A new day, month and season always feel like a fresh start. Brand new beginnings. Endless possibilities ahead.
As I reflected on the daily dozen habits I set last year, I’d done well on some and not on others.
So why not commit the month of April to doing my full daily dozen every day? How much can I accomplish? How will I feel? How much more will I enjoy life?
It will be an April Adventure. It’s the perfect time because spring is my favorite season. The days are longer. Time stretches out. Nature beckons. Summer is on the way.
April is also a transitional time. It’s my birthday at the end of the month, which always prompts reflection. My daughter will choose her college this month. And then it’s on to the whirl of AP exams, the prom and high school graduation for the coda of the season.
Listening to Adam Grant‘s TED talk about original thinkers this morning during a car trip for a college visit with my son gave me 4 things to think about.
- Improvers do better than first movers. Grant’s talk referenced a classic study of 50 product categories. It showed a 47% failure rate among first movers. Those who improved on the ideas of others had only an 8% failure rate.
- There’s a sweet spot for creativity halfway between pre-crastination (doing things too early to maximize creativity and efficiency) and procrastination (this one needs no explanation).
- Doubt the default. Or, question the status quo. According to Grant’s research, people who do this and ask if there’s a better way perform better in their jobs, and they stay in them 15% longer.
- What distinguishes classical composers is that they produced more work. They generated more music and more ideas. That meant there was more to choose from in identifying their best work.
That inspired my idea to post to this blog daily in April. It can be of any length. And by writing daily, I may come up with at least one post to share for feedback in Penelope Trunk‘s upcoming Quistic course about writing great blog posts.
To round it out, I’m making it a baker’s dozen with habit #13: using my Rosetta Stone app to learn Spanish for 10 minutes every day. Here I’m inspired by something I read recently about someone who learned a language by devoting just a few minutes every day.
So what am I doing differently to set up my environment for success?
First, I made a daily dozen list in my Any.Do app. While I’ve had it for a while, I haven’t used it much yet. This is my accountability app. And I’ll continue tracking my activity and sleep with my Fitbit.
Second, I’m thinking about how to use time in new ways. What’s the best way to make the most of commute time? Lunch time? Wait time?
Right now I’m writing this on my iPhone while my husband drives us home from our college visit. Turns out I don’t have to be at home settled in with my laptop to write every blog post.
It’s amazing what technology and connectivity can do for our lives and our ability to learn. It shouldn’t be too hard how to figure out how to insert hyperlinks and images on my phone.
Game on for an April Adventure!
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