So I’ve announced the book. Now, I have to write the thing. Here are some techniques I’ve personally implemented to become a more solid, dependable human being.
(These are just an overview, I’ll be expanding each entry in the coming weeks.)
Habits are any action you do automatically and are therefore the domain of your unconscious mind. If you are looking to change your life, they are one of your most powerful tools. Everything I’ve learned about habit creation, I learned from James Clear in Atomic Habits. It’s one of those life-changing reads for me. Short, easy to understand and even easier to implement.
Don’t let your inbox become your To Do list. You need to process your emails and get them out of there. When my inbox is empty I quit out of my email programme until I’m ready to process again. Most of this I learned from Graham Allcott in How to be a Productivity Ninja. I also use this workflow in WhatsApp, where Katy Schutte showed me there’s an archive function that means I can WhatsApp Zero to my heart’s content.
Don’t hold all your appointments and tasks in your head. You’ll always be anxious you’re missing something. A second brain is a combination of a reliable calendar and To Do list programme. The daddy of this system is the book Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen. Have your life split into projects and have a next clear action set for each one. And immediately put new appointments in your calendar - don’t put that stuff off.
I’m still working on this one. But you need to get a lot of sleep. More than you think. I’m the guy that prided himself on sleeping for less than 5 hours a night in his twenties. Now I dearly want to hit 8 hours every night. There are a number of things I recommend to help make this happen:
Simple one this. If you mess up, don’t give up. All improvisers know that failure is just another step on the road to success. Failing is not the opposite of succeeding - the real opposite is not trying at all.