The LEGO® Productivity Secret You Didn't Know Existed
Do you remember building with LEGO® when you were a kid? Do you remember any lessons? I bet you read this headline and said: "No one gave ME no LEGO® productivity secret!"
Here's why . . .
There's this strange notion that taking on big challenges is how people achieve big things.
Of course, this is ridiculous.
People who are shooting to be the next Google, Facebook, or Apple are thinking big--but they're not thinking of the practical approach to getting there.
Stop thinking it's "will power."
Stop thinking it's your ability to execute.
Stop thinking you don't have the right shoes, camera, laptop, pen, climbing rope, bicycle, car engine, or professional network.
Almost no one started with all that.
No one builds a huge, 1000 piece LEGO® castle by looking at the box and making it happen with just some good ol' fashioned elbow grease.
They use instructions that break the build down into small, achievable chunks.
It's not about huge willpower. It's about writing your own LEGO® instructions and breaking things down into actionable and achievable pieces.
It's less about you committing to some huge goal and it's more about making a small commitment to a reasonable goal.
Exercise is another really good example.
"The hard part about going to the gym is putting your shorts on."
- Chris' Dad
Thanks, dad.
It's less about facing some huge challenge and it's more about tricking yourself into smaller challenges.
It's these smaller challenges, when pieced together, that make the whole LEGO® build.
Okay, so how do we pull out this LEGO® productivity secret from all this?
Understand: Achieving what you want is not about going after the whole big picture, it's about building repeatable systems, made up of small achievable tasks, that make you happy when you complete them.
Successful people are not magical.
Successful people are a combination of protocol and opportunity.
2 Minute Action:
What is a goal you have?
Let's just say it's running a marathon.
How do you go from couch to 26.2?
- Register for the race.
- Lookup a training plan.
- Find someone who will run with you even when it's cold and raining outside.
These are all things you can do today, pretty quickly.
You don't have to run 26.2 miles right now. In fact, that's a terrible idea. You'll hurt yourself and never want to try again.
No matter what your goal is, I challenge you to find something you can do to move forward in 2 minutes or less.
When you string together all of these small actions, you arrive at your protocol or system for getting things done.
That's the LEGO® productivity secret.
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When You Break Something Of Value
Today, it broke.It was a cheap rubber wristband that I have been wearing for the past few months.Nothing this cheap was meant to last longer than that.If you know me at all, you know that I actively try to remove excess stuff from my life--so you might be wondering why I care or why I have a cheap rubber wristband in the first place.
Here's what happened:
I was running one of my team's LEGO® shows for kids in St. Paul, MN.Part of our shows makes room for displayers of all ages. It helps get locals out to be part of the show and it helps kids network with other builders who are in their community. Pretty cool, right?Well, one kid was so excited to be there that he brought these rubber LEGO® wristbands to give out.
When I spoke with him and thanked him for his hard work, he gave me one of his wristbands.
"Thanks for inviting me, I'm SO excited to be here," he said.It's moments like these when you realize that what you do helps other people be themselves and be part of a community that encourages learnings, that you smile and realize it's all worth it.This kid had the time of his life connecting with older builders and meeting other kids just like him.So no, it doesn't matter that the wristband broke--because I will never forget that kid.Take this as a reminder that it's easy to confuse the value of stuff with the value of experiences.
2 Minute Action
It doesn't have to be a wristband, but what can you give to someone around you to let them know you appreciate them?
- It could be a handwritten "COUPON - Good For 1 Free BackRub."
- It could be a flattened penny.
- It could be a pack of Juicy Fruit gum.
It doesn't matter what the vehicle is, it just matters what sentiment you gave it.It will take you 2 minutes to write a post-it note or give someone a wooden nickel with a story that holds meaning.
Don’t Get Tricked Into This Habit
There are certain things that have inherent qualities.I hear people talk talk about the inherent educational qualities in LEGO toys and MINECRAFT, the block-based video game.While there are some inherent values, like helping kids develop spatial reasoning skills, most of the value is hidden from sight.
It lies in the transferability of the lessons you learn to the real world.
Kids “mine” for resources in MINECRAFT. They can then spend those resources on new mining tools, build a house, or whatever else they can think up.They tricky part here is that they are practicing “budgeting” and resource management without realizing it.It takes an extra second for a mentor, parent, or teacher to explain how this skill can be transferred to the real world, but somehow many of us skip this step, expecting the toy or the game to just work this magic on its own.It’s this guidance and practice of application to the real world that will make all the difference whether you are a student, teacher, employer, or employee.
It will 10x your results.
This is a critical “learn” part of the “Build. Measure. Learn.” cycle from the Lean Model coined by Eric Ries.Instead of waiting for something to work on its own, take ownership and see how you can practice applying what you’ve learned to other parts of your life.Dont get tricked into thinking the full value of the product or service is already 100% baked inside.
2 Minute Action
What’s something that you’re doing really well in your life right now?In what other part of your life might you try this approach?
Here are some quick ideas:
LEGO is all about breaking large, complex models into small, buildable chunks. Saving for retirement is a huge, high-stress task that can be made much easier by saving small chunks over time.MINECRAFT is all about scrounging the right resources and learning from the online community. If you’re thinking about starting a company or embarking on a new career, connecting with others who are on that track might help inform your decision and get you up to speed on the consequences.