Category: Habits

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Do You Have Super Hearing?

When I was seven, I learned a powerful lesson the hard way. My older sister, and a few of her friends, where sliding down our ice-covered driveway while standing up. Our driveway, although not very long, had a fairly steep slope. Being seven, I insisted on trying it myself. My sister and her friends all told me I shouldn’t. But I’ve always been just a little hard-headed. So, down I went. And then down I went.

That’s not the end of the story. It’s the beginning of my lesson. Sure, I was young, and that’s when a lot of unnecessarily painful lessons are learned. But I’m long past the time when I could use that as my excuse for not listening to the advice offered by others. Most people have used YouTube to find a video demonstrating how to fix a problem. But often, we just don’t like it when people offer unsolicited advice. Why is that? I think 99.9% of the time, people are just genuinely trying to help by sharing their experience with a certain problem. So why not, at least consider, the advice?

Perhaps there is no greater illustration of the power of listening, than that of the Japanese auto industry revolution. In prior automotive design, engineers made a design and gave it to the workers to build without a clear channel for feedback and revision. But, in 1950 Dr. Edwards Deming was invited to Japan to teach his principle for statistical quality control; a methodology which is mandates listening to everyone in the design and build process. Demings’s principles were well received in Japan. Their auto industry went from average, to being the envy of the world.

You might even say that learning to truly listen is like a superpower. It can save you a lot of time, energy, and resources. I do sometimes still struggle with being locked-in on a certain thought or plan. But when I’m at my best, I’ll do my best to fully understand, and consider, the advice of others. I need no better daily reminder than that of my fractured front tooth. Which I wouldn’t have, if I had I just taken my sister’s good advice.

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For more articles and information on getting the best out of life, visit www.StepsForToday.com. And take your next steps.

Thanks for reading.
Mitch

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The 4 R Document Rule

Does the following short conversation sound familiar to you?
     “So do you have those documents?”
          “Of course… I think… Somewhere.”

Let’s be honest. We’ve all had this experience. And it can leave us hesitant to deal with paperwork (or electronic files) of any kind. No one likes feeling that they’re just going to fail at something. But learning to be comfortable with documents is a necessary life skill. It’s this skill, perhaps more than any other, that creates successful businesses. So why aren’t we using it to create and manage successful plans for adulthood, aging, medical needs, and retirement. I know it can seem overwhelming, but it just takes a process and little practice.

In my book Steps For Today: First Steps For Success (First Steps For Success – Steps For Today®), I discuss the creation of a “Master Index” for managing important information and items. I also provide an example list of life events that may cause changes to our plans and to our documents. Using these two documents, you can easily pick up and use the 4 R Rule: Recognize, Retrieve, Review and Revise. With a little practice you’ll learn to recognize when a life-event will cause a document to change. Using the Master Index, you’ll have the steps to find and retrieve the impacted document(s). You’ll also have a record of who may be needed to help review and revise the documents. All of that with a lot less stress and anxiety than either not having plans, or not knowing where they’re located.

In my next article, I’ll discuss the types of documents we can create to help plan our life. This will be a great article for those who are ‘just starting out’ on the journey, as well as those who know it’s time to get something done, but are struggling on where to start.

Thanks for reading.
Please like and share with those who are struggling with these issues.
And remember to take the next step.
Mitch

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The 20 Second Rule

Last night, I fell victim to the “20 Second Rule”. I wanted to get a story written, but I had packed up my laptop. It would’ve taken me less than a minute to get it out and set up my office for work. But I procrastinated and ended up doing nothing. But why?

Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage book series, coined this phrase to describe how even a small delay, or effort, can derail us from executing on our plans. In Achor’s example, he noticed that he didn’t practice playing the guitar, something he really wanted to do, because it took a few minutes of prep time before he could begin practicing. Through a series of experiments, he found that getting his prep time below 20 seconds completely changed how often he practiced. In my case, I could’ve had my laptop going quickly, and my article written. But I delayed the action because of the short period of time to get started.

This same principle is in full play when trying to create new habits. The quicker our new action is to execute, the more likely it will be accomplished. For example, we purchased a cordless stick vacuum last year. It’s mounted on the wall inside our garage, right outside the door. I tell you for a fact, that our floors are vacuumed more often that when I had to find the upright and plug it in. It’s simple and quick to grab the vacuum and get to work. So if you’re trying to establish a new habit, remember to make it as simple as possible.

Possibly even more powerful, is when the 20 Second Rule is used in reverse. It turns out that if we place just a short delay before an unwanted behavior, it can really help stop the behavior from occurring. One of the most notable examples of this, is leaving only enough funds for anticipated expenses in a bank account linked to a debit card, and placing the rest in a savings account. Yes, we live in the days of online banking and mobile apps. Yes, money can be transferred immediately between accounts. But, many people find that the time an energy  necessary to move funds, is enough to stop them from making an unnecessary purchase.

So, if you’re trying to step into some new habits, or step away from some old ones, give the 20 Second Rule a try. I’d love to hear in stories on how it worked for you.

In my next article, on my “4 R Document Rule”, you’ll see why this story had to come first!

Thanks for reading.
Please like and share with those who are struggling with these issues.
And remember to take the next step.
Mitch