Principle #2 – If you don’t know what junk miles are, you may be wasting your time

It’s 6:10 am. I’m in the pool at my community center about to start the first of set of swimming laps at an easy pace.?It’s 6:10 am and not 6 am because it’s taken me 10 minutes to convince myself to get in the cold pool on a dark, cold winter morning.

I push off the wall and begin my first lap. This is not easy. I’m breathing heavily and not getting anywhere fast. I can’t wait to get to the end of the lane and rest. Please keep this strictly between you and me, but I’ve learned that I can catch a bit more of my breath by adjusting my goggles very slowly after just one lap. This way I can look at least a little bit professional while I gasp for oxygen.

Fortunately, I’m swimming in the lane designated for the slowest swimmers. I’m not rushed, but my breath is still shallow. I’m finding it hard going and my mind starts thinking about the difference between a calm, clear pool where I can just stand up if I’m uncomfortable, and swimming in deep, open water. This thought does not help slow down my heart rate or let me breathe more deeply.

It’s also a little embarrassing since I’m the youngest person in that lane by about 30 years and I’m by far the slowest. I suspect the older folks love being able to pass me. I can’t really see if they are smiling as they swim by, but I’m pretty sure they are.

By lap three, the lifeguard comes down off the chair to stand at the end of my lane to be closer to me in case there is a problem. I do start to wonder how much they are paid and suspect he is also calculating how much distress I would need to be in before jumping in to help.

By lap five or six, I relax a bit (or perhaps I’m just numb from the cold) and I remember what I had been learning in my swimming class about the stroke–my trailing arm should move forward, pausing for a split second, before plunging into the water like its putting mail into a slot. Simultaneously, my leading arm should remain outstretched. I visualize it and relax a bit more. Soon I start to find a rhythm.

The strokes get a little better each time and as I concentrate, I’m no longer worried about drowning or even how shallow my breathing is. I even start to tuck my head like I was taught and I suddenly feel fluid. The beautiful thing about swimming is that you feel the effects of being more streamlined instantly. I almost begin to believe that I could keep swimming for a very long time.

This becomes a critical moment in my training and, as I’ll explain in a minute, in my life. I realize that swimming is going to be all about technique for me. I have no natural sense of how to swim, so the more I can focus on technique, the more relaxing it will be and the better I will become. Practicing the technique is like meditation–I pinpoint a particular aspect to improve and this becomes the focus of my workout. Before I know it, by concentrating on trying to make each stroke better than the last, I even start to enjoy the workout. Time begins to move faster.

I begin to see the importance of clear purpose and clear technique in everything I do.?

This is the value of being a complete beginner. You see things through a different lens. You ask new questions. Your mind adapts and changes. In my case, I notice that while I am riding the bicycle the pedal appears to move around the bicycle frame in a fixed, circular path, I move my feet in what feels more like an oval shape. I can vary the cadence, use one leg more than the other, or push harder on one part of the stroke. I can position my body aerodynamically. Put together, all of this becomes a technique that you can practice. And practice becomes meditation–a reward in and of itself.

As you focus on technique, your perceptions become more fine-tuned – you know what to look for. Each movement breaks into further movements and nuances. The pedal stroke has four quadrants–across the top, pressing down, the bottom of the stroke (“like wiping mud off your shoe”), and pulling back up to the top. Running has even more movements–foot strike/position, arms, hips, lean.

The phrase “every workout has a purpose” also begins to make sense. I learn that the purpose of a workout is not just to get your heart working harder, and it’s only rarely to leave you dripping in sweat and exhausted. The opposite of “every workout has a purpose” is what you will hear coaches scornfully call “junk miles”. These are miles, or even very long distances, that are run, biked, or swum without a clear training purpose. Junk miles are a waste of time. These miles can feel very hard and you can feel good about the effort put into them, but they’re still junk. Being tired and working hard is not the same as improving. What’s worse is that wasted effort will drain you and make your next workout or project less effective.

Being tired and working hard is not the same as improving. What’s worse is that wasted efforts will drain you and make your next workout or project less effective.

I begin to see the importance of clear purpose and clear technique in everything I do. Examples of people putting in junk miles while working hard are everywhere.

At some point during my training, I was in a meeting at work listening to the conversation and I realized I was not 100 percent engaged. I’m largely going with the flow, adding a somewhat useful comment here or there, but I don’t have a clear picture of where I’d hope to take the conversation or even a clear plan for the meeting. I realize I’m putting in junk miles.

The good news is that I’ve read and thought a lot about how to run great meetings.?At some point, I had codified from a variety of sources (including Google, among others) how to run a bullet proof meeting and it hits me, there is technique in running a meeting. I start to apply the technique for running a great meeting that I had learned from my research:

1. Open with a clear context and purpose–the more exciting and aspirational, the better.
2. As the meeting progresses, ensure that all participants are participating. Draw them in with a direct question if needed.
3. As the meeting progresses, if needed, remind the group of the context and purpose.
4. Build consensus, but also note differing opinions. Separate out issues that will need to be resolved later.
5. Take stock with the group about 10 minutes before the end of the meeting on progress against the objective and begin to agree on a path forward.
6. Always end with a clear summary and next steps with owners. A not-so-great meeting can often be saved with a smartly defined set of agreements and a path forward.

These rules are not hard to apply, but it’s amazing to me how often people show up to a meeting (even one they are meant to lead) without a clear purpose, a view of success, and a plan to get there.

More important, I see technique in every aspect of my work, and also that of my clients, whether it be running a sales force, brainstorming ideas, tackling problems, giving presentations, or coaching a colleague. There may be debates about the perfect way to do any of these things, but there is certainly a wrong way and a set of simple rules to apply in each of these activities to ensure at least a good outcome. And in many cases, small tweaks–like how you ask a question, or the sequence of a conversation–can have an enormous impact on the outcome.

Having a vision of great technique and consciously striving for that in everything you do will ensure you, your team, and your company are always improving. There’s the great Bruce Lee quote - “I don’t fear the man who has tried 10,000 kicks one time. I fear the man who has done one kick 10,000 times.”

That is the power of technique and practice.

I now always ask the people and teams I work with, “Do you know what great looks like?” I’m asking them about technique. I don’t want them putting in junk miles. ?My follow up question is, “How are practicing every day to getting closer to great?” That question is always a terrific conversation starter. It shifts our focus to aspirations and potential. It identifies gaps and helps us find every day improvements. (Remember Principle No. 1.)

As a final somewhat humorous take on the power of technique, here is a picture of my first and second open water swims; as a hint the straighter the line, the better – the “before” has lots of twists and turns, including at one point my swimming in the completely wrong direction!

I’d love to hear from you. What techniques are you practicing in your life???Where have you realized you were putting in junk miles and broken out? What worked? What didn’t?