The recommended books today are Designing Your Work and Life by Bill Bonet and Dave Evans.
6th book of 2022
I previously recommended their first book, Stanford Life Design Class.
The methods provided in the book are very practical and worth reading. From the book, we have compiled several tools and suggestions that you can use in your daily work.
Focus on what works at work
It's a simple tool for focusing on and recording what gets you engaged, motivated, and puts you into a state of "flow."
As a daily exercise, stick to it for months so that you can more reliably and accurately understand what works and what doesn't in your career.
The basic principles of a good work journal are the same as a good time journal, you observe and record your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors while you work, and then record what you notice in the workplace and at work. We've listed several categories of "concerns" related to Good Work, which are:
- What did I learn?
- What did I initiate?
- Who have I helped?
Write down your observations about your work, a process that will make them clearer and more specific. By asking questions like "What am I following?" you can see if something unusual is going on. This will break your question about "How was today?" "The clichéd answer to this question (okay
Well, I suppose), to give you a better sense of what's really going on. Exercises like the Good Times Journal and the Good Work Journal can help you realize what works in life and what doesn't. Over time, these exercises will help you move in the right direction. When you're used to lowering your standards, paying attention to what works in your life, and gradually making small but beneficial adjustments that are beneficial to improving your situation, all of this can make a big difference in your work experience.
Design your work form
1. What did I learn? Look back on your day, every week, and ask yourself: What have I learned? Think of small things, think of something new. It doesn't have to be a big deal. It could be a new process or procedure, or a new way of making slides, or something new about the accounting department Gladys. Also note that we are talking about "anti-learning", you are not adding new knowledge, but you find that some knowledge that you think is correct is actually wrong.
2. What did I initiate? In order to feel like a designer at work, most of the time, you need to create or initiate something. When you take the initiative to take an action, seek a change, or apply a new way of doing things, you satisfy what psychologists call "innate needs." These needs are unique to humans. When your innate needs are met, you feel like you have more control over your world. Best of all, this need doesn't require approval from your boss. Take the initiative to do small things, do something you can accomplish on your own, and you will receive the spiritual rewards of being the creator.
3. Who have I helped? Science clearly proves the value of helping others. The Harvard Grant study we mentioned earlier found that serving others has a strong correlation with longevity and happiness.
So, every day or at least once a week, pay attention to what you do for your colleagues. Again, even small things can be done.
"Seventh Day Reflection" exercise
It's a simple four-step exercise that you can do once a week. We recommend that you use this exercise as a daily exercise to maximize the effectiveness of the exercise.
1. Meditation
• Find a quiet place where you can sit comfortably for 5 to 10 minutes, either at a desk or any desk where you can write. (It's best to write by hand, and you can type if you like.) ）
• Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Take 3 to 4 deep breaths, slow yourself down, and be glad you're alive and have your own quiet moments.
2. Aftertaste
• Now, close your eyes and let the memories of the past 7 days flow through your mind. Meanwhile, look for 2 or 4 moments in the past week when you've been attracted or grateful.
• Note: Don't be "attracted" to problems, conflicts, forgotten to-dos, etc. The brain is easily drawn to these things, and when they appear (they do), tell yourself, say it another day, and then let them pass. Don't fight it or try to solve it, both will grab all your attention. All you have to do is admit it and then let it go
It passes, just go back to your own reflection. Yes, you need some time to practice to master the tricks.
• As you look back on the past week, pay special attention to these 2 to 4 moments, briefly jocing down one or two for each standout moment so you don't lose them. For example, "Cute Salesman", "Finished Article", "Calm Boss", etc.
3. Reflect
• When you get the list, read it again from the beginning.
• Relive each moment again and feel it to the fullest.
• If there's an experience that particularly appeals to you, write a few more strokes in your journal. There is no need to be long or dramatic, just a key point to document that experience.
4. Reinforcement and retention
• Finally, reinforce your reflection by saying to yourself something like, "I'm happy about these things." With that in mind, it's a great week and makes the "good enough in the moment" mentality play a more positive role.
That's it! It really only takes 5~10 minutes.
Reward step – insight
• Write down some of those moments you discover that provide insights or learning experiences you want to document.
• Insights don't always appear, but they come as a surprise when they do, and be sure to catch them when they do.
Reward step – story thinking
• One way to get the most out of life is to share it through storytelling.
• If someone else in your family is doing this exercise, you can share your own
rethink.
• Most of us are asked, "Hey, how's it been lately?" "At least once a week, even more frequently. You can answer a story from the time you were doing the Seventh Day Reflection.
The purpose of this exercise is to help you optimize your life experience to your advantage.
Either way, our attention is selective. The problem is that most of us focus on negative or difficult things, which can have a negative impact on our memory and mindset.
