Speaker 1: Hello Habit Mechanics .
It's Dr John Finn here.
I hope you're doing well.
So this is the fourth part of our mini podcast series where
we're just giving you full access to the new best-selling
and it is a bestseller across four leadership and business
categories the quite hard categories to become a
bestseller on Amazon or it has been.
Those charts are changing all the time, so it's a bestselling
book.
We're getting some amazing feedback, so thanks for that.
People are telling us that these things are really helping
them.
Telling us that these things are really helping them.
You know the ai um understanding about how it's
impacting life.
So it's going to impact life.
It's, you know, it's almost changing on a daily basis.
One of the things I found quite interesting recently was
listening to a podcast that, um, our head of business, katherine
grant, had made me aware of, and it's from one of the guys
who's on the Dragon's Den, which is the UK equivalent of Shark
Tank.
So it's a series where people can pitch their business ideas
and potentially get investment, and I just found it really
surprising that this person, who's a very famous entrepreneur
, was saying that they'd only just realised how powerful AI
was, was saying that they'd only just realised how powerful AI
was, and on his podcast he had a number of leading thinkers in
this space and they were saying that AI, kind of silently, has
already replaced about well millions of jobs.
Obviously, businesses are not taking out press releases to
disclose that, but it is changing the world and I know
that I think every day now about 800 million people are using
chat GTP and that's happening because it's powerful and people
get benefits right.
So, yeah, this is not going away.
So understanding how your brain works, getting that measurement
of your current brain states, your human ai readiness score,
and then understanding how to create a long-term strategy, a
daily strategy, in a way of automating your daily approach,
is so, so key and that's why we wrote Train your Brain for the
AI Revolution.
It is the world's first AI-era brain and leadership training
program, essentially, and we are running live training with
people, with with businesses.
We're training people to become now human AI performance
psychology coaches.
We've created that new field of psychology.
So we're really leading the way on this and we're working with
people one-to-one as well such a broad range of people but all
who want to capitalize on these new opportunities of the AI era.
So suppose what we're offering here with train your brain for
the AI revolution book.
It's sort of like all books or knowledge based products.
It's kind of a do-it-yourself approach.
Some people just want the knowledge and they put it into
practice themselves.
Some people want one-to-one support and coaching.
Others want to learn how to do it for their teams or or even
create their own business using this approach, and we can help
you with all of those things.
So today we are going to again breaking that belief that just
talking to someone about what you want to work on, what you
want to improve on, is enough.
It isn't.
The data is very clear.
If we want to change our behavior, we need a systematic
approach, and that's what the success cycle is in the heart of
train your brain for the ai revolution, um.
So what we've done in the past few episodes is we've shown you
how to measure your brain states , then how to um, which is step
one of the success cycle, and step two is planning with the
task director.
So we showed you that in the last episode, or last episode of
this mini series, and then in the um.
In this episode, we're going to talk about optimization with the
day designer.
So we're going to cover chapters 20, 21 and 23 and we're
going to go deep and help you to create something called a
willpower story, such a powerful tool and this is like your
daily strategy.
It's like a container that you can put all your um, all the
things that you want to achieve every day into, whether it's
very tangible things like finishing that proposal, or
things that feel less tangible, like managing stress better or
being a better leader, or being more focused and productive, so
you can do more high-impact thinking every day.
So, yeah, that's what's coming up, as ever.
If you have any questions, just let us know.
Contact us via the website, if you're not in the app or any of
our other channels.
Again, make notes, don't just nod along.
Put things into practice and you'll start to get immense
benefits.
So here is.
Here is, first of all, chapter 20, which is the first part of
step three from the success cycle from our best-selling book
Train your Brain for the AI revolution.
Speaker 2: Success cycle, step three Optimization with the day
designer.
Planning transforms energy.
The day designer Planning transforms energy.
The day designer, chapter 20.
Creating your first willpower story.
Sarah looked down at her lists of tasks, now neatly organised
into ice sculptures and ice cubes.
I knew which tasks needed my best thinking, she told me later
, but I still wasn't sure when to do them.
That's when the day designer introduced me to something that
revolutionised my approach to planning the willpower story.
Think of your willpower story as a simple map that matches
your tasks to your brain's natural and enhanced energy
patterns.
Just as your FAM story guides your long-term journey, your
Willpower story helps you navigate each day's steps along
that path.
The day designer has a saying planning transforms energy.
Just as a lighthouse operator needs to understand weather
patterns and deliberately manage their beam's power to maximise
its reach across changing conditions, we need to actively
plan how we use our brain states rather than letting them
operate randomly.
Through deliberate planning, we can transform our basic energy
patterns into optimised states, whether through our own
management practices or strategic AI use, reaching
levels of performance that wouldn't be possible through
natural patterns alone.
