Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
One of my goals this year is to get better at time blocking.
I first learned about time blocking many years ago when I had the opportunity to participate in the Stagen Leadership Academy’s Integral Leadership Program.
The basic idea is to plan out our weekly calendar. We decide what is most important, and then we block out times to do “first things first.”
But information is not transformation.
Knowing something is not the same as doing something.
2: One of my favorite books from the last several is The Art of Impossible by Steven Kotler. In it, Steven writes that there are three levels of goals.
We start with our Massively Transformative Purpose. We then articulate our High Hard Goals, which take one-to-two years to achieve. Next, we outline our Clear Goals.
Clear goals are all the daily steps needed to accomplish our High, Hard Goals.
Becoming a great writer is a massively transformative purpose. Writing a book is “a high hard goal that could take years to complete,” Steven notes. A clear goal is “writing 500 words between 8:00 am and 10 am that produce a feeling of excitement in the reader.”
Think of a clear goal as “a tiny mission,” writes Steven. Our path to victory is created as we stack one little win on top of another.
What do clear goals actually look like in real life?
They are a well-crafted daily “to-do” list and assign specific times to complete each item.
3: How do we put this idea into action?
Each week, we conduct a focus session to plan for the upcoming week.
We start by blocking out all our meetings or responsibilities.
Then, with the remaining time blocks, we decide the most important clear goals to achieve, and we create time blocks on our calendars to get those things done.
So, that’s what I’m working on. I’m focused on being disciplined and consistent with my weekly planning, deciding the most important clear goals for each available time block, and then executing against that plan.
My two biggest learnings so far?
First, I tend to be too optimistic about how many things I can get done. So, I’m scaling it back a bit.
Second, how good it feels to decide what’s most important and then do it.
More next week!
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Reflection: Am I consistently conducting a focus session to plan the upcoming week? If yes, are there opportunities to improve what I’m doing? If not, what are the specific benefits of doing so?
Action: Conduct a focus session for next week. Schedule time blocks on my calendar to complete specific tasks.