keep the Home Capture Notebook think which really makes writing easy. Using either my Rotring 600 Mechanical Pencil or a TWSBI Diamond 580 fountain pen I can capture with ease.
With the disks I can have the notebook open to a blank page and the cover is nicely folded under the notebook thus taking up the amount of desk space as a notepad.
My Work Capture is a nicer covered set-up
I have the Circa Dimensions Notebook, Letter size cover with the same paper. I also have a few key reference sheets that I like to have always with me in the office so I have these under a WORK divider. I also have a HOME divider as well to keep my work notes separate from any Home notes or thoughts I want to capture during the work day. This notebook travels with me both around the office complex but also on trips. It has held up extremely well although the cover does show scratches.
The disks hold the pages in extremely well and adding new pages is easy. I am not inserting and removing pages frequently so I haven’t experienced any paper fatigue in terms of the paper punches not holding. I typically insert daily sheets for meetings or reference materials for the day and then only remove them when I archive my notes every two weeks into the Archive Notebook.
My Work and Home Archive Notebooks
My archive notebooks all consist of the basic starter plastic cover with the black ¾ inch disks. During this trial phase I wanted to see how I was going to like it and didn’t want to sink too much money into the system.
After two weeks I physically archive my old home and work notes into these archive notebooks by date. If I ever need to go back to something I have it right, there.
Hole Punches
I have two hole punches one at work and one that sits on my desk at home. I have the single sheet Circa 1-2-3 Portable Punch at work. This is a plastic, compact punch that can sit in my desk drawer. This punches a single sheet of paper. The precision of the punches is remarkable with the paper lining up extremely well with the factory-punched paper.
This punch works by having 3 separate punches along the length of the paper and you insert the page and then push the three levers in succession. I have found that you need to be diligent about holding the paper in the punch as you move through the punch progression to make sure the punches are cleaner and completely through. This punch does tend to get clogged which makes aligning the next sheet difficult.
This punch is adjustable to the paper size you are suiting. This is a great compact single sheet punch.
The Circa Universal Desk sits at home. This punch is a multi-page page that can handle six pages. This is a metal punch with a single punch mechanism similar to the traditional 3-hole punch tool. This is also adjustable to the paper size. This is bulky and I would not recommend this as something that can travel or move about. More of a stationary punch. IF you were going to punch your own paper to use in the system I would recommend this punch. You get the benefit of multi-page punching along with the price of a mid range puncher. There is a 15 sheet higher volume puncher that I would only get if you are in a group / office user citation and needed a more durable / higher volume punch.
Overall
I have about $120 into my system at this point. The system is working for me. The ability to have a nicer notebook cover for work, the ability to interchange pages, and the ability is key. I enjoy the benefit of having all my notes together (archived) but also having the flexibility to even scan in a page or put it in a file if I want without having to tear a page out of a notebook is key for me.
The Levenger paper I find to be extremely high quality (specifics of the paper) and works well with fountain pens along with pencils and roller balls. I had been using Levenger pads before so that was not a big change. Also the ability to add pages as necessary is key for me. The disks don’t seem as clunky as a 3-ring binder and presentable in the workplace.
Overall I would recommend the system and I will be continuing to use the set up into the future. I would recommend you start with one of the starter packs. That way you can try out the different sizes and the overall system. Once you are set on the system and size then I would invest in a nicer cover, and some of the accessories. I would also recommend you get the smallest size discs you think you can get away with. They are fairly inexpensive and the number of pages each disk size can hold is deceiving. I have more than enough capacity with ¾ inch disks I am using.
Enjoy and share your thoughts below.
Book Review – Living with a Seal by Jesse Itzler
I recently read Living with a Navy Seal by Jesse Itzler.
The author, Jesse Itzler is the founder of Marquis Jets and husband of Sara Blakely the founder of Spanx. I picked up this book after hearing Jess on Jeff Sanders’ The 5 AM Miracle podcast. A great podcast that I strongly recommend.
Book Summary
Jesse hires a Navy seal to live with him and his family for thirty-one days to transform his physical fitness but actually produces a greater transformation. Seal, as he is referred to in the book, has only one rule – Jesse must do everything he says; no exceptions. This 251-page book reads like a diary with each chapter a chronological discussion of the thirty-one days Seal spent with Jesse and his family.
Jesse actually includes the workouts that Seal puts him through and you can clearly follow his progression, however this isn’t a how to workout like a navy seal book. Rather this book is a description of a deeper transformation. Jesse is able to subtly describe and take you through the transformation day by day. Like watching your kids grow you don’t actually notice the transformation as you laugh and admire the daily activities.