This is why planning isn't just about organising tasks.
It's about understanding and deliberately shaping the energy
we bring to those tasks.
What made this tool so powerful , sarah explained, was how it
showed me when to use my brain's high-charge state for important
work and when to handle routine tasks in medium-charge states.
Instead of fighting my energy patterns, I could work with them
, leveraging your AI support system.
When I first categorised my tasks, sarah shared, I realised
something important about my AI tools.
Some could handle my IceCube tasks almost entirely, like
summarising routine meetings or drafting basic emails.
Others could enhance my ice sculpture work, not by replacing
my thinking, but by handling, supporting tasks.
While I've focused on innovation , consider your own tasks in two
categories.
Consider your own tasks in two categories.
Number one ice cubes that AI could handle.
Think about routine emails, basic research and standard
reports.
Number two ice sculptures, where AI could support and
augment your premium thinking for tasks like strategic
planning, creative work or complex problem solving.
Don't worry if you're not sure exactly how AI can support
different types of tasks.
The key thing is to start thinking about this and to begin
considering how you might use these tools more strategically
throughout your day.
Remember you don't need to figure it all out at once.
This understanding will develop naturally as you work with your
willpower story.
For now, let's focus on creating that story, creating
your first willpower story.
You'll need three things to get started.
First, a blank piece of paper.
Second, your lists of ice sculpture and ice cube tasks
from the previous chapter.
Third, 15 minutes of quiet time .
Now let's follow these steps.
Step 1.
Draw your basic timeline.
Turn your paper sideways, landscape and draw a horizontal
line across the middle, from one end of the page to the other.
Now divide this line into the key parts of your day.
For example, wake up time, early morning, mid-morning,
lunch time, early afternoon, late afternoon, evening bedtime,
lunchtime, early afternoon, late afternoon, evening Bedtime.
Just seeing my day laid out like this, sarah shared, helped
me be more realistic about what I could accomplish.
Step 2.
Mark your high-charge times.
Most people have their best thinking energy in the morning,
but this varies On your timeline .
Mark when you typically experience these states.
When you feel most alert and focused, this is your
high-charge state.
When you have less mental energy, this is your
medium-charge state.
Sarah discovered something important.
I realised I'm sharpest from 8am to 11am.
Then have another good period from 3pm to 5pm.
This became the foundation for planning my day.
Step 3.
Place your ice sculpture tasks.
Match your ice sculpture tasks to your high charge times.
Here are some examples Complete complex planning during morning
high charge peak.
Have important meetings when you are most alert.
Do your creative work during afternoon high-charge time.
Step 4.
Fill in routine tasks.
Place your ice cube tasks during these times, during
natural energy dips, between more demanding tasks when you
know you'll have less focus.
Here's an example to help you pull everything together 6am
Wake-up time.
6am wake up time.
7am start your day.
8am ice sculpture work during high charge state.
10am continue ice sculpture work in high charge state.
12noon take a break.
1pm handle ice cube tasks in medium charge state.
3 pm return to ice sculpture work in high charge state.
5 pm complete ice cube tasks in medium charge state.
5 30 pm.
Start winding down with activities like your daily
3-to-1 reflection.
9.30pm bedtime remember to start small.
Just like Sarah, I started by just planning my morning hours.
Sarah recalled.
Once that worked, I gradually expanded to the full day.
The key was keeping it simple.
At first she smiled as she remembered how this approach
paid off.
Once I expanded to evening planning, I discovered something
powerful.
Including my three-to-one reflection in my willpower story
helped both habits grow stronger.
Good planning supported better reflection, and better
reflection led to clearer planning.
Common challenges to watch for.
Challenge one Trying to do too much.
I learned the hard way.
Sarah shared that you can only do about four to five hours of
premium thinking work each day, and sometimes over six hours.
When you get the AI working with you.
Trying to do more just doesn't work.
Challenge two Fighting your patterns.
Don't schedule demanding work when your brain naturally needs
rest.
Move ice sculptures to your high charge times.
Your next steps Step 1.
Create tomorrow's basic willpower story.
Draw your timeline, mark your typical high-charge times.
Place just one to three ice sculptures to work on during
these times.
Fill in some ice cubes around them.
Step 2.
Notice what works.
When did you feel most focused?
Which times worked best for important tasks?
When was routine work easier?
Remember this is just your first attempt.
Keep it simple.
Be patient and let the day designer guide you toward your
optimal rhythm.
The key is getting started with something you can actually use
tomorrow.
Chapter 21.
Strengthening your willpower story Success cycle location.
Step 3.
Progress 50% complete.
Sarah had been using her basic willpower story for a week,
matching her ice sculptures to her high-charge times.
I was getting better results, she told me later, but sometimes
I still struggled to maintain those high-charge states.
