Speak in outcomes then actions
I was doing some strategic planning today and I found myself feeling unclear and a bit overwhelmed with what I was writing down.
I realised I was mixing action items with the outcomes they were related to.
An example would be like:
Spread the peanut butter, find a knife, eat the sandwich, defrost bread, feel full before I leave the house.
See how all these are muddled up?
The outcome is to feel full before I leave the house
The actions are defrost bread, find knife, spread peanut butter, eat the sandwhich.
Because I was in ‘brainstorming mode’ I let all the ideas flow out into the planning doc- but their syntax was proving unhelpful.
Once I realised this, I simply made the adjustment to start with the outcome then list the actions.
This made everything I did after so much clearer and makes the planning document sharper with more chance of success in execution.
Ai Gemini prompt: a happy man in an office a peanut butter sandwich with a to do list
Prep and forget
I had a client meeting today and I spent quite a lot of time preparing to know as much as I could about their situation an needs. I also spent time figuring out what I wanted to discuss.
In the past I have structured conversations like this, noting what I’ll start with and where we’ll go.
Today I bullet pointed ideas about what we should cover, but on a mentors recommendation I tried a different approach.
In the minutes leading up to the meeting I didn’t try and remember the sequence I wanted to follow, or even all the points I wanted to cover.
I let it all go.
As the call began, I focussed instead on being completely present.
Some things I had prepped never came up in conversation and other things I hadn’t anticipated were discused.
The prep was there to inform a live interaction.
Referring to notes would have killed the reality and flow of our conversation.
Instead- the conversation happened live and off the cuff but within the territory I had primed myself for.
All of my prep informed the conversation but did not dictate it.
You book the ticket
When it’s someone you’ve been following since you were a kid. Someone who has been so influential in your art.
It doesn’t matter if the tickets are partial view and that’s all there is.
You get in the room with them. That is a life milestone.
No matter what. When you have the opportunity to.
Book. The. Ticket.
Derren, Here I come!
The magic of 25
I use the pomodoro technique to get work done.
Often it can be distressing seeing the hours of the day jump by- suddenly it’s 3pm when it should still be morning time.
I had such high hopes for what I’d do today, where did the time go?
Experiences like this reinforce the belief that there isn’t enough time for everything. It’s true what they say that you can do anything but you can’t do everything.
As much as I hate that phrase, (yes I can do everything, thank you very much) the pomodoro technique has helped me realise a couple of things:
- I don’t actually want to do everything- I just want to do all the things I want to do. And I am more than capable of doing that over my life time.
- When you have a clear task and 25 minutes to do it, time slows down
It does! I often get to 11 minutes remaining and I’ve nearly completed a task I had inflated as this big day long thing.
I think time slips away from us when we allow ourselves too much time to do things. I vote we restrict the time we’re allowed to work on a thing and ruthlessly move on in the spirit of quantity (when that’s what you want of course) Then when we next allocated time blocks for the thing we didn’t complete, we know to schedule more time.
The truth is, we can do anything and everything we want to. Set aside the time and earnestly work away at it. You’ll be suprised how many hours are in the day when you’re actually watching the clock.
Ai image generator prompt: make a drawing in the style of Quentin Saxby Blake of an esteemed tomato wearing a monocle and checking his pocket watch
This was in our green room and it SPOKE to me
Pretty much sums up all my beliefs about success
The blender needs less power
Every morning I make my smoothie.
My ears are highly attuned to the various blenders I use at the different accommodations.
My nutri-bullet back home is powerful. It turns my a.m ingredients into a purple pulp faster than you can say purple pulp.
The blenders here in America are different. They take a sec.
The spinach hangs out on top for a bit and the protein powder is reluctant to join the raving party below.
The blade spins around, but it just isn’t as enthusiastic as the one back home, ya know?
Both get the job done, importantly.
My American blenders just do it with a little less intensity. (I think this is actually to do with voltage or something I don’t care enough to google right now.)
The important thing is this:
You can often produce the same output with a little less effort.
Ai Image prompt: create a photorealistic picture of a blender who has been characterized as a nonchalant lady who is making a purple smoothie
Removal of choice
I’ve never like televisions.
I’ve been in so many different accommodations the past few months and not once have I turned on the provided TV sets.
Now let me be more specific. It’s broadcast live television I can’t stand.
When a TV is on, not only is it’s obnoxious presence felt in the entire room, but the content being beamed into your brain isn’t even chosen by you.
That’s the worst of it.
Some random producer and ad programer has curated what you will watch. Like you’re on a roller coaster, unable to move your body because you’re buckled into the cart which is rigidly following the tracks.
I realised social media scrolling is the same. You scroll and there are random attention grabbing things gliding past your eye balls (the windows of your attention) none of which you chose to be there.
When I don’t get to choose, I get agitated.
Sure, when something is chosen for me that is in my best interest that could be great.
But I guarantee you things like TV and social media aren’t displaying things with your best interest.
Turn it off and take responsibility for where your precious attention is placed.
Ai prompt: A picture in the style of those realistic cartoons on the ren and stimpy show of a tired dog with blood shot eyes, watching a late night infomercial on a vintage tv
Time out
I’m in Kissimmee in Florida.
Today felt like the first day off from the show I’ve had in a long time. I don’t think that is actually true- but I think because we are here on a mini break and not doing shows in this town it felt like that.
My co-star and tour manager were off adventuring today and I really relished the opportunity to stay in the air bnb and have a complete day on my own.
It was deeply recharging. It really did feel like a time out from life.
It’s like life is a movie playing in the cinema and you pop outside for some fresh air for a second. When I turned 30 I had a whole week like that. I returned to the movie a slightly upgraded version.
I’m on the top floor of these condos overlooking a man made lake, a hundred other condos and a community pool. I haven’t really seen a soul today. It’s been raining all day. I’m in this anonymous town I know nothing about (aside from the fact that The Florida Project was filmed down the street).
I quietly strolled to the super market in the rain. I made some food. I did a bit of work. I swam. I made a little film. I packed my bag for a travel day tomorrow. I feel ready for the next little chunk thanks to my time out.
I’ll head back into the film now.
Ai prompt: picture in the style of the nighthawks (hopper) painting of a man outside a cinema getting some air, it’s dark and rainy
What are you waiting for?
I went to Disney’s Epcot in Orlando today and waited in a lot of lines.
One was 75 minutes long- it was hot. There were no chairs. I had run out of water.
I know, poor me, I get to be at this world famous theme park.
The ride was around 6 minutes long and wasn’t anything special.
How could the 75 minute wait have been better?
Well, it’s not the external factors: the quality of the ride, the temperature, a supply of chairs or the state of my personal water bottle.
None of these are the true cause of either my misery or elation. That is up to me.
I was using those external factors as convenient evidence procedures for having a bad time.
Sure these are persistent illusions (the heat is a KILLER) but even that can’t defeat the strongest thermostat on the planet:
Your mind.
What’s wrong is always available to focus on. So is what’s right.
