> [!INFO] My contributions > [[My Digital Self-Actualization]] will eventually cover all of them, and will try to share ways of facilitating it using the power of the [[Digital Universe]] and [[Digital Galaxy]]. A systematic framework for transforming your life created by [[Cal Newport]]. There are two parts to it, one to [[#Become a capable human being]], and one to [[#Cultivate Depth]] - Becoming a capable human being means to have the knowledge and capability to transform your life - Cultivating depth means to work off of your foundation as a capable human being to pursue [[Self-Actualization]], which ultimately is to contribute to the world in your own meaningful and unique way I think it is important to have some cultivation of depth in the first part so you have something to work towards, but otherwise the framework can be supported by related [[Productivity]] practices and [[High Performance]] mindsets to achieve our desired transformations. It is a commitment to take your life seriously by prioritizing what is truly best for your limited time on this earth. ### How to use it If this is your first time getting into self-improvement or you're starting from rock bottom, he recommends 1-3 weeks for each of the layers. Otherwise, I would recommend you use it as a blueprint to see what parts you are missing and be your own judge to realize how long it would take to see your desired change. ## Become a capable human being Start with discipline to have the mindset of the deep life. Then, start getting control over your current responsibilities. Once you have a foundation, appreciate and implement improvement by refining your craft. Simplify to trim the fat to keep what is essential through [[Self-experimentation]] ### Discipline [[Discipline]] - Story in relation to the deep life stack - Importance - Important since it makes you someone who acts in accordance with your values, not short term desires - Since we might not fully know our goals or purpose, we can practice discipline through essential life areas that amplify our energy, capacity, and happiness - Mindset - Just practicing [[Mindfulness]] to have a sense of [[Discipline of Perception]] for how you interpret an event - Areas - Application Particulary in three places: - Body (ex. fitness) - Physical commitment and challenge - Numerous sources recommend 150 minutes of fitness weekly, 20 minutes a day for cognitive benefits. For more information, see [[How much to work out for optimal cognitive benefits]] - MWF workout, T Th walk - Mind (ex. read) - Intellectual commitment and challenge - I see this in relation to Nick Milo's knowledge management process: - Add - Clean your information diet - Focus on books, podcasts, articles - Focus on quality rather than quantity - Depth over recency - Have an app to do all of this - Follow your information diet - Relate - Relate it to your previous - Relate it to the rest of the source - Relate it to previous content you have consumed - Communicate - Journal - Engage in conversation - Make content about it - Part of this is also critically thinking and playing with ideas, which I do via notemaking in Obsidian - Heart (ex. spend time in meaning ful conversation with family) - Just practicing emotional and social commitment - Social discipline is also important - [[Loneliness]] amplifies us - Weekly conversations with friends like aidan - I would say one more, which is sleep - Sleep is the foundation at which you have the energy to do everything else - 8 hours - Can stack all of this to help each other - Working out makes you more tired for sleep - Reading before bed can be a healthy replacement for screens If you're having trouble, focus on consistency and incremental progress #### Resources - Cal podcast, start with discipline - Atomic habits for making it easier to be disciplined - Discipline equals freedom - Discipline is destiny - [[Grit]] #### Action Items i know youre tired of the same advice but there's a reason why some of it continues to be said no magic secret, its just being consistent but of course i want to provide my own implementation: - [[Hevy]] - [[Nominal Fitness]] - Discipline in the core three areas - Body - Try to hit the optimal 20 minutes a day - Pair it with something you enjoy - do you enjoy listening to music? reading while learning? - Mind - Read or learn things you like until you start enjoying the activity of reading on it's own - An example progression is (inspired by [[How to Think]]) - Entertainment - Just learn to stay focused - YouTube video essays on topics you're interested in - Easy since you are still stimulated by it and it is entertaining - Newsletters from people or topics you are interested in - Incorporates recurring themes, and since it is by a specific source you begin to build off of it - I recommend Cal Newport's Deep Questions podcast - Books - Heart - Minimum: choose at least one person you care about who makes you grow. Try to have a consistent weekly call or meetup with them to share learnings and keep in touch. During this time practice: - Deep listening and empathy - Asking open questions - Finding time - If you feel like it will help, schedule time in your week to do the above #### Transition Once we're comfortable with the philosophy then we can start looking into optimizing it through practices and tools mindsets (disciplines) method, tools (control) ### Control This is where you start being more intentional and controlled with how you go about the above disciplines as well as the ongoing responsibilities/activities in your life. It's time to start setting up productivity systems to set direction and focus towards things through methods and tools. Methods are the principles that help you actualize and practice your mindset. Tools are what help you act upon your methods, which I advocate using digital apps for. There is no objective best app, you just need to make sure that it fits your needs. To go from idea to execution. This is done through: - Project management - Declare what projects you are doing - Task management - Externalize things