Optimal
mental at this altitude. I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking, and oils you a personal question. I'm a cybernetic organism living tissue over metal endoskeleton.
Hello boys and girls. Ladies and germs, this is Tim Ferriss. Welcome to another episode of the Timber show where it is, my job, usually to deconstruct, world-class performers of all different types to tease out the routines habits, Etc that you can apply to your own lives. This however, is a special and short episode and it's going to detail how I approach New Year's resolutions. The truth of the matter is that I no longer really approached them at all, even though I did for decades, why the change I have found that some
I call past year reviews or py R to be more informed valuable and actionable than half blindly. Looking forward with broad resolutions for the next year. I did my first p/yr after a mentors. Young daughter died of cancer on December 31st, roughly 10 years ago. I remember the night, very, very clearly. I got the news at a party and went to sit down by myself and I sat with a notepad and by myself did my first
past year review. I've done it every year since her passing was a very abrupt surprise. It was a somber reminder that our days. Here are two precious. Also not guaranteed. By the way, they are too precious. Not to fill them with the people and activities that nourish us. Most. So, that's the goal of doing this review. Doesn't take very long completing a past year. Review takes just 30 to 60 minutes and it looks something like this. Step number one, grab a notepad and create two columns.
A piece of paper positive and negative just a line, right down the middle positive on one side. - on the other go through your calendar from the last year. Looking at every week. I do this in iCal or Google Calendar. It's pretty easy to do. So, go through every week, starting in January from the last year for each week, jot down on the notepad, on that piece of paper. Any people or activities or commitments that triggered Peak positive or negative emotions for that month. Let's
Say I mean, it could be for the weak. But broadly. Speaking the month. This is not an exact science here. Put those things in their respective columns. So something that really really bothered you say sort of nine out of ten bothered or eight out of ten bothered, you put that in the negative. 8 out of 10 positive 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10 positive. Put that in the positive. Number four, step number four. Once you've gone through the past year, look at your notepad list and ask what, 20% of each column produced the most reliable or powerful.
So you're doing an 80/20 analysis, then of each of these columns that you'll have positive and negative to try to identify what is really producing disproportionally the most benefits and the most stress or negativity. Or let's just call it challenging emotions, perhaps, if you want to put it that way, then step five based on the answers. Again. The question that we just answered, is what 20% of each column produced the most reliable, or powerful Peaks and step.
Five based on the answers, take your positive leaders and schedule. More of them in the new year. You got to get them on the calendar. Now, that's my experience book things with friends prepay for activities events, commitments that you know work for you exercise whether it's rock climbing, who knows get more of it in the calendar committed to it's not real. In my experience until it's scheduled. That's step. Number one. Step. Number two is to take your - leaders and create a not to do list at the top and so sir.
Those things put them somewhere that you can see them each morning for the first few weeks of 2022 in this case. Although it certainly could be used for any year. These are the people and things, you know, make you miserable or unhappy or stressed out. So don't put them on your calendar, out of obligation, guilt, fomo or other nonsense. These are the things to avoid and that's it. That is it. If you try it, please let me know how it goes. And just a reminder. It's not enough to Simply remove the negative that creates a void and
the void will be filled by all sorts of noise and other people will decide your schedule for you. So get the positive things on the calendar ASAP less, they get crowded out by all the BS, all of the other kind of cool, but not amazing things that will crop up and otherwise fill your days. So you get to decide your schedule in advance, be proactive, or it will be decided for you. And if you want to see the instructions in written form for the past year review, just go to Tim dot block.
/. Py R. That's Tim top. Log /p. Why? Good luck and Godspeed, everybody?
Hey guys, this is Tim again. Just one more thing before you take
off and that is five bullet Friday
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