Map It Out
There are far better options that enhance every aspect of our lives and while implementing them requires an investment up front, the return on that investment will be like no other you have ever experienced.
Doing Life Gracefully
What if everyday you were forced to play scavenger hunt in a new city? To thrive, or even survive, you would have to learn to navigate new environments. Find your bearings no matter where you were dropped. My guess is that if a GPS were available, you would find it pretty handy.
Navigating in our fast paced, chaotic world can seem just like that. Everyday, the specific tasks we take on, as launching pads to our vision, move about like the staircases at Hogwarts. That is one of the main reasons having a process for identifying and tracking next actions is critical in the game of life.
Still, most face these moving targets armed by mentally storing their priorities, or maybe using an incomplete, disorganized listing of projects that must get done. Nether of these create, nor even allow, effortless high performance. There are far better options that enhance every aspect of our lives and while implementing them requires an investment up front, the return on that investment will be like no other you have ever experienced.
I invite you to take on this new process that has revolutionized my life and the lives of hundreds of people who I have taught to use it.
It’s All About Flow!
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in his book Flow encourages the creation of such experiences with these four elements being present:
1. Completable tasks
2. Attention demanding
3. Clear objectives
4. Immediate feedback.
By keeping our inventory of completable tasks or next actions easily accessible and intelligently systematized, we are able to move through our tasks, staying fully engaged while avoiding overwhelm. This is the recipe for both deep enjoyment and high levels of achievement.
Sounds like something worth cooking up, don’t you agree?
We must get more granular if we wish to build momentum and experience the power of flow in our lives.
Intelligently Systematized
What exactly is the task at hand and what will you be that you are doing when you address it? These are the two questions you must be able to answer before feeling that a next action has been identified to file.
Visualizing the next physical action is an important step because most things that find their way onto lists are actually projects, not actions, and we don’t do projects, we do actions. While this can seem a minor point, the fact is we tend to resist projects on lists because they are not clearly communicating what we are supposed to do with them. We must get more granular if we wish to build momentum and experience the power of flow in our lives.
In addition to the clarity that comes from thinking more deeply about how we will engage, it also enables us to store the action on the list which we will be engaging when we are able to take that action. In other words, if the next physical action is to write a letter and we choose to write with our computer, then placing that task on our “at computer list” makes sense. It is there when we need it and out of our way when we don’t. Same thing is true of phone calls, office work, running errands, etc.
Instead, most of us have instead developed the ritual of creating actions lists stored by our projects. While on the surface this may seem like the most effective and logical way to categorize future actions, it is in fact quite disconnected from the terrain of our lives. Creating what David Allen calls “contextually driven lists” multiplies the effectiveness by ensuring we have access to what we need when we need it.
So what do we do with this awareness?
Let’s commit to act on it. Far too much information that can enhance the quality of our lives goes unused because we are so ingrained in our ways of doing things we fail to embrace more powerful ways of being. And on this I speak from personal experience.
New Love of a Wild Visionary
For far too long, I saw systematizing my life as the antithesis to artistic and spontaneous existence. But, like a newbie in recovery, I can now see the error of my ways.
Since having embraced this program which provides a clear view of the rapidly moving terrain, I recognize the increased freedom and creativity that emanates from a clear mind. Rather than being a slave to the system, once mastered, (and even while in the process), the system serves our highest intentions.
By knowing the entire universe of available next actions, and having those options organized by what we can physically do based on access, energy and time, we consciously choose those actions in the moment that keep us most engaged and on purpose in our lives.
What Does this Look Like in Action?
Until quite recently, I was prone to coming up with tons of ideas that I could/should implement in my life, only to have the vast majority of them die a slow death in the trash heap of my subconscious mind.
Why? It wasn’t by design, but rather by default. I didn’t have a system for capturing and then effectively processing the ideas from conception to implementation. I continued to be “intellectually creative,” but having ideas are never realized in the physical stretches beyond use the term creative.
Now, I have developed the habit of capturing those ideas and putting them into a predefined leak proof system in which they will absolutely get processed, and soon. Knowing his has reignited my creativity.
So…How do you get started?
1. Work the five steps of processing Corral, Define, Systematize, Strategize and Engage that I addressed in earlier blogs.
2. Make sure next actions are actually actions and not projects.
3. Work in sprints. (50-80 minutes of full engagement followed by 10 minutes of break.)
4. Keep your Next Actions Lists current and systematized by context. (i.e. Calls, emails, computer work, etc.)
5. Seek “capacity appropriate challenge,” balancing between boredom and overwhelm.
My experience, and that of others I have introduced this practice to, have found that like all new skills, it takes practice and over time becomes habitual.
