Consistently getting better in 2019 and beyond
As sanity is restored after the pomp and hype of the silly season, the festivities are over and life is gradually getting back to normal. Reality strikes home nothing has changed but the calendar, the spouse, the children, house, workplace, targets etc. stay the same. The white noise increases “I need new resolutions for the New Year, I need improvement on my resources, relationships, health, well-being etc. I have good news for you. You need not get depressed or sad nor feel guilty for having overspend, having not made enough etc. My late mother Grace Sally Wanjiru taught me a valuable lesson during her lifetime. She told me “Son I want you to live life without regrets. Never ever look back in life and say I wish I could.....; this is extremely unnecessary and counter-productive whatever you did or did not do will not change the circumstance of your life one iota. What you need do is learn from your mistakes and purpose to do better next time. For the past is gone and never coming back all you have is a bright future ahead, purpose to look ahead than live your life focusing on yesterday. It is tantamount to driving looking at the rare view mirror”.
Beloved here is how to live your life well and consistently get better in 2019; purpose and focus in improving your experience and processes day in day out; psychologists call this ‘Deliberate Practice’. Therefore if you want 2019 to be your best year ever; you long and hunger to become a superstar at what you do, be deliberate in consistently improving whatever you are and do. Because high performance is all about giving and doing more appreciate experience isn’t how you get better. There is a study that has proven Doctors do not necessarily get better in time but they are at their best soon after graduation and qualifying. This is because they stop learning. Therefore for you to really thrive and excel in what you do become a lifelong learner, in other words, be a DEEP WORKER.
‘Deep Work’ is another word for Deliberate Practice this is a rare phenomenon in our distracted world. Consequently, high performance is extremely rare despite the majority of people working very hard stay mediocre regardless of the effort and hard work put in.
If you want to really thrive and flourish in 2019 it is crucial you design your life for ‘Deep Recovery’ this is the ability to become totally disconnected from work. Deep work is non-existent therefore Deep Recovery is far much more uncommon. To be a Deep Worker you require razor-sharp focus; sadly very few people can truly focus for long periods of time in this day and age. Because our lives have been optimized for distraction our minds have been deliberately altered by persuasive technology (Read Njoroge Wanjigi’s article titled ‘Parents Weapons of Mass Destruction’ (https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/parents-weapons-mass-destruction-njoroge-wanjigi/) and we have become addicts to quick-hit neurochemicals such as dopamine and to some extent I’d say to cortisol as well.
Deep work will not happen just because. You must purpose, focus and design your life for it. According to Stanford Psychologist, Bj Fogg (ironic to quote him; the God Father of Persuasive technology), “willpower is not how you build good habits. Instead, you need to design your environment and life for them. You need to get small wins every single day, which stack on top of each other”.
By utilizing a gym-workout analogy; each and every day should be likened to repetition in the gym. In time like on a regular workout you will get better with every intentional repetition. Unfortunately, most people’s days are not deliberately programmed for high performance. What most people are simply doing is repeating the same thing over and over consequently gaining more experience albeit the experience is not making them better but actually worse over time. Just like the doctor who becomes worse over time because they failed to keep learning and improving on their skills and performance.
In this article, I provide a basic scaffold for designing your life on and around Deep Work and Deep Recovery with a firm trust belief and prayer that 2019 and beyond.
The Core principles of consistently getting better in 2019 unto eternity:-
Waking up early is key; ever hard the adage the “Early bird catches the fat warm”? It has been scientifically proven waking up earlier not only gives you an edge over the others but from an evolutionary perspective, one gains a competitive advantage over others.
Early risers create a dominoes effect that leads to better decision making.
An early raiser creates and builds positive and optimistic emotions.
Individuals who wake early up are more confident and better focused than others.
Early risers create a positive work flow-state that enables them to complete their chores earlier thus having longer Deep Recovery periods.
Early risers have better quality Deep Recovery durations creating a ‘compounding effect’ to make positive daily progress over time.
Deep Recovery time (time spent) away from work is your greatest super-power.
Deep Recovery Time creates better quality time and improves your presence in the other areas and faculties of your life especially academic, family and other close relationships.
Tips and Benefits of waking up early:-
Waking up early should preferably be between 4-6 in the morning.
Create a routine that gets your peak-performance state in the morning e.g. Prayer, meditation, visualization, fitness, journaling etc.
Purpose to stay away from your cell phone, laptop etc. for several hours in the morning (unless you are a journalist/media person or a writer like myself of course) ideally for 5-6 hours daily.
Focuses on the quality/results than the amount of time spent working.
Purpose to stop working earlier than usual preferably from 12-3pm and completely disengage from work.
Why this process makes perfect sense;-
Ever since I can remember ‘Work Hard’ is a concept that has been drummed into most people’s head all over their lifetimes consequently working long hours is not uncommon. Suffice to say working hard/long hours is not uncommon it is the only thing the majority default to; working more and more despite the fact that technologies have been developed so we could be working less and live more healthier, purposeful and meaningful lives.
The unfortunate reality that has been created by this diabolical state of affairs is, being present with loved ones is no longer feasible. Engaging in physical and relational actions in the absence of technology is rare. Being present in life is becoming rare. Getting a good night’s rest for at least 8 hours a night is extremely rare.
Because the majority of humanity is caught up living they have no clue how to actually design a life. A life is something you build and or create. A life is something you have, something you possess not what you do or have. Designing one’s life is extremely rare well captured by T.S. Eliot writing, “Where is the Life we have lost in living?” In order to become a high performer at anything, you need to optimize your life for DEEP WORK and DEEP RECOVERY.
These are two important concepts requisite For High Performance; that are extremely rare. If you master and harness their full potential rest assured 2019 unto eternity will never be the same again. You will be the best The Lord intended and purposed you to become.
May The Good Lord (Creator and Redeemer of mankind) grant you perfect peace, joy, health, wealth and prosperity in all areas and faculties of your life. May you thrive and prosper not only in 2019 but unto eternity.
Njoroge Wanjigi is a seasoned entrepreneur, the MD of Pearlsmart Holdings Pty Ltd, a free-lance writer writing insightful and inspirational articles on a broad spectrum of issues, corporate coach and trainer providing excitement parked insightful and inspirational workshops, a spellbinding motivational/public speaker and a preacher of The Word of God feel free to visit www.pearlsmart.co.ke or contact him on +254702784879, +254777784879 or +254721250806, Money Maker: https://MyMonthly.online/?user=17893, Facebook: Njoroge.wanjigi Twitter: Njoroge_Wanjigi, https://za.linkedin.com/in/NjorogeWanjigi,
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?Njoroge Wanjigi