Best Practices: Gamifying your Life

People on their death bed often say that they regret spending so much time working and did not have enough fun.  I propose to gamify your life by counting the number of enjoyable/pleasurable/fun/memorable things that you do each day.  This idea is supported by the idea that "If you can't measure/track it you can't improve it".  This also requires to both reflect and have appreciation which are two things that is commonly referred to as important.  I don't know what the secret to happiness is but this sure does seem like a start.  

Here is an example:
+1 Tried new coffee and it was really good
+1 no work emails until 10am
+1 school was off today therefore there was minimal traffic
+1 free lunch at work since there was a meeting
+1 it was sunny
+1 made it to the gym
+1 watched a good movie
+1 got to sleep on time
+1 got a non-work project done
= daily score 9

*Statistical analysis and graphs to follow

The paradigm of working to providing money for the family or time

In work you get paid more and given more responsibility based on your experience level/years of service.  With the average length of duty at any one company being much less than 10-15 years it certainly logical to agree with the saying "learn in your twenties and earn in your thirties".  There is a disparity and disconnect in this traditional career path.  In your twenties you are paid the least and in essence you put in the most effort.  (Related reading: The Crossover Point)  In your thirties you tend to get married/have kids and your level of effort dips at work.  I ask the question why is there a dis-correlation between pay and effort?

There is a paradigm shift where they must ask the question now that I have hit my stride in my career... do I pull pack and re-configure my efforts to providing more money for my family or provide more time with my family (less time at work). 

Perhaps because many people take the "path of more time with my family" that those who chose to take the career orientated route are rewarded with higher career paths due to less competition.

30-Day Challenges

30 day challenges for diet/health or business activates have been all the rage to evoke action to a goal.  The structure supports action however if those actions are not aligned with the goal then there is just wasted energy.
In a Results Only Workplace (ROW) known as the modern day workplace model you don't get rewarded for micro goals such as turning your computer on, getting you inbox to zero, etc.  Your value is measured by the end product.  Going back to the 30-day challenge goes hand in hand with the millennium mindset where everyone is given praise for the simplest of tasks.  Didn't lose any inches off your waist (you gained some)??? But hey your still a winner because you exercised everyday!"

Slow Poke Generation

Gen X = Children of the 80-90s, Hardworking, first to intergrate technology
Gen Y = Blend of hardworking and family values
Millennial = In search of meaningful work
Gen 911 = Shared shitless
Boomerage Generation = Move home to live with mom and dad
Slow Poke Generation = Take forever to grow up (34 year old has equivelent maturity of a 22 year old) & They are just slow cause they are too fat.

Credit: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/232514331.html

Can you be the best at all these jobs

In a NBA basketball team there are 2 guards - 2 forwards - and a center.  Behind the scenes in the franchise there are countless of people who make help make the product.  Micheal Jordan was quite exceptional and probably the best guard/forward and even center that ever played the game.  Today he is the Charlotte Bobcats' Owner/GM and the team sucks. I'm not going to make a strong argument for specializing and utilizing your skills the best way possible because we have heard that one before.  Here are some businesses and some of the sub jobs of each.

Farming:

Seed procurement, soil prepping, planting, watering infrastructure, watering, fertilizer procurement, fertilizing, harvesting, marketing.

Real Estate:

Bird dogging, whole seller, real estate agent, home inspecting, mortgage broker, hard money lender, lawyer, tax accountant, property management, contractor, landscaper, locksmith, electrician, windows guy, escrow, title company, insurance agent, mentor, administration, banker.

It is through my experience that for the franchise/business to be successful you need to have some sort of competitive advantage in one or a few of the sub jobs.  You can even quantify this by beating the market 3-6+% in a category for example if you are good at taxes you have the ability to save taxes and augment you future buying power by 3 or more percent.  If you are good at installing roofs you can save yourself a lot when its time to redo your roof every 20 years.

Is it more effective to play all the positions or spend your time creating a team of consistent 1% out performers?

You don't win a Roto Fantasy sports league by winning all the categories nor not being last in any one.  You win with the sum of all the parts.

Passion Don't Follow It: Yes you heard that right!

I take it all back about dreams and passion... don't follow it.  Get good at something that has value: Steve jobs did not have  passion for computers but he was good at it. Don't make the jump until you have the skills to leverage.  Going after your dreams day one after graduation is like being a consultant from day one or being a total professions from day one... not going to f-ing happen and setting yourself up for failure.  The whole "follow your passions" has been out since the mid 1900s and every since then job satisfaction and happiness has been decreasing.

Please refer this video for additional information from Cal Newport, 40 minutes but totally worth it.

2013 a new year get out and don't follow you passion and get good at something.

Double standards in physical culture

Why do people criticize the person who asks for a side salad instead of fries or goes out for jog after the party?  The guy is just trying to take personal resposibility for their health and future well being.

Why are people with cancer and diabetics treated like random victims? Do we not realize there is an association between the sleep/diet/exercise choices we make NOW will affect us in the FUTURE?

Control Charts in the Workplace

“A control chart is merely a graphical record of data taken from a repetitive process…” Physically the control chart is a data distribution turned sideways with the horizontal axis being successive tests, days, distance, or some other indication of order.” An example is shown below with the math to derive the points.