Investing the effort up front to reap the benefits forever is one of the greatest investments in yourself you will ever make.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGFDwCqYQww
The Power of Full Engagement
Get Your Head Out of the Clouds
While it can be energizing and inspiring to connect with our goals, visions, and life purpose, each of these are fulfilled through the actions we take. What that means is that being able to get granular, stay focused and knock out tasks is a prerequisite to reaching a high level of achievement. As much as we might want to remain at 50,000 foot level, until we get in the weeds, the garden really doesn’t grow.
Covey wrote about this as being the evidence of Independent Will, the final of the Four Human Endowments. After having moved through the processes self awareness, imagination and evaluation, our intentions came to life through our independent will. We must get fully engaged if we wish to “manifest our destiny.”
Three Facets of Action
We engage the world, and forward our work in three related, but unique ways. Neglecting any of these will ensure that we surrender the momentum we so desperately crave from 
both the productivity and enjoyment perspectives.
By Prescription
The first facet of action is doing the work we have predesignated. As we have previously discussed, this is one of the great benefits of envisioning how and where our next physical actions will occur. It enables us to get into and stay in flow. Staying on task, building on our successes and being fully engaged increases our energy and ensures a high level of productivity.
The Planning Process
In order to have the predetermined work to do though, we actually have to have invested the time and focus to create it. We too often relegate this high priority work as an afterthought, squeezing it in when we can, but not respecting the value and leverage inherent in breaking projects down so we can get after it when the time and setting is right. Failing to honor this time and give it a high priority results in our wheels coming off, wondering what went wrong.
Life Keeps Coming at You Full Speed
The third facet of action is the doing work as it shows up. Regardless of how well we have strategically designed our lives, stuff happens.
Real Art Ships
This is a powerful concept in Seth Godin’s new book Linchpin which ties in very well with this awareness that life happens when we are in action. Why I share it here with you is that regardless of the importance of all the other phases in this Live on Purpose model, until we are in action nothing else matters. We can capture, corral, define, systematize, and strategize, but if we fail to act, nothing changes. Nothing.
Beyond merely taking action, the idea represented by “Real Art Ships” reminds us that beginning projects makes sense only in the context of a commitment to complete them. A huge barrier to completion is our unhealthy obsession with perfection and the belief that it actually exists. Life is not about creating works of art that we protect from critics until every glitch has been removed and perfection achieved. No, life, and art by metaphorical extension, must be put out into the world to impact others. Otherwise, it is merely another way of escaping reality.
Sorry to interrupt but have you been enjoying the Living on Purpose video series? If so, please let me know by leaving a comment. Here is the next video in the series.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y-3bO4DpWA
Flow in the Moment
Being fully engaged in our lives reduces stress capitalizing on momentum built one small success upon another. Where we lose momentum is when we fail to delineate the activities that comprise our lives. This leaves us feeling stagnant and paralyzed, trapped motionless within big project rather than moving rapidly through the tasks that comprise the project.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in his groundbreaking book Flow, describes the key elements that create full engagement and enable us to access our greatest potential. These components include completable tasks, requires full attention, clear objectives and immediate feedback.
We create the context driven lists in the Systematize phase. These lists ensure we stay engaged. This scenario creates a fertile environment within which we experience effortless high performance, free of worry and frustration, with a peaceful sense of control. Our focus shifts from being primarily personal to being more transcendent.
By investing the time and focus to identify the moving parts of our lives, defining our relationship with them, developing systems that enable momentum, and strategically thinking through the most advantageous effective application of our resources, we find ourselves fully engaged in action that is both incredibly effective and fun. Having fun reinforces our actions and keeps us going for more. And the virtuous cycle continues!
In our next section, we will explore how we delve into the different vantage points from which we evaluate and engage our lives.
Definition is the Beginning of Wisdom
What Does It Mean Anyway
Life can be a blur.
One undefined moment turns into the next. Our lives fly by us as we are buried deep in the weeds. We are unsatisfied, but we convince ourselves that we are too busy to stop and clarify what we have going on.
Yet, we know that is nonsensical. Without clarity, we can’t think strategically which ensures that the use of our resources of time, talent and people is ineffective. It is time to slow down, catch our breath and clarify what is going on.
Take Time to Think
The challenge is that very few people have a committed process by which they grant themselves permission to actually think. Most of us book our days so full of activities, that we have no time to actually make sense of it all. We have become so obsessed with how much we can handle, multi-tasking our way through the day, that we skim the surface and miss the richness that lies just below. David Allen says, “you have to think more about what you think about.”
How do we change that? In the process of Living on Purpose, we must consistently allocate adequate time and focus to provide meaning to the moving pieces of our lives. I’m not referencing the overarching meaning of why we exist, although that too is important. Instead, what I am referring to here is being present enough to focus our full attention on whatever is before us.
One of the great challenges is that the huge and rapid inflow of information is overwhelming our processing capability. This occurs in large part because most fail to take the time to “concretize” ideas and concepts into specific plans and actions to forward our progress. By investing the focus required, we are able to make clear distinctions and more effectively systematize the flow of work.
