To get what you want, deserve what you want.

5 habits - life plan, sleep, morning routine, weekly review, daily review

 

The 5 habits

Life plan.
Every year, I fine-tune my life plan. It gives me the big picture. It’s like my compass. During the process, I also decide which project I will focus on for the full year. Usually, I concentrate on a learning experience. It’s where I get my energy. (check out How to build your life plan?)

Sleep.
Going to sleep earlier was one of the most difficult habits to implement but it’s worth it. Getting up early, which is the consequence of going to bed early, is my structure’s base. I feel better, I’m more focused and creative.
My life radically changed when I started to sleep better. (check out Do you want to achieve more? Sleep better.)

Morning routine.
This is where consistency happens. I dedicate 30 minutes to the main project that came from my life plan. (check out How do you start doing the things you want to do?)

Weekly review.
It’s a mix of my personal and professional life. It’s the time where I plan what I’ll do in the next week and review everything done in the past week.
It’s also a critical time for my creativity. I empty all my inbox tools. Evernote, Drafts, and my bullet journal are full of ideas, inspiration collected during the past week. (check out How to build your weekly review?)

Daily review.
It allows me to start and close the day well. The few minutes I take in the morning to decide what I do and what I won’t do are crucial. They determine how I feel at the end of the day. I try to under-commit and over-deliver for myself. (check out The one thing that makes or kills your day.)

Feed forward instead of Feedback

 

The concept of feedback is as old as time. Marshall found a way to turn it around. Why is this?

When you give feedback:

·         You refer to the past.

·         The person receiving it tends to take it personally.

·         You can’t change anything that has already happened

On the other hand, “Feedforward” asks for a suggestion for the future. I want to improve in this area, give me two ideas that I could put into practice in the future. 

And this method can be used at home too:

·         “What can I do to be a better partner at home?

·         “What can I do to be a better parent? (I tried it with my children, and the answers are interesting)

·         “What can I do to be a better son?

I like the metaphor used by Marshall’s partner Frank Wagner.

The rearview mirror is tiny, the windshield is huge.

Change approach insteady trying harder

You're more likely to unlock a big leap in performance by trying differently than by trying harder. You might be able to work 10% harder, but a different approach might work 10x better. Remain focused on the core problem, but explore a new line of attack. Persistence is not just about effort, but also strategy. Don't merely try harder, try differently.

Work-Life

"Jeden Morgen sagt er sich, bis wann er arbeiten möchte. Eine App gibt ihm strikt die Pausen vor, 20 Minuten arbeiten, fünf Minuten Pause. Er entscheidet sich bewusst für nur vier bis fünf Stunden Arbeit am Tag.

Er hat auch schlechte Tage und Angst, es finanziell nicht zu schaffen. Aber ihm ist es das wert. Er will nie wieder jemanden fragen müssen, ob er sich freinehmen darf. Um mit seinen Unsicherheiten umgehen zu können, schreibt er jeden Morgen auf, was ihm durch den Kopf geht. Er sagt, so könne er seine Gedanken und Gefühle besser verorten, um sich selbst nie wieder in der Arbeit zu verlieren."

"It is important to view knowledge as a sort of semantic tree. Make sure you understand the fundamental principles, the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves, or there is nothing for them to hang on to." Elon Musk