Control charts are a very practical idea because they depict what to accept and reject in a very simplistic way that someone on a assembly line can understand.  Formulas and scripts can be written to update the control chart.

Now why don’t we use this useful too?  I think it is because leaders are unfamiliar and to distant from their academic years to do the raw math to computing these limits.  The math is very simple but those who have the capability and education stay away from using such tools.  Also there is a stigma against using math and statistics for the same reason people distaste economist and their predictions.  As a manage/supervisor the greater leverage to increasing productivity is not to come at you employees with numbers and stats but more of the softer relationship building skills.  Although keeping score with statistics can create a sports team mentality… statistics as your primary form of communication creates disconnection and resentment amongst the workforce.

NPH: Notifications Per Hour

What does Neil Patrick Harris have to do with this post...

Nothing except NPH stands for "notifications per hour".  Like a pop-up advertisement that comes up on your internet browser these notifications are predominately annoyances and decrease productivity and create unnecessary stress.

Some questions to ask:
When was a notification truly that timely that it was to trigger a crucial action?
Was someone hurt or would not hearing something then and there led to a monetary penalty?
How many times do you check your email?
How many times does someone call you for something while you are working on some analytical/creative task?

Switching tasks is pure evil.  We are not computers who does 2 tasks at 50% speed for the sum of 100%.  Instead we are much less efficient than that.  We have limited cognitive resources let's use it wisely.

The Craigslist Penis Effect

This idea is not novel by any means but it is a piggy back on someones elses idea that people out there suck.

"Basically The Craigslist Penis Effect describes situations where everyone else is so horrible that, by being even half-decent, you can dominate everyone else and win. These moron men on Craigslist would be better served writing 5 half-decent responses, testing to see which got the best response, and then sending it out instead of a picture of their generally mediocre manhood. I did exactly that for my friend on JDate and ended up getting very good at introducing girls to him. (Jewish women, beware of my Ashkenazi skills.)"

Call it doing your own research and a little personal accountability but again things aren't easy, they are simple. In 99.9% if you put a little effort into it such as 1 minutes or 5 minutes you beat the mean by leaps and bounds.

It's Ok to be different Part II

Piggybacking on the words of Kathryn Schulz, we don't need to be right at everything. In elementary school, the kid who's paper was marked up by the teacher was thought as the dumb kid/the kid always making trouble/the douche who forgets their homework… so now today

we associate those who are wrong as extremely negative (or at the deepest personal level we denounce the person as a "fucking idiot") and therefore the best practice is to never make mistakes.

To apply this idea to a different topic lets think about those folks who were always correct... The straight A/workaholic/just freaking smart dude. Post college they tended to be doctors or lawyers but perhaps they themselves needed to take more chances and make mistakes? Maybe the path not taken would have produced a career platform that would have exponentially magnified the individual’s talents into a greater good for society... It is good to fail, hit the wall, and be directed in a different direction.

Like Lance Armstrong who only won the tour de France after he had cancer... the surviving & overcoming & risk taking acts as a catalyst for accomplishing great and extraordinary feats.

It's Ok To Be Different

No today's is not a motivational speech...

I would just like to point out that it advantageous to be different and think outside the box. In case you haven't noticed the average person is not doing that hot.

Doing the typical thing you work 9-5 or 5-9 for a capped salary building someones else's empire essentially trading your time for money, get laid off when times get tough, buy things that is advertized on mainstream media(ipad 1-2-3, iphone 1-2-3-4, lattes), become one of the 70% of people living paycheck to paycheck, buy the American dream home/cars that you will never be able to pay off and ultimately defer true happiness and freedom until you are living off medicare. Most importantly and in a higher level you are living a life void of freewill and of originality. Again don't compare yourself with other people, what they are/have has nothing to do with you.

What I am alluding to is a giant paradigm shift between the average person and revolutionary people who challenged the status quo and think for ourselves.

Henry Ford went outside the box to create the assembly line.
What if Edison just thought the gas lamp was about as good as it got?
What if the Wiki folks didn't work on that open-sourced encyclopedia (We would be using Encarta...YIKES!)?

"The world is full of nice, ordinary little people who live in nice, ordinary little houses on the ground. But didn’t you ever dream of a house up on a treetop?"
-Johann David Wyss Swiss family Robinson

"We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
-Albert Einstein

"Have some balls and venture off the beaten path, and quit being a f-ing drone"
-A Wiseman

10,000 Hours to Mastery

Experts (more on this experts term to come) cite the "10,000-Hour Rule" repeatedly. True or not there is some validity to it.

Dan McLaughlin a jon doe quit his job in hopes to transform himself into a professional golfer. He has no previous experience nor special ability in golf but he is doing it to on the premise that the "10,000-Hour Rule" is true. By using the “10,000 hours of practice” model for mastery he’s engaging in six hours of deliberate golf practice a day and hopes to try out for the PGA tour in late 2015.

Here is Dan's story... see he really does exist.

Some related math:
(8 hours/day) x (6 days a week) x (50 weeks a year) x (4 years) = about mastery level

(2 hours/day) x (6 days a week) x (50 weeks a year) x (16 years) = about mastery level

Take 33.33/how many hours a day you can dedicate to it and that is how many years you will take to reach mastery. So you better start working on those free-throws now Shaq.