WRAP #128: Press the Red Button

Hey Reader, happy easter weekend if you celebrate. It's a lovely weekend here in Nashville and I'm looking forward to a fun couple days with family and friends.

In this issue:

💡 The Big Idea

Press the Red Button 🔴

✅ To-Do Tactic

WRAP Review

👀 What I Loved Watching, Reading, etc

Making Decisions, Better

💡 The Big Idea

Press the Red Button 🔴

I have to be honest with you, Reader — harnessing the motivation to write the newsletter has been a struggle the past few weeks. Maybe you can relate? It doesn't have to be about content creation (though many of you do that too), but another habit or practice you've committed to that is going through an inevitable lull.

One thing to say from the start. It's ok to take breaks. This is as much a piece of advice I'm giving myself as anything I'm sharing with you. In fact, I know I could do a better job of taking breaks than I do now.

BUT... I think we all have a sense of when it could be time to take a break and when it's time to push through and do the thing. In this instance I did not want to record a new episode of our podcast, HeyCreator. I was having a busy day with lots of to-do items stacked up, and I just didn't feel like it, even though I had blocked off the time.

Three things got me on the call and pushed me through the recording. First was the willingness to show up and press the red button (to start recording). This is the same as BJ Fogg's advice to start a run by tying your shoes. The win is to press the red button or tie your shoes — not record a great episode or go for a big run. These "tiny habits" reframe the outcome and make it achievable.

Second is the realization that my feeling of busy-ness was not unique for that day. I was a little busier than normal, but my experience of what days are like helped me understand that it was not the kind of day that was worth skipping a show for. Third is accountability. Tim, my co-host and producer, was in the studio, ready to chat, and I would mess up his week by changing the time.

So I showed up, hit the red button, and we recorded an episode. You know what? It was good! Much better than I would have expected it to be the way I was feeling before we started.

And that's the lesson → if you show up and start, you will probably have a much better result than you expect, and you'll be much closer to the type of person you want to be. Even though it's ok to take breaks, too 😉

✅ To-Do Tactic

W.R.A.P. Review

I use a short little acronym for my weekly review – W.R.A.P. which stands for, wins, results, alignment and pivots. Let’s take a quick look at each.

Wins → What went well? What was I proud of? Doesn’t all have to be work or achievement related!

Results → How did I do with the weekly plan? Did I complete all the top goals and tasks?

Alignment → Does the work I’m doing and goals I reached align with my bigger goals and purpose in life?

Pivot → What do I need to change going into next week?

The W.R.A.P. review allows me to do is make a better preview for the coming week, because I’ve learned from the past week’s preview. I also use it for my monthly and even annual reviews.

👀 A Video to Watch

Make the Correct Choice

Last week I shared my own thought process on decision making, this week I wanted to share a video from Cal Newport on the same topic. Cal's always been a thinker I admire and I liked his advice of building up to bigger chunks of a decision before going all-in.

Watch on YouTube →

The WRAP is sponsored by

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