My Takeaways
Respect
Respect what you do, where you are, and the environment you are in. Seal really instilled this in Jesse by continuous demonstration. Seal never complains or uses anything as an excuse. He shows you that you can respect something but also not being intimidated or daunted by something. Acknowledge whatever it is and then get after whatever you are there to do.
Minimalism
I also took away how powerful and useful minimalism can be. Seal came into Jesse’s home with a small backpack for the month, which was enough and didn’t interfere with what needed to be done or completed. Seal made what he had irrelevant. It was all about execution.
Total Commitment
Until you totally commit you have no idea about your true capabilities.
Seal described something called the 40% Rule. This is Navy premise that once your mind says you should quit you are really only at 40% of your true physical limit.
“If you want to be pushed to your limits, you have to train to your limits.” Seal
You don’t know your limits until you push and push and push. This was demonstrated on day one when the Seal had Jesse complete 100 pull-ups. And they stayed on the gym until they were done. Seal’s approach is the ultimate Getting Things Done approach.
Great read and highly recommended.
Why I am reading physical Magazines again
Are you chasing your dreams or just coasting along? Are you striving for personal gold or settling for silver?
The Champion's Mind
I am going back to reading physical magazines and books.
A few benefits with the physical version:
- Having a physical magazine around lets me pick up and read in sprints rather than feeling like I need to read the entire magazine in one sitting.
- The physical magazine is a great visual queue for me to read it.
- I can quickly tear out pages or jot down notes for items I want to keep. (I actually scan in the torn out pages and get them into Dropbox or Evernote.)
- I can actually get through the materials faster in physical form than electronic.
- I know when I have finished the material as the magazine goes right into recycling.
- I find reading the physical magazine makes it easier to get through the material.
So how am I reading now?
I subscribe to both the physical and electronic versions when they are both available. Most magazines offer deals on this 2 for 1 option so it is not that costly. More on the electronic version later.
I read with my Leuchtturm 1917 notebook by my side along with my favorite fountain pen, or my trusty Space Pen for taking notes. I capture notes and thoughts as I read. If there is a page that I want to save I just tear it out and scan it for further use. I find this works well for me with ads and full page items that I need to evaluate later.
When I am done I recycle the physical magazine.
Electronic Version
I use the electronic version for archive in case I want to go back and re-read or research something. Having the material around electronically in a single app essentially takes up no space and doesn't create any noticeable clutter.
For magazines that don't offer a physical version, or if I am traveling, I read the electronic version on my iPad. I still have my Leuchtturm 1917 by my side for notes.
I hope this is helpful and let me know in the comments below how you are consuming content.
Doing Sickness and Motivation the Right Way
For the last three months I have been in a boot nursing a partially torn achilles tendon. For the last two weeks I have been sick. Up until then I was actively focused on jdhayes.com and worked out. My content publishing schedule and my workouts were consistent, all though modified with only upper body strength training, swimming and some indoor cycling. I was consistent until I got sick. Once I got sick everything stopped. I was barely able to get through my daily responsibilities and completely stopped focusing on my content and working out.
I was unmotivated and depressed - Why was that and could I have done more? Would doing anything have helped speed up my recovery?
Motivation and Productivity
When you are sick your energy levels are down as your body is trying to fight off whatever is making you sick. So it is understandable that you aren’t as energized and motivated to get things done. Your productivity is non-existent. But I find myself completely shutting down. What could I have done to not completely lose my momentum?
Lighten Up
Rather than completely shutting down I could have been easier on myself. I could have lightened up on what I was expecting of myself and been happy with less. I usually have an all or nothing view, which is completely counter-productive. Looking at what I wanted to get done and scaling that back to a few key items would have been better and much more successful.
Meditate
As I discussed in my post “I’m starting a medication practice" , I have started meditating. During the last two weeks I completely dropped that as well. In hindsight I could have kept that up and I think that would have actually helped cut the stress of the sickness and helped put my illness in perspective. I am like most men in that every stuffy nose, bit of congestion, and fever is life threatening. Meditation would have helped with my mindset and perspective.
Think Longer Term
When I was laid up that would have been a great time to think a little longer term. Getting out of the negativity of knowing I needed to get things done and was not doing them, and stepping back and thinking long-term would have served me well. Using that time to look at my goals, the systems and processes I have or need, would have kept me on a positive trajectory. Resting and being inactive lends itself to thinking, planning and retrospective views. I definitely lost a great opportunity to use that time wisely.
