The daily standup is probably the most common team meeting in the world. What started as a strange practice for software developers using something called 'AGILE' has morphed it's way in to everyday usage across most industries. I’ve combined lessons learned from my 20+ years experience in the software industry to share tips for how to fix your daily standup
Read MoreWhen it comes to progressing your career through new jobs, the STAR technique is your best friend. You can use it when crafting your CV, writing a job application, and especially when preparing for your interviews.
The STAR technique ensures you tell your story properly, providing all the relevant information that a hiring manager and interviewer wants to know.
Do not leave it up to chance or hope the hiring manager will ask follow up questions. Use the STAR technique to tell a well structured and engaging story that shows how you exceed their expectations and have the relevant experience they are looking for.
Read MoreIn the last 3 months I have seen my pet project - Dream Career Project - gain a following of nearly 200 people who want to hear from me about job applications, CVs, interviews tips, and advice on how to build a fun and exciting career.
Buoyed by this interest in my content I have decided to try my hand at videos. I've created a personal YouTube channel and I’m having a lot of fun…
Read MoreIdeas are wafts of imaginations, flights of fancy, and daydreams of insight. There is never complete certainty about an idea. If an idea were certain then it wouldn't be just an idea. Except we tend to treat ideas as if they are certain. At least for our own ideas, we look upon them as if they are fact rather than mere possibilities...
Read MoreOTAD (One task a day) is another productivity tip that is a MUST-HAVE for anyone busting their arse on a side project. Whether you are a writer, painter, entrepreneur, singer, musician, programmer, or just planning a holiday, building a treehouse, learning to cook, renovating your house, or some other project in your life. OTAD will help you
Read MoreOFAT (One Focus at a Time) is a process/mindset/hack that I have been using to help keep me focused on achieving goals in my side projects. This technique is the number one reason I've been able to complete so many side projects in my spare time over the past few years whilst also working full-time and growing my family.
Read MoreNew year's resolutions do not work. In fact, wide sweeping resolutions of any kind are destined to fail because they create a pressure for perfection. There is middle ground for resolutions which makes them more likely to fail.
Read MoreIt's a horrible feeling of self doubt and loathing, combined with excessive stress and paranoia. Your heart thumps, sweat oozes from your body, and there is an obscenely strong urge to just pack up and run away.
Read MoreHave you ever felt as if your life was hurtling along at such speed that you barely had control over it? Or have you felt like a juggler with too many balls (or chainsaws) in the air? Or maybe you have just felt so stretched that you badly needed a rest? Don't worry I know the feeling all too well...
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Nothing in our life occurs at a linear rate. We do not progress, or experience change of any kind, at a constant speed. Life ebbs and flows; change, improvement , and progress within our life can occur like a burst of lightning, like a sleepy snail, or anywhere in between. This applies to all facets of life whether it is learning a new technical skill, implementing an exercise routine, dieting, producing creative output, or initiating positive changes through personal development. No matter what the subject is you will never see progress occur in a constantly straight line. There will always be progress plateaus.
The progress plateau is a prolonged period of “no progress” that typically occurs directly before and after periods of dramatic progress. In areas of life that are subjected to frequent changes (i.e. pretty much everything) we experience those changes in short and sharp bursts and then spend the majority of our time experiencing the progress plateau.
This is just the natural cycle of progress. It is never linear. The common structure to progress is that we experience small periods of sudden drastic change (improvement spikes), sometimes followed by a small dip in progress directly afterwards, and then long periods where “nothing” occurs.
It is during this period, the long and boring time where we feel stagnated, that we can lose motivation. These periods can go for months, even years, and without a known end to the plateau in sight it is too easy to feel that our progress has stalled indefinitely. This is the single biggest reason why most people fail to implement changes in their life.
Whether it is a new diet, exercise, relationships, personal development, or just forming new habits, there will always be progress plateaus and unless you are ready for them they will undo all your hard work.
It would be remiss of me to tell you that the progress plateau exists, like a monster lurking in the shadows waiting to attack you in your weakest moment, and then not tell you how you can beat it. Here are some tips on how to maintain motivation through the progress plateaus.
You’ve just got to face facts. The progress plateau is not some fanciful creature I invented just to scare you (and yes I am well aware that I just referred to it as a monster in the previous paragraph – that’s the beauty of poetic licence). You need to accept that the progress plateau exists.
Making a conscious decision to believe in the existence of progress plateaus means you will be more likely to identify them when they pop up. How many times have you heard a new phrase or learned something new and then you start seeing and hearing it everywhere? This happens often to most people because of the way our brains processes information. When we become aware of new facts our brains start being able to identify and categorise instances that align with that new piece of information. Without the specific facts the brain would just ignore the incoming data because it has no reference to compare it to. The same happens for progress plateaus.
By bringing the plateau into focus, we enable the brain to identify them more easily. We give ourselves a chance to realise that we are not “stagnating” or under-performing, but we are just experiencing a plateau before out next big advance. We can remind ourselves that the plateau is just the calm before the storm.
Having just accepted and identified that the lull in your progress is just a plateau you can start deriving more motivation to help you push on through toward the next improvement spike. A great way to get this motivation is to look back at the progress you have made throughout your entire journey.
The progress plateau has the ability to fool us into thinking that we haven’t achieved much. We can look back over the past few weeks and see no progress and feel disheartened. But if we take a holistic view, if we consider our entire progress from the very first day then we can start putting the plateau into perspective.
When looking for motivation it is helpful to consider how far you have come from the moment of initiation. Don’t let yourself be fooled by the recent progress. Only consider the overall trend.
This thinking is particularly relevant for dieting and exercise. I often hear about people starting a new healthy routine who experience positive and quick results early (e.g. losing several kilos) but then go through a flat period. During this time they only look back at the past few weeks (i.e. the plateau) and they lose motivation. They give up on their routine, go back to unhealthy habits, and write the whole thing off as a failure. If only they had looked at their entire progress instead of just a small segment.
Another way to maintain motivation through the progress plateau is to remember just how good those sudden spikes of quick progress feel. Remind yourself of the happiness you felt during the last improvement spike - the positive energy, the motivation, and the smile that you couldn’t wipe off your face. Remind yourself how good it actually feels.
Now remind yourself that directly after a progress plateau comes another spike of improvement. Even though you cannot see it coming, if you stay on your course and maintain your efforts you can be sure that another spike is waiting just over the horizon. But if you give up during the plateau you never reach the next spike. You never feel those “highs” again.
This a reminder to only ever consider your own progress. Everyone else is operating within their own progress cycle and to weigh yourself up against someone else’s progress is a useless waste of time.
If you see someone else going through a massive improvement spike, that does not detract from your life or your opportunity for change. Be happy for them, celebrate with them, and remind yourself that your next spike is coming soon. Their progress cycle has nothing to do with yours.
Likewise, how far along they have progressed is irrelevant to you. They may have initiated their changes years ago, or they may just have come off the back of a significant improvement spike. Neither reason matters nor has anything to do with you, your progress, and your plateaus. Only look at your own progress and how far you have travelled since you started. That’s all that matters.
How do you maintain motivation through the progress plateau?