In today’s lesson, we’ll discuss the surprisingly simple methods to dramatically improve your follow-through.
Video Lesson
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Time: 6:42
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Click full screen (lower right corner) to increase the size
Lesson Summary
11 surprisingly simple methods to dramatically improve your follow-through
Method 1: Visualize success
Visualization: representing data as images to help visually understand the meaning of the data.
Put reminders of your goals all over. This will constantly remind you what you really want—and boost your motivation to do it!
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Your Board Game of Life contains pictures of everything you want to do—and you’ve moved the most important items to your kanban so you can make those goals happen.
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You can also install the Replace New Tab Page Chrome extension so your kanban displays automatically whenever you open a new tab.
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Use Google Calendar—or any online calendar—to send you email reminders every day (or every few hours). For example, let’s say your kanban includes a goal that says: “Earn 50,000 per month?” Use the following email template: “I really want to [blank]. What am I doing now to achieve that?” Trust me, getting those email reminders will help you visualize success on an ongoing basis.
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You can also add reminders on your phone. A simple way to add a recurring reminder is with Wunderlist. Wunderlist is a free and popular tool that works on all major devices. Create a To-Do and set it as a recurring reminder so that you’re always reminded to work on your most important task. Here’s a support article explaining how to set up reminders with Wunderlist.
Other ways to visualize your success:
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Write it down—preferably on your walls, like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
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Wear a silly-looking wristband, like those LIVESTRONG guys.
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Buy inspirational posters.
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Write your goals on Post-It notes; put them around the house, on your steering wheel, your face, etc.
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Write your goals on a whiteboard.
Does visualization work? Uh, yeah. It does.
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Muhammad Ali pictured winning the fight before he entered the ring…
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Michael Jordan envisioned making the game-winning shot before the play even started… and…
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Jim Carrey wrote himself a check for 20-million per film.
Here’s another one:
Arnold Schwarzenegger got bored after winning the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest six years in a row. (Talk about an underachiever.) So he visualized getting paid $1 million per film, writing a bestseller, owning his own business, and having sex with a Kennedy.
As he described in his appropriately-titled book Arnold,
“In two or three years, I had been able to change my body entirely. That told me something. If I had been able to change my body that much, I could also, through the same discipline and determination, change anything else I wanted. I could change my habits, my whole outlook on life.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger
A word of warning: mere visualization is not enough. It may, in fact, be harmful. A study at the University of California, Los Angeles met with students 5–7 days before an exam. During this time, students were asked to visualize either:
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getting a good grade,
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studying,
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both, or
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neither
Interestingly, those who visualized getting a good grade (the outcome) got the lowest grades. The group who visualized studying (the process to achieve the outcome) got better grades and reported lower stress levels.
As you can see in the above example, it’s important to visualize what you want and how you’ll get there. Because as author Joel Barker eloquently put it: “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with vision is making a positive difference.”
OK, you’ve learned to visualize future success. Now let’s look at how to cover your back-side with…
Method 2: Burn the bridge
Napoleon,the world’s greatest general, used this secret tactic to ensure follow-through.
Once his soldiers crossed a bridge, he commanded…
“Burn the bridge!”
In doing so, Napoleon removed all doubt from his soldiers’ minds; they couldn’t retreat and moving forward was their only option.
You can do the same. The next time you’re faced with a difficult task, remove the option to retreat. Burn the bridges.
For example, let’s say you and your friends want to go to Mardi Gras. Everyone’s excited, but no one’s booked their flights. To ensure follow-through, get your friends to pool their money first and then buy non-refundable plane tickets. Since they’re invested—and stand to lose that money by bailing out—they’re more likely to go.
Method 3: Win the war; skip the battles
As we’ve seen, willpower is finite; use your willpower to win the war, not just a battle.
For example, let’s say you want to cut down on drinking. Each time you turn down a drink, you win a battle. But each battle reduces your willpower further. Until, finally, you cave in—and lose the war.
So instead of fighting battles, win the war: stop buying beer. That way you only have to make one decision—instead of dozens.
Consider the following two:
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Win the war: “I’m not going to buy beer.”
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Win the battle: “I’m not going to open that delicious Guinness in my fridge… I’m still not going to open that delicious Guinness… still not… oh what the hell it’s just one…three… seven…
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Want to cut down on TV? Cancel your cable plan. Too much Facebook? Delete your account. Texting while driving? Store your phone in the trunk.
All these require only one decision—which will save you thousands of decisions going forward.
It works for cultivating good habits, too. For example, do you want to increase your savings? Instead of reminding yourself to put away money every month—which drains your willpower—set up an automatic savings plan. You can do this easily online with your bank. Make sure the money transfers into an account that you can’t access easily; in other words, don’t get a debit or credit card for that account. Make it hard to get to—otherwise, you may still lose the war!
Method 4: Raise the stakes—and improve your chance of success by up to 3x
Mention your goal publicly—and make it hurt if you don’t follow through.
For example: offer to donate money to an organization you loathe if you don’t follow through.
Stickk can help with this. You add money to your account, and state your goal. If you don’t achieve your goal by your intended date, your money is automatically taken from your account. According to Stickk, adding financial stakes increases your chances of success by up to three times. Not bad, eh?
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