Clear the Clutter
Getting organized and decluttering does not take a lot of thought or mental energy. Also having a more organized workspace and home space would have made me feel better and helped with my mental attitude. This is something I could have done in small bursts.
Evaluate and Think
This ties into the Think Longer Term suggestion. What could I have done differently to potentially avoided this illness? One too many apple fritters? Does this always happen after a long international flight? If I would have done some focused thinking on this I might have a preventative gameplay now. Another good question would have been What can I do Now? Focusing on doing something would have been better than How quickly can I get to bed.
Working Out and Physical Activity
How could I have still done some physical activity?
Evaluate
Evaluate what exactly I have. With only a sinus infection and the related congestion and drainage I had the classic Above the neck illness. The conventional thinking is that if you illness is only above the neck and you don’t have a fever then physical activity is okay, although lighter. Once you have a fever and a more widespread illness it is best to take some time off.
Lighten Up
I should have continued with a light workout regime. I had my bike set up on the indoor trainer so I could have done some light spinning, or even some light kettlebells and suspension band training. In hindsight I bet a little activity would have sped up my recovery.
Summary
Next time I’m not feeling well, and it will happen again, I am going to walk though these suggestions. I think using these suggestions will not only help me keep up some momentum but also speed up my recovery. Having a positive outlook and some light physical activity will help.
I hope you find something here that helps. Add any more tips or thoughts below in the comments.
Automatically Add Scanned Business Cards to Contacts from Evernote
Here is a quick tip if you use Evernote to scan in business cards on your iPhone. Changing this setting will allow the contact information to be automatically sent to your Contacts App.
Within the Evernote App on your IPhone:
- Go to settings (gear icon in upper left corner)
- General
- Camera
- Business Cards
- Toggle on Save to Contacts slider
After this change all your scanned business card contacts will be automatically added to your contacts.
As a bonus you can also select which Notebook you want the business card scans to go into by selecting it in the setting right about the Save to Contacts slider.
What Everyone is Saying About Constraints
Constraints are a good thing. Having constraints forces you to be creative, dig deeper to find a solution and to execute. To must do something can be a more powerful motivator than wanting to do something.
Constraints help you focus and keep your willpower high. Limiting choices or eliminating options all together helps conserve your willpower. We all the know the Steve jobs story about eliminating the need to make decisions about what clothes he wore. This is something you can put in place immediately. Try limiting your clothing selection this week to 3 shirts and pants.
There have been studies done that show people are much happier when their options are reduced. The fewer options they have, the happier they are. This relates back to second guessing or rethinking decisions. If you only had 2 choices you will probably have a lot less second guessing in your life. I think you look to make better selections, and are more committed to your selection when you only have a limited options or even time.
I put the constraint on myself to spend a full hour on photography and I couldn't go beyond my backyard. I took 189 images in that hour and created a beautiful detail image on a water spigot handle that I think looks wonderful.
If you don't have a lot of disposable income than you are really focused on spending your money the right way. I think having less fun money causes you to make better decisions because the risk of a bad decision is greater and it isn't easy to overcome by making another purchase. Interesting thought. Can people with less money be happier? Are they happier if they focus on spending money on experiences that provide a lifetime of memories vs. things that can provide limited benefits and joy?
Constrain yourself on the golf course to only using your 7 iron and see how good you get with the club. By the end of the 18 holes I guarantee you will know exactly how far you can hit the club, how you can bend the shot. I think you will have mastered the club.
Same way with camera gear. Take out your camera with one lens and really work it. You'll understand how the focus works, how the lens works at different apertures, it will become second nature to you. You will be able to look beyond the lens and the camera and focus on your vision what you really see. The camera will truly become a tool to capture your vision not the focus.
If you sit down at night and find yourself paralyzed with options and not doing anything, give yourself only two options of things to do and see how that improves you getting things done. Less is more.
What other kinds of constraints can you think of that truly improve your life? For a week set up real situations where you have constraints.
Be it what you order for lunch, what you do when you are home from work. I truly believe that giving yourself or having constraints will improve your trajectory towards what you want. Constraints are a good thing.
How I do my Annual Review
Every year I take some time and review the prior year as a first step towards planning the coming year. Here is how I did my 2015 Annual Review.
Words of the Year
At the end of the year I write three words that describe the previous year. I described 2015 as a year of:
- Sorrow
- Planning
- stressful
I lost my father in 2015 and that coupled with a tough year at work provided the sorrow and stressful theme. I spent a lot of time planning for my website and my triathlon training, too much in my estimation, so that is the planning theme.
