Read This If You Think You Should Read This
So, you may have noticed that I started writing my subject lines a little differently.
For the past few years, it's been clickbaity headline after clickbaity headline.
You know what I'm talking about.
Headlines like:
"One Bulletproof Way To Change Your Life," and "The 5 Little Known Things That Will Make You 150% More Productive," and "Do This Surprisingly Simple Daily Habit To Improve Your Mindset."
I wrote them every day for a year and I still wonder if that helped me gain attention or pushed away readers who would like what I actually had to say.
Either way, I've been focusing on a more simple approach.
I'm not sure it's helping me gain more readers yet, but I do know that it neither adds nor takes away anything from the rest of the content I'm writing.
So, why?
Because I feel better about it.
Yep. That's the big realization.
I feel more straightforward and more honest--and that's been the promise the whole time, right?
I promised simple, to-the-point, no fancy-pants, quickly digestible, mission-critical, delicious, family-friendly, actionable, knowledge-nuggets?
These headlines feel even more stripped down. So, that's what I'm doing.
So, I'll be looking at open rates and read through rates to see what kind of actual, measurable impact this small, seemingly insignificant change has made, but as of right now, it feels like the right thing to do.
How does that relate to you?
Of course, I want to hear your feedback about this, but more importantly, I want to model a behavior for you.
Takeaways:
Change is good if it's good.
If the change you made achieves a desirable result (not necessarily the specific result you initially desired), then it's probably good. Make sure you are on the lookout for unintended consequences, too.
Simpler is usually harder but better.
I write a 7th-grade reading level. Why? The average reading level in America is a 7th-grade reading level. It also helps those above that average get to the point faster and comprehend more. No, I'm not dumbing it down. I'm meeting people where they are.
Measure what matters.
My message won't matter if it doesn't get clicked, opened, and read. My message also won't matter if it falls into the wrong ears. Discerning open rates and audience is the front portion of my battle. Understanding the impact is harder to measure, but also worthwhile. Likes, hearts, and thumbs-ups can be useful in understanding audience attention, but it will only serve your vanity if you don't follow them to the behaviors of the people you are trying to impact. This is also why I include a quick, actionable note in each post.
2 Minute Action
What's something you've been doing for a while but haven't seen much change in? It's probably something important but not urgent, like "fitness" or "writing that novel."
What are your current excuses/reasons for not doing it?
Go ahead, jot them down.
I'll give you a hint, here. No one has the time, money, or the team to make it happen--so you can't let those slow you down.
If you were diagnosed with some terrible disease, you would stop other things and focus on healing. Why? Because it's a priority. Suddenly, things became important AND urgent.
If you're like me, you want to do all the things.
You want to have a huge impact in 20 different disciplines, catch up with your friends and family, be an informed citizen, speak 7 or 8 languages, and play 13 different instruments.
Since you can't do everything, it's going to be up to you to decide what to prioritize. It's going to be up to you to decide what is important AND urgent.
As Derek Sivers says: "hell yes!" or "no!"
Changing/modifying a routine, simplifying/improving an existing routine, and measuring the results are some of the ways to get there.
You can start on one of those things, today.
And I know you can start in 2 minutes or less.
All I did was start writing different headlines.
Daily 1% improvement accumulates into a 100% improvement every 70 days.
Read This If You Want Every Day To Be Good
Some days are good.
Some days I do not perform the way I'd hoped.
Some days I perform well but my environment prevents my success.
Some days my environment has ideal conditions and I squander my opportunity.
What's important is accepting that it is impossible for every day to be good.
What's hard is fighting onward anyway, in spite of that voice that says "this is pointless."
What's hard is seeking improvement when you know perfection is impossible.
2 Minute Action:
You can, in 2 minutes, make up your mind.
You can either choose to seek improvement despite the challenges, or you can opt-out.
Remember that the outcome doesn't matter because it has nothing to do with you if you've already made your mind up.
What's Enough?
Enough is enough.
Does it work? Good.
If it can be better, a good question to ask is "how much better?"
If it costs 10x more to have the "best," but you can get 80% of the way there for 10x less the cost . . . is that really the "best?"If you're NASA, it might be worth it. If that manifold breaks, it could be lost lives and literally millions of dollars.Chances are, your stakes aren't as high as NASA's, so you should probably consider what "enough" is to get the job done.
Also, if it can be better, it's worth asking "how much better does it need to be to get to the next step?"
The difference between 90 mph and 100 mph isn't as big as the difference between 100 mph and 110 mph.Wind resistance increases exponentially and requires a disproportionate amount of fuel and power as the speedometer goes up.Sometimes, the place you're going isn't worth it either.
2 Minute Action
What's one big task you have to do today?Could you make it smaller?Can it be an email instead of a meeting?Can it be an article instead of a novel?Can it be a B- instead of an A+?