That's when the day designer showed me how to protect and
strengthen my best thinking hours.
This is where two powerful resources come into play your
strengths and willpower boosters .
Think of these as the support systems that help you maintain
your optimal brain states, especially during important
high-charge work.
These resources supercharged how I approached each day.
Sarah explained.
Instead of just hoping I'd stay focused during important work,
I had specific strategies to protect my thinking time.
Your lighthouse brain's support system.
Remember how your lighthouse brain needs different power
states throughout the day.
Just as a lighthouse needs systems to maintain its beam at
full power, your brain needs support to maintain its high
charge state.
This is especially crucial when working on your ice sculptures
those tasks that require your premium thinking power.
Understanding your strengths Strengths are your natural
abilities for maintaining focused states.
Key ones include self-controlled you stay focused
on priorities and avoid distractions.
Persistent you motivate yourself to keep going when
things get tough.
Perspective you step back from the immediate to reflect and
plan.
Efficient you organise well and minimise wasted effort.
Optimistic you stay positive when things don't go to plan.
Learning about these strengths was enlightening, sarah shared.
I realised I was naturally good at being persistent, but needed
to work on being self-controlled.
This helped me know exactly what to focus on Adding
willpower boosters.
While strengths are your internal capabilities, willpower
boosters are specific actions that protect your brain states.
Key boosters include phone management turn off your phone
to minimise distractions.
Internet management disconnect to reduce quick check
temptations.
Workspace plan create an environment with minimal
distractions.
Concentration booster Write down a focus plan before
starting Strategic AI management .
Sarah discovered that AI tools could either boost or drain her
brain states.
Ai tools could either boost or drain her brain states, just
like my phone.
I learned to manage AI tools strategically, she explained.
During high-charge periods, I'd use them to enhance my thinking
, having them analyze data while I focused on strategy.
During medium-charge periods, they could handle routine tasks.
Examples of how you could use AI during high-charge periods
they could handle routine tasks.
Examples of how you could use AI during high-charge periods to
outsource brainpower.
Use AI to support and augment complex thinking.
Have AI handle background research while you experiment
and innovate.
Let AI explore alternatives while you focus on strategic
decisions.
Examples of how you could use AI during medium charge periods
Let AI handle routine communications.
Use AI for standard information processing.
Use AI to automate repetitive tasks, completely enhancing your
willpower story.
Let me walk you through a sample day's schedule and how it
aligns with your brain states, strengths and boosters.
This will show you how to take your basic willpower story and
add these elements.
Remember, this is just an example.
At 8am, focus on strategic work .
This is a nice sculpture task.
Your brain will be in high charge state and your key
strength here is being self-controlled.
To boost your performance, keep your phone turned off and find
a quiet space to work.
At 10am, have your team meeting .
You'll still be in high charge state, which is perfect because
your strength in this situation is leading others.
Make sure you have your meeting plan ready to boost your
effectiveness.
At 1pm, handle routine tasks.
This works well with your medium charge state, where your
strength is being efficient.
No special boosters needed during this period.
Finally, at 3pm, focus on creative work.
Your brain will be back in high charge state and your strength
here is being persistent.
To boost your performance, try turning off your internet
connection if you don't require it to reduce distractions and
help you maintain focus.
Remember, this is just an example to help you understand
how to start pulling all these elements together To make it
easier to create a complete willpower story.
I have created a PDF template story.
I have created a PDF template.
Go to toughermindscouk forward slash, train your brain to
download your copy.
Start simple.
Begin by adding just one or two strengths and boosters to your
most important high charge period.
I started with just my morning planning time, sarah explained.
Once that worked well, I gradually added support to other
parts of my day.
Common challenges using too many boosters.
Start with just the essential ones.
Sarah found this out.
At first.
I tried using every booster.
It was overwhelming.
Starting with just phone management made it much easier.
Forgetting to use your strengths.
Make a note of which strengths help most during high charge
work.
Build on these natural capabilities.
Your next steps Identify your key strengths.
Which ones do you naturally use well, which could help with
your high charge work?
Choose your essential boosters.
What most often interrupts your focus?
Which boosters would help most?
Update tomorrow's willpower story.
Add one to two strengths to your main high charge period.
Include one key willpower booster.
Remember start small with just one or two supports.
The goal isn't to use every strength and willpower booster
at once, but to gradually build a system that helps you maintain
your best thinking states when they matter most.
Chapter 22.
Managing your biggest daily challenge.
Success cycle location.
Step three.
Progress 75% complete.
Sarah had been using her willpower story for two weeks,
matching tasks to brain states and using strengths and
willpower boosters.
While I was making progress, she reflected there was still
one persistent challenge in my daily routine that post-lunch
energy crash.
That's when the day designer showed me how to use the swap to
overcome my biggest daily challenge.