I compare those three words to the three I set while planning the year. I had set:
- Planning
- Health
- Execution
Annual Summary
With these six words as a backdrop I write out an Annual Summary of the year. From 50,000 feet how did the year feel? How did it go? I really consider this brainstorming as I just write what comes to mind. It is important for me that I do no mid sentence editing or culling of my thoughts. I just let my thoughts flow as I think about last year. Typically these are memorable items, events, people or activities that took place.
Journal Review
After the Annual Review I go through my journal for the year to help jog my thoughts on other things that took place. In hindsight I think things seem better or not as bad as they seemed at the time. That is why I review my journal to really capture the emotions and reactions I had at the time. Much more powerful than the antiseptic hindsight review at the end of the year.
Goal Review
After I get my summary down I go into a deep review of the goals I set. Each year I typically put together a visual timeline on when I am going to meet certain goals so I include that image in my annual review.
I list out each goal I set for the year. I include:
Goal - what was the specific goal.
The Why - I am a firm believer that if you don't have a big enough why you will not make the progress you want. So this is the why I must achieve this goal.
System and Processes to Achieve - This describes the specifics of how I am going to achieve the goal. This also includes what will I put in place almost daily to move my trajectory forward.
Tracking Progress and Process - How am I going to track my progress including what am I going to track and specifically how — (google spreadsheet, tally sheet , etc.)
Trajectory
Under each goal I type one question to answer - What was my trajectory? Did I improve and move towards the goal or away from it? This in my mind is key as I view goal achievement as a process not an end state. If I improved myself and moved forward then I consider that a success. I do this for each goal. I give myself an arbitrary rating between 1 - 10 on each goal.
Quick Summary
The last thing I do is finish up with a paragraph or two of how I view last year. I find this important to do last as it changes a bit after I have done the 50,000 foot review, and the specific goal review. This year's summary highlighted that I thought I had too many goals, that I spent too much time planning and not enough doing. I also had a lot of frustration from work and from the injuries I experienced.
After I have this drafted I let it sit for at least 2 days and then go back. I take a clean page or file and bullet point out thoughts about what happened last year and compare the list to what I had documented? Anything new, anything different? If so I flesh them out and add them to the summary.
After that I review the document one more time and I scan it in and if it is a file I convert it to PDF.
Summary
I use this Overall Summary as the beginning for the current year's goal and system brainstorming session. Did I have too many goals? Do I continue to have the same goals year after year and don't act on them? This guides my goal setting process and helps me refine my process and set me up for success. Improve the trajectory year after year. Consider this the annual 2% improvement.
6 ways that Nozbe can increase your productivity
There are thousands of productivity tools out there. Nozbe is the tool I use to track and complete my projects and tasks. Nozbe helps me get things done. Here are six ways that Nozbe can increase your productivity.
1. Nozbe helps you focus on what you need to get done. Not what you want to or should get done but rather what you need to get done. You can quickly filter down to right must get done today. Use the "Priority" Star rating and view and only these tasks will be visible. Use the Edit button and you can arrange the tasks in priority order. Then burn down the list from top to bottom. I try to have only 3 items a day that must get down. By filtering on "work" or "home" labels I can show the appropriate 3 focus items.
2. Capture all the projects that need to get done - Following the classic and proven GTD approach you can capture all your projects and feel good about having everything in one spot. For those tasks that don't need multiple steps (projects) to complete just use a "Home" or "Work" project to group these tasks in a "project" and get them out of your Nozbe inbox.
3. Quickly send thoughts, tasks or projects to Nozbe through email. Nozbe handles the important task of getting thoughts immediately recorded when you think of them. You can set up a unique email address that allows you to send items to your in-box. Set this as a contact in your email application and the address comes right up in your email composer. A great way to get everything in one spot quickly.
4. Nozbe is multi-platform. There are IOS, Mac, Windows, Android versions that sync across platforms. Regardless of your platform you have your tasks, projects and areas of focus with you everyone.
5. Nozbe is easy to get started using. You spend your time getting things done not fiddling with your productivity app. The tool can be configured as easy or as complicated as you want. A quick set up of projects and categories and you are ready to go. Then you can refine your Nozbe configuration as you use the tool.
6. Nozbe can be used in a team environment to assign and track projects accross a team. Everyone is synced to what is critical and the most important things are set up to get done.
7. Nozbe integrates and works well with other tools such as Dropbox and Evernote. The linking of files and notes in both these applications within Nozbe is awesome. This really ups your productivity game.
Look for a future post that describes in detail how I use Nozbe to get things done.