so you can focus on just executing - This is about streamlining things - To do list - Project management - Projects, goals, visions - Apps - Free - Can set something up in Obsidian with my GTD video - If you want to integrate with more apps though, Todoist might be a better option (link video) - I personally use akiflow - Time management - Calendar - Pre-plan commitments so you can practice being more accurate with your time estimates - Deep work - [[Work cycles]] - Apps - Google Calendar / Akiflow - Shut down ritual to differentiate between work and leisure - Habits - autopilot systems that shortcut decision making by making it easier, clearer to do - Periodic reviews - Keep it simple for now and on a week by week basis as a time to improve your systems - Rituals change your mindset in the moment - rituals support your values, specifically reconnect you - vision board - routines shape schedule and structure of your work #### Resources - Periodic reviews - Bullet journalling video - Periodic video - GTD Weekly Review - Task management - Todoist Video - (TODO) Obsidian Tasks video - (TODO) Akiflow video - Getting Things Done book - Time management - (TODO) Time blocking video using Akiflow - Trident Calendar System - Cal Newport Time Blocking - Make Time ### Craft You've learned to be disciplined and to find control over your life. Next it's time to learn how to learn and improve. Learning how to learn is a meta-skill that is transferrable in the future things you will do in life (as long as you have a growth mindset). Keeping in mind the difference between [[Rationality versus expertise]], we need to be mindful on how we are also enhancing our general craftsmanship ability. [[Meta-]] You also need to learn to appreciate other people who are able to refine their craft: ![[Peak Secrets From the New Science of Expertise#^khsxwx]] [[Improve salience landscape by internalizing role models]] Related ideas: - [[Growth Mindset]] - [[Embracing discomfort|Seek Discomfort]] - Accepting failure - Reflection when you fail - Changing - Your number one priority is growth, since it's the biggest catalyst for transformation - [[Deliberate Practice]] - Project management skills - Need to read peak - [[Second Brain]] - Our sidekick for processing and internalizing information quickly - Just like how with learning a new skill you have to start with the basics, the [[Zettelkasten]] method gives us a tangible space for slowly going deeper and deeper - Conceptualizing our knowledge helps us [[Compound knowledge with conceptual notes]] as it becomes transferrable across domains #### Resources - [[Building a Second Brain]] - [[How To Take Smart Notes]] - Mindset book - Peak book for deliberate practice ### Simplification Clear out things that are weighing you down, are not effective, or are reversing your growth. This is about implementing [[Attention-centred productivity]]. Think about [[Essentialism]], questioning habits, goals, and digital tools we can discard to make sure we have time for what's most important. After simplifying, we can refine our [[#Control]] system - Application - Periodic reviews - start, continue, stop - keeping logs of things you're doing, and during your reviews, trim the fat - personal example - this is done through more robust [[Periodic reviews]] - I choose [[What I am up to now]], anything else new I visit during my next review (unless it is very urgent/important) - Only a few projects - these is my direction for what I want to spend in the smaller timeframes - Reflection - What should I stop - What should I continue - What should I start Related resources - [[Essentialism]] ## Cultivate Depth Now that we are someone capable and have a good foundation, we can start going deeper. By going deeper, we can put our system to the test against more meaningful and challenging opportunities for growth. Surprisingly the values are similar to the ones I chose during [[The Values Game]] Understand your values so you know what your guiding principles are. ### Values Take some time to really understand who you are. This can act as main considerations/criteria for big decision. A compass for direction during your periodic reviews when deciding what you want to do across different timeframes. I recommend going through [[The Values Game]] to find your own. - Personal example - [[The Values Game]] - Resources - [[Start with why]] ### Service We can now use our capableness to serve other people. After all, what's the point if we just keep it to ourselves? I personally do this through content creation. [[Learning in public]] - You share your journey, admit that you are still a student yourself - Helps you stay accountable - Meet like-minded people - Help others behind you - Personal example - When I was learning Obsidian and productivity, I was just sharing my workflows as I created them Resources - [[It's Not About You]] - [[Agape]] ### Transformation Clearly envision the details of a desired life or character (which can be inspired by your [[#Values]], and how your current character is different from it. Identify these discrepancies, and start making the changes you need to to get there. Maybe you can tie this in with [[Self-transcendence]] ? You already are living a life somewhat aligned with your values but it's time to continue growing based on specific areas in your life you want to improve on. This is when you use the periodic reviews to identify improvement points to work towards your ideal character. - Resources - [[Awakening from the meaning crisis]] ### Legacy What you want to leave in the world beyond your death. What you want to be known for, your [[Purpose]] Always changes as you grow as mentioned in [[So Good They Can't Ignore You Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love]], I think the important thing is that you at least have some direction to work towards. This is where you can think of very long-term pursuits. [[Ali Abdaal]] recommends strategies like: - [[Tombstone experiment]] - Odyssey plan - What would you do if money or societal obligation were not a factor?