ColdShower #70🥶🚿 What we do in the shadows, Planning Funnel, and the hard way
ColdShower #70🥶🚿 What we do in the shadows, Planning Funnel, and the hard way
Being itchy must’ve been a serious problem for knights in armor.
Shower thought via Reddit.
The ColdShower: Weekly thoughts for better health, habits, and happiness.
Cupid’s Countdown
A runner meets a selfless volunteer
Planning funnel part 1: Prioritization
Rethink: Can we quantify the value of doing things “the hard way”?
Recharge: 🏃✌️“runner’s high”🏃✌️
Runner’s High - (noun), the euphoric feeling produced by running long distances and experiencing total clarity of thought.
It was a cold, dark morning
I love the early morning. The quiet. The sense of calm in the air. The darkness slowly gives way to the rising sun.
Last Wednesday I started a speed workout around 5:30 am. Between the chill of the morning, a rough night of sleeping, and getting over a cold, I felt off.
But I set out the door anyway, ready to give this workout my best, whatever that would be.
A woman who needs no applause
During my warmup mile, I ran into an older woman. I don’t typically run into others that early. It startled me a bit.
She had a robotic trash picker and a bag, methodically filling it up with litter along my route. At 5:30 in the morning.
What we do when no one’s watching
That woman reminded me why I was out running that morning. Speed workouts are hard. I DON’T enjoy them. They push me to my breaking points.
But I have a goal to get faster. Like this woman picking up trash, it’s what I do when no one’s watching that MATTERS. It’s the quiet work of the early morning that will drive my progress.
Keep doing it. Whatever “it” is.
Refine: 🗓️🌪️“planning funnel”🗓️🌪️
A PICTURE’S WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Who said I had no artistic talent??
I’ve been mulling this concept of the “Planning Funnel” for some time now. The concept of routing all of your “inputs” through a series of planning steps, with completed tasks “outputs” as the end result.
Lots of output.
That’s the magic of planning. Planning = Productivity.
Spending just 10-20 minutes planning your day can save you up to 2 hours — 12x ROI. Where else can you see those gains? If a $10 investment guaranteed you $120 we would all invest immediately.
Step 1 - “Prioritization Filter”
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” - Stephen Covey
Priorities should drive our planning and decision-making. I see priorities as a “filter” that sits on top of my funnel of work. Every idea I have gets routed through this filter — “Does it match my top priorities?”. Same for every request that gets lobbed my way.
Most of us go through life without ever defining our priorities. And if you don’t, someone else will define them for you.
Extra Credit: Warren Buffet’s 5/25 Rule for Prioritization
I’ve mentioned this multiple times because of its importance. The exercise shouldn’t take you more than 20 minutes. Leave a comment if you do it (or have done it) and I’ll send you mine back.
Rethink: 🧠🧊“brain freeze”🧠🧊
Brain Freeze - (noun), a sharp headache-like pain caused by thinking about something profound.
Rethink: Can we quantify the value of doing things “the hard way”?
The internet is filled with claims of an “easy way”. We’re inundated with shortcuts, guides, cheat sheets, and templates. Promises to get more clients, followers, etc.
But is there a value in doing things the “hard way”? In getting our hands dirty and failing?
I drew a line in the sand when it came to writing this newsletter. I could go the easy way. I could use tools to prompt my writing or use AI to completely write a newsletter for me.
Writing is hard. But the value lies in its difficulty. In the process of forming clear thoughts with words. And in living real experiences that I can share with you all.
The value of getting to write for you all is priceless.
Are you deliberately doing something the “hard way”? Let me know what value you’re getting in the comments!
Still On The Toilet?
THANK YOU for making it to the end! Seriously, you rock.
"it’s what I do when no one’s watching that MATTERS." - That is accountability, my friend.
I have spent so much of my life making TO-DO lists and it works for me but I did go back to the Warren Buffet's 5/25 rule to evaluate and i realize this can work with any TO-DO list . My life priorities were set a long time ago as God, Family, Work. And love your story of the woman!