I mean seriously.... with the technology off today why build expensive hard to maintain brick and mortar schools when every American kid could do their education at home. At the computer.
Love the idea in theory, but it's a terrible idea in practice. Here's the question I always ask everyone who brings this up:
Show me your 6-pack, your million-dollar bank account, and PhD degree that you got from self-directed actions over time.
Individual actions are easy; anyone can walk on a treadmill or eat a turkey sandwich or save money