THE ACCRETION APPROACH If you adopt the accretion approach , it ’ s because you see the value in growing in layers over time . You understand that adopting this mindset will increase your ability to sustain change and that change will come easier . Layer by layer , you will grow into a new being : a force to be reckoned with . But how do you go about layering ?
The business world provides us with many models applicable to personal development . What I am about to discuss is based on the Shewhart Cycle popularized by Walter Shewhart , the father of statistical quality control .
The Shewhart cycle consists of the following elements :
1 . Plan The first question you need to ask yourself is , What is it in your life that you want to improve ? There is no reason to start the journey if there is no goal .
If you are reading this , then your goal might be to start a new fitness regime , to improve your habits , to build better relationships , or to become a more effective person at work .
Whatever your goal , make sure that you can state it clearly .
2 . Do This step is where accretion takes place . Once you know what your goal is , you need to break it down into repeatable daily actions . Remember that accretion happens over time . To build something of substance , then , you need to be consistent .
My suggestion is to grab Todoist ( my favourite ) or any other task manager to create a recurring task . Have it pop up every day to remind you to take action .
I am in the process of writing a book . The most important action I can take to make the book a reality and to meet deadlines is to put words consistently on paper , so I set up a recurring task on Todoist prompting me every day to write 600 words . Is it easy ? No . Will it be worth it ? Yes . Because of accretion , a few weeks from now , I will have a book . And it will be created reminder by reminder .
3 . Check According to Shane Snow , author of Smartcuts , momentum is the biggest predictor of success in your personal life .
When you are taking daily action , you are building momentum . You are creating something that will become unstoppable . Therefore , it is good to ensure that you are creating the right thing .
To do this , you will do a personal audit every day , every week , and every month .
Daily This one is easy . Did you do everything you needed to do today ? It should take you no longer than five minutes to reflect on your day and assess what you need to improve .
Weekly Were you consistent this week ? What did you miss ? Why ? At this point , you should start seeing some patterns emerge . Enough time has elapsed for you to make a few important calls . You can see whether you are focusing on the right areas of your life and engaging in the right activities . If you find that you have not been accomplishing your daily goals and have struggled to stay consistent , then this will give you a good platform to plan the next week . And plan to succeed .
Monthly Did the past month help you to make progress towards your goals ? Were your actions enough ? Do you need to correct your course ? This is the same as the weekly audit but entails working with a lot more data .
12 | www . bettermanblueprint . com | ISSUE 01