#016 – The Idea Buffer & Pre-Positioning Future Actions

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read time 3 minutes 

#016 at a Glance:

• Quote that will get you thinking: Beware of this.

• Podcast you should listen to: 6 best pieces of business advice that made Steven Bartlett millions.

• Mental Model: The Idea Buffer.

• Hack you should try: Pre-positioning your future actions.

• Tweet I liked: Optimists vs Pessimists.

Quote that will get you thinking:

Podcast you should listen to:

The Diary of A CEO E103: 6 Best Pieces of Business Advice That Made Steven Bartlett Millions

It’s very rare that we get access to free, genuine business advice from an entrepreneur in the top 0.01% that allowed them to reach the heights which they have.

And I’m not talking about generic fluff or motivational content. I’m talking about true business insights delivered in a podcast format with no guest and no distractions, speaking directly to us.

This is one of those rare podcasts.

I was going to write them out here but I think it’s best if you listen to Steven dissect them yourself. It’s only 26 minutes and your future self will thank you for it.

Listen or Watch on Spotify here. Listen on Apple Podcasts here. Watch on YouTube here.

Mental Model:

The Idea Buffer 

I typically have a 20-minute idea buffer.

This means that in general, it usually takes about 20 minutes for me, consuming absolutely nothing, to start generating creative ideas.

No music, no phone, no podcasts, no reading, nothing.

Go for a walk, go for a jog, lift in the gym, sit in silence, do whatever it takes for you to ‘turn your mind off’. Give your mind a chance to step outside of the overconsumption of information from everything around you to then allow your thoughts to flow.

Understanding how you acquire ideas is a massively underrated skill in a world saturated with continuous dopamine through technology.

Go past your idea buffer daily if you can.

(BTW, I came across this cool concept from Zach Pogrob – he has some awesome content, I think you guys would like it.)

Hack you should try:

Pre-positioning your future actions

Let’s be real: starting and maintaining habits can often be extremely difficult. Commitments get in the way, other things come up, or we simply fall into traps of laziness and procrastination.

I’m sure every single person reading this email right now can relate.

One method I’ve been using recently to overcome this hurdle is the idea of pre-positioning our future behaviour.

I think that I can illustrate this most effectively by using a few examples:

• Let’s say that you want to go for a run first thing in the morning. Pre-positioning yourself would be leaving your running clothes and sneakers at your bedroom door before you go to bed.

• Do you want to make an effort to write in your journal after you get home from work? Leave it open and waiting with a pen on your desk before you leave home for the day.

• Trying to break your habit of using your phone first thing in the morning? Leave a sticky note on the phone the night before as a reminder.

• Want to read a book before you go to bed? Leave one under your pillow so that before you go to sleep you need to physically pick it up.

The idea is to do as much as you can in the present to dictate your future behaviour so that there’s no wiggle room for you to let yourself down.

This has been insanely effective for me personally.

Give it a go.

Tweet I liked:

Love that. I’ll add this:

“When thinking about the possibilities of the future, it’s far more important to be imaginative than to be right.”

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading!

Grateful for your support.

Stay hungry, stay humble, & stay curious. ⚡

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