A simple technique for a better life. Hi everyone, Angus Pryor here, multi-award-winning practice growth specialist. I have just finished reading this book Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day. The two authors of this book are ex-Google employees, pretty senior ones at that, and they’ve written a very practical book. This particular book is about making time and how to focus on what improves your day-to-day life. They’ve got a recipe for a better life—whatever it is that you want to focus on. Is it productivity? Your energy levels? Relationships? Happiness? Whatever the case may be, it applies. A mentor of mine, Ty Lopez, says we need to embrace our inner mad scientist and constantly experiment. Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s business partner, says you don’t have to be the smartest or the most consistent, but if you become a learning machine over the long term, that makes a massive difference compared to those who don’t.
So, what’s the formula? Many of you watching are scientists, so it’s pretty straightforward. Step one: observe what’s going on. What’s the thing you want to fix? Say you want to be happier—how’s your happiness going? Step two: guess why. Maybe you rate your happiness 6 out of 10 today; take a guess why it’s at that level. If it’s 8 out of 10 tomorrow, have a guess at why. Step three: experiment to test your hypothesis. Maybe you feel happier when you do a particular activity, so spend a couple of days doing that. Step four: measure the results and see if you were right. It’s such a simple model—observe, guess, experiment, measure—and off you go. That’s an easy way to create a better life. Catch you next time!