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Many commonly mistake motivation as the most important factor in productivity, when in fact it should be discipline. A well-oiled machine keeps running even when you're lazy. That's why it's important to build a proper machine that automatically brings you closer to your goals while being easy to comply and modify it if necessary.
Your goal is to build something that looks like this:
☁️ 1. Look at the machine from the higher level.
Think of yourself as a machine operating within a machine and know that you have the ability to alter your machines to produce better outcomes.
We have a uniquely human ability to look down from a higher level and be intentional about our actions when compared to animals. You have to understand reality and the cause-effect relationships underlying it, as well as look down on yourself and those around you. Higher-level thinking gives you the ability to study and influence the cause-effect relationships at play in your life and use them to get the outcomes you want.
We input some goals into the machine, and it spits out an output. That's all there is to it. It consists of (1) a design (the things that have to get done) and (2) the people (who will do the things that need getting done). Those people include you and those who help you. While the right design is essential, it is only half the battle. It is equally important to put the right people in each of those positions. They need different qualities to do their jobs well.
🎯 2. Set Clear Goals
The first step of any machine is to set clear goals. You need to measure the output of the machine against your intended goals to determine if the machine is working well.
You may want to wake up earlier, eat healthier, get more work done. Whatever it is, set a clear goal. My goal in life is to do meaningful work and build meaningful relationships.
✍️ 3. Design the Machine
Once you have your goals, design the routines and habits that will get you there. Notice that we're not setting a magic number, rather we are designing the routines that will get us there.
If you want to wake up earlier, don't set your alarm to 5am, you won't get far. The machine you should design is to set your alarm 10 minutes earlier every week, so that in the future there will be a time when you know you'll achieve your goals.
If you want to lose weight, one example of a machine is to eat one spoon lesser per week. You can design more complicated machines like calorie-tracking, but I'm quite lazy and couldn't be bothered.
If you want to meet new people, talk to a stranger every week, which is what Mark Zuckerberg did.
Voilà, the machine is alive! What's left is to run it. It's time to put down our designer hat, and pick up our worker hat.
🤔 4. Compare Outcomes with Goals
Now that your machine has been running for a while, compare the outcomes with your goals. By comparing your outcomes with your goals, you can determine how to modify your machine.
This process is the same as the evolutionary process. We know evolution is the strongest force in the biology, and we want it working on our side. It the outcomes are satisfactory, let the machine run. If there's a problem, identify and don't tolerate it.
🧠 5. Diagnose the problem
Most problems are potential improvements screaming at you. The more painful the problem, the louder it is screaming. People will subconsciously avoid problems, because they are harsh realities. You on the other hand, must actively seek them.
You have to understand that the "designer you" is different from the "worker you". To be successful, the "designer/manager you" has to be objective about what the "worker you" is really like, not believing in him more than he deserves, or putting him in jobs he shouldn't be in.
Find the root causes (not just proximate causes) and their cause-effect relationships.
Proximate causes typically are the actions or lack of actions that lead to problems — e.g., “I missed the train because I didn’t check the train schedule.” So proximate causes are typically described via verbs.Identifying the real root causes of your problems is essential because you can eliminate your problems only by removing their root causes. Most people skip this step and find that all their hard work doesn't translate into results because they fail to address the real root causes behind problems.
Root causes are the deeper reasons behind the proximate cause: “I didn’t check the schedule because I am forgetful” — a root cause. Root causes are typically described with adjectives, usually characteristics about what the person is like that lead them to an action or an inaction.
✍🏻 6. Design plans
Most of the progress you experience will come from designing how to remove the root causes of your problem. It is important to think of each problem individually, and not tackle them all together at once.
There are typically many paths toward achieving your goals, and you need to find only one of them that works, so it’s almost always doable.
As we've said, the machine consists of (1) the design, and (2) people. Is the problem in the design or in the people? I believe anyone can learn anything, but people learn at different speeds (according to IQ) and have different amounts of discipline. You can make the design easier to overcome lack of discipline. Or sometimes we just don't have that natural ability, so fire yourself and hire another person to do it (e.g. nutritionist, gym trainer, consultants).
This is an iterative process, alternating between sketching out your broad steps (e.g., hire great mentors) and filling these in with more specific tasks with estimated timelines (e.g., in the next two weeks ask around for recommendations) that will have implications (e.g., costs, time, etc.). These will lead you to modify your design sketch until the design and tasks work well together. Being as specific as possible (e.g., specifying who will do what and when) allows you to visualize how the design will work at both a big-picture level and in detail.
🚀 7. Doing
The final step is obviously execution. You will need determination to do whatever's necessary to push your design through to results. Establish clear metrics and benchmarks to make certain that you are following your plan.
Know that everyone has at least one big thing that stands in the way of their success; find yours by looking at the pattern of your mistakes, and deal with it. You can either fix it, or get help from others.
Remember that weaknesses don't matter if you find solutions. There are two paths to success: 1) to have what you need yourself or 2) to get it from others. The second path requires you to have humility. Humility is as important, or even more important, as having the strengths yourself. Having both is best.
After completing one of the steps you will probably have acquired relevant information that leads you to modify the other steps. If this process is working, goals will change much more slowly than designs, which will change more slowly than tasks.
Conclusion
Remember that this is an iterative process, keep going back to refine each step as new information arises.
Between a bad present and a good future is a "working through it" period. Keep trying and keep failing. Stay hungry, stay foolish.
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