This exercise has nothing to do with pretending or fantasizing, it's all about presenting reality to the greatest extent possible. Your best moments of the week are real, and we're just making sure you get the most out of them.
Toolkit for the minimum feasible problem
Let's practice and look at our problems—some real problem in our work or life—and see if we can eliminate the drama and minimize the problem.
Let's try to figure out the smallest feasible problem!
1. Choose a problem you want to solve. It could be a problem you have at work, like the "feedback problem" we talked about, or the kind of "permanent problem" gottman asked. But make sure it's a real problem, one that's been bothering you for a while.
2. Write down the question as clearly as possible. Writing down the question helps you understand the "framework" implied in the way you present the problem.
3. Check statements about the problem for bias, embedded solutions, drama or emotional factors. This is challenging because we often don't see our own biases. To do this requires absolute honesty, a little healthy "acceptance," and the help of a friend.
4. If you have difficulty stating the problem objectively, ask a friend for help. Read your statement about the problem and ask them to help you spot biases, embedded solutions, drama or emotional factors. Ask them to try to help you figure out a few of the smallest viable problems.
5. Once you've roughly figured out how to restructure your problem into a minimum feasible problem, use phrases like "how can we..." or "how can I..." to state a more objective, unbiased problem reconstruction.
6. Once you have a few of the smallest viable problems, brainstorm (and maybe with friends again) to come up with at least three prototypes that might solve your problem. Remember:
We need to lower the bar, accept the fact that many problems cannot be completely solved, and look for some good ideas for re-solving the smallest feasible problem.
Exercises on the best possible scenarios
1. Choose a problem you want to solve, or one that you are struggling to solve and want to find a good solution to.
2. Brainstorm based on your current understanding and come up with at least 5 ways to solve the problem.
3. Examine the conclusions you have come to after brainstorming and divide them into two categories: the best theoretical solution and the best feasible solution.
4. Now exclude the best theoretical solution, focus on the best possible solution, commit to hard practice, choose a plan, and then implement.
5. Ask yourself "How does it feel?" Remind yourself that after making this decision, you have more time to do other things. Once you've made this decision (make sure to distinguish the quality of your decision from the quality of your results), you can handle all the other issues.
Move on to identify your least feasible problems and execute your best possible solutions.
Once you get used to this way of dealing with problems, you'll find yourself having more time to enjoy the good life and not spend too much time wrestling with issues that aren't worth paying attention to.
Redesign work
1. Choose an appropriate design strategy and write a short 250-word story about how you redesigned your current work.
Redefine and reinvest
Reinvented
Repositioning
Recreate
2. Share your story with 3 friends. It shows that you're designing a prototype for a better job, and that's just one of them. Then tell them your story. Just talk about it, don't "clear your throat", don't say "Uh, I'm not very good at writing, I don't know if you will like it..." Just talk confidently!
3. Make a note of your friends' reactions and compare them.
4. Evaluate the story with the scale below.
5. Next, briefly reflect on your understanding of the program.
6. If, after reflection, you feel you're ready, start the process of staying curious, talking to people, experimenting, and story thinking, and start pursuing the job or career you want!
Write your story here:
_______
Reflection on the concept of work
A brief reflection on your view of work. We don't want you to write a final paper, and we won't grade it, but we hope you can actually write it down and not just think about it in your head. It takes about 30 minutes, and it takes about 250 words to write, less than a page of printout.
A view of work should address key questions such as what work is and what it means to you. It's not just a list of what you want to get out of your job and outside of work, but it's also an overall statement of your views on work, your definition of a good job. The concept of work should be able to solve the following problems:
• Why work?
• What is the work for?
• What does it mean to work?
• How does work relate to individuals, others, and society?
• What is good work or so-called valuable work?
• What does work have to do with money?
• What does a person's experience, growth, sense of accomplishment have to do with work?
Reflection on the outlook on life
As with your view of work, please write a short reflection on your outlook on life, no more than 30 minutes, about 250 words. Here are some of the problems you often have to solve when reflecting on your outlook on life that can help you get started. The key is to write down the values and perspectives that provide the foundation for your understanding of life. Your outlook on life provides your definition of the so-called ultimate problem. This is the most important thing for you.
• Why are we here?
• What is the meaning or purpose of life?
• What is the relationship between an individual and another?
• Where is the convergence point between the family, the nation, and the world around you?
• What is good and what is evil?
• Is there a higher power? Like God or some other supernatural thing?
If so, what impact will this have on my life?
• What role do joy, sorrow, justice, injustice, love, peace, and conflict play in life?
Think carefully about your outlook on life and work and answer the following questions:
1. In what ways do your views of work and life complement each other?
2. In what ways do your views on work and life conflict?
3. Do your views on work and life drive each other? How is it driven?