One Thing at a Time
Alcoholics Anonymous has been famously effective by getting people to look at their lives one day, and one step at at time. While you may not be suffering from such an affliction, there are I believe, some similarities worth examining. Much of addiction, whether it is to alcohol, food, drugs or work, is an attempt to escape our reality.
An unwillingness to slow life down and answer the question, “What does this mean in relationship to my life?” is symptomatic of denial, detachment and escape. It keeps us racing around frantically, yet making scant progress toward our most important objectives .
The Great Divide
If we are doing a great job of corralling, there will many things dropping out of the funnel that will require action. There will also be many that don’t. Making this distinction is the first decision we need to make. When we combine that which needs to be acted upon with that which doesn’t, our energy is diminished. If nothing needs to be done now, either incubate it, put it in resource, or throw it away. Whatever the case, get it out of your mind so you can focus your valuable mental resources
Making this actionable/non-actionable decision up front is one of the most powerful habits to develop. Strengthening this muscle is achieved through repetition while procrastinating decision making atrophies our decision making muscle. We must think through that which we think about, make decisions, and move on.
And Action!
If we decide that action is in fact necessary, the next step is to determine whether we have thought through our ideas to the point where we are clear of our next physical action. Often, as we capture and then corral the moving parts, they remain at the level of projects, still in need of further defining. A phrase that has helped me become more aware of the need for clear thinking and, as a consequence, the need for further thinking is, “we don’t do projects, we do actions.”
This simple phrase serves as a great reminder that until we have visualized the actual steps of what moving forward looks like, we are at risk of being stuck at the project level. Clarity of next action allows us to build momentum and move forward toward our goals.
Optimizing that potential momentum demands that we bring what Mark Joyner calls Life System Environmental Design to our lives. We will look at systematizing our lives in the next session.
I’d love to hear what you think on this topic. Opinions and questions welcome! Please leave a comment here on my blog or on Facebook.
Following along with the “Living on Purpose” Video series? Check out segment 4 on this topic of Defining.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azhk1n_YG7Q
Transparency of Children Provides Insight Into Power of Emotions
Children Live in the Moment
Children, with their unfiltered connection to emotional extremes, provide great insight into the impact our emotions have on our perspective, and ultimately our belief about what is possible. Unlike most adults who have discovered the “benefit” of the social mask, children allow themselves to express whatever emotion is present.
Possibility is Powerful
I am blessed to have two wonderful little girls, ages 4 and 6, who show me everyday what it looks like to live in the moment, joyfully self expressing, often fearless about trying new things. When in this state, they are convinced they can do anything and are undeterred by the voice of personal doubt and social pressure. Whatever it is that they envision, they are convinced it is possible. This is the age when being a superhero is certainly within the realm of future career choices.
Focus Equals Meaning
What I believe provides deep insight into human nature though, is how quickly that unbridled confidence can shift into paralyzing fear. As soon as their focus shifts from “what is possible” to “what if I fail,” their ability to be present disappears. Creativity, persistence, and access to their intellectual processes evaporate as soon as fear rears its ugly little head. In an instant, their desire to explore, and their willingness to put themselves out into the unknown is replaced by a cautious self-preservation.
Fear Limits Possibility
While the transparency of the emotional shift is more obvious in children, it is merely better concealed with those more mature. The consequence of such a shift impacts people of every age. Throughout our lives, what we are willing to attempt is limited by the expectations we have of our success and our beliefs we have about how we will be perceived by others.
Choose Our Focus with Primary Questions
Knowing this, we can be proactive by choosing to manage our focus before attempting to force our way through an emotional barricade that is blocking our path to that which we most desire. Too many, in haste to forward their progress, attempt to push against their expectations with willfulness and persistence. Unfortunately, if these courageous acts are not supported by a clear vision of success, they simply exhaust our resources and leave us more convinced than ever that we just don’t have what it takes to succeed. Rather than pushing forward, we should first be asking ourselves more powerful questions to reconnect with our creative resources. Questions direct our focus and our focus determines our expectations of success.
Exercise
Whenever facing a seeming obstacle, change the focus of your mind through this series of empowering questions. These questions were introduced by Kurt Wright in his book, Breaking the Rules.
1. What is great about the situation? (If you struggle here, ask what could be great if you would let it.)
2. What makes that great? ( What about your situation would you like to expand?)
3. What would it look like if your situation were ideal? (Connect to your perfect solution.)
4. What is not perfect yet? (What are some of the imperfections you would like to reduce or eliminate?)
5. What resources do you have to make it so? (What resources can you access to move in the direction of your ideal?)
By consistently asking these questions, you will have your emotions support you as you effortlessly follow your path of least resistance to the life you are meant to live.