Most people have one part of their day that consistently
causes problems.
For many, like Sarah, it's post-lunch.
For others it might be early mornings, late afternoons or
switching off in the evening.
The swap helps you tackle this challenge systematically.
What made swap so powerful?
Sarah explained.
The swap helps you tackle this challenge systematically.
What made swap so powerful, sarah explained, was how it
helped me turn the most challenging part of my day into
a genuine recharge opportunity.
Instead of fighting my energy dip, I learned to work with it.
Understanding swap.
Let me explain what swap spelt S-W-A-P means.
It's an approach with three parts.
The S-W stands for self-watch Notice what's happening.
The A stands for aim Choose a specific goal.
The P stands for plan Create clear steps to achieve your aim.
Let's see how Sarah used this to transform her challenging
post-lunch dip in energy levels.
Step 1.
Self-watch First, sarah observed exactly what happened
after lunch.
She noticed four key things.
She felt mentally foggy.
She struggled to focus on work.
She often made mistakes.
She ended up scrolling on her phone.
Just paying attention helped me see the pattern Sarah shared.
I was trying to do high charge work when my brain was only
capable of working on medium-charge tasks.
Step 2.
Aim Next, sarah set a clear, specific goal Complete my list
of afternoon ice cube tasks effectively, despite the energy
dip.
Notice how this aim has three important qualities it's
specific, focused on a clear list of afternoon work.
It states a positive action.
Complete a list of tasks.
It's measurable the tasks will either be completed or not.
Step 3.
Plan Finally, sarah created a simple plan to support her aim,
which included strategic AI use.
She chose to eat a light lunch to avoid feeling heavy and
experiencing indigestion.
She took a 15-minute walk to refresh her energy.
She prepared a clear list of afternoon Ice Cube tasks.
She used AI to help her draft replies to urgent emails.
She used self-control to turn off her phone to minimise
distractions.
Having a specific plan was very powerful, sarah explained,
instead of just hoping I'd somehow push through.
I had clear steps to follow Strategic AI management.
I realised AI could help manage the most challenging part of my
day, sarah explained.
Instead of forcing myself to do complex work when my energy
dipped, I could use AI to help me write some draft emails I
needed to reply to whilst I recovered.
Adding a swap to your willpower story.
Look at your willpower story and circle the most challenging
part of your day, when it's most difficult to get into the brain
state you need to be at your best.
This might be a time of day when you struggle most with
focus or often waste or feel least productive or worry and
beat yourself up a lot, or you might have trouble transitioning
from work to rest in the evening.
You might have trouble transitioning from work to rest
in the evening.
Now let's create your own swap.
You can use Sarah's example for inspiration.
First, self-watch what exactly happens during this challenging
time.
Second, set your aim.
What specific outcome do you want instead?
Third, create your plan.
What two to three-part plan will you create to help you
achieve the specific outcome you want?
Start simple.
Begin with just one small change.
I started with just the lunchtime walk, sarah explained.
Once that became natural, I added the other elements.
Small steps made it sustainable .
Common challenges to watch for.
Challenge one Trying to fight your pattern.
Don't try to schedule ice sculptures during the most
challenging part of your day.
Work with your brain's natural rhythms instead.
Challenge two making the plan too complex.
Keep your swap steps simple and specific.
Sarah found this crucial.
The simpler my plan, the more likely I was to follow it.
Your next steps?
Let's break this down into three simple actions to take.
Action one Identify your daily challenge.
Circle it on your willpower story.
Notice exactly what happens.
Be specific about the time frame.
Action two Create your simple swap Self-watch the pattern.
Create your simple swap, self-watch the pattern.
Set one clear aim.
Make a two to three step plan.
Action three Try it tomorrow.
Focus on just one small change.
Notice what works.
Adjust as needed.
The complete willpower story has three elements working together
.
First, your basic timeline matching tasks to brain states.
Second, your strengths and willpower boosters for support.
Third, your swap for your biggest challenge.
As Sarah discovered, this combination takes how you think
about managing your day to new levels.
Once I had all three parts working together matching tasks
to energy, using the right support tools and managing the
most challenging parts of my day , everything became easier.
I wasn't fighting my brain anymore, I was working with it.
But even with these tools mastered, sarah faced one final
challenge Making this new approach automatic rather than
effortful.
That's where step four of the success cycle pulls everything
together.
Congratulations.
You've now completed step three of the success cycle.
Before we move on, and if you think it's helpful, take a
moment to think about people you admire for their ability to
structure their day and manage their energy, whether it's a
colleague, a mentor or even a high-performing athlete.
What makes their approach so effective?
This might help you to improve your relationship with your own
day designer, and you might even name it after one of those
people you admire.
Next, we'll move on to step four, where you'll discover how
to use behavioral science to make completing your daily
willpower story automatic.