“The 12 Week Year” – an awesome book! (here are my notes)

Jim Edwards here with something I hope helps you kick off the new year with a bang!

If you’re like me, you want to hit the ground running for 2016 as FAST as possible.

To help do that, I just finished reading “The 12 Week Year” by Bryan Moran

It’s really good from the standpoint of showing you that, with focus, you can get a lot more done in a short period of time.

The emphasis is on boiling everything down to daily actions that can be tracked and measured.

I wanted to share with you some highlights from my notes in the hopes they would HELP you:

– Execution happens daily and weekly, not monthly or yearly (that’s why people get more done Nov – Dec because of crunch time and end of year deadline)

– Periodization – focused overload in certain areas for 1-3 months can create great results quickly, much like an athlete. Intentional imbalance for short periods.

– Must have a BIG WHY to create a VISION for where all this effort is leading… which creates PASSION in you … which creates go-power

– Must have a WRITTEN PLAN. That plan must be ACTIVITY /ACTION based. Must by simple, but highly structured.

– ID the 10% of activities that will yield 90% of results

– ACTIONS create your daily roadmap

– Always review your action plan and VISUALIZE at the start and end of every day and week

– Measure your results DAILY and HONESTLY – heavy focus on whether you took action or not

– KEY = Daily Numbers: what actions did you take to create the results you want

– 3 Performance Blocks that need to be scheduled (I say daily, the authors say weekly)

1. Strategic Blocks = 3 Hours Long of ACTION (NOT including email, phone, voice mail or any other low value activity not directly related to your 12-week outcome)

2. Buffer Blocks = 30-60 minute blocks allow you to catch up on things like email and other low priority / low value activities

3. Breakout Blocks = Away from work 100% = 3 hours long

All blocks must be scheduled in advance and adhered to. Use these blocks to create the idea week.

Other key concepts I picked up:

* Keystone Actions = core actions that directly produce the results you want

* Act on Commitments, Not Feelings = keep doing what you said you would do to reach your 12-week goal long after it stops being fun and sexy

* Be IN the moment = be present at all times in whatever planned activity in which you engage

* Balance VS Keystone Commitment = throw yourself into a MASSIVE project for 12 weeks to create change. Use that intentional imbalance to get ahead by leaps and bounds instead of slow progression.

Anyway, wanted to share that with you in case it’s of any value!

It’s a good book, “The 12 Week Year” by Bryan Moran, and I’d encourage you to get a copy.
Happy New Year,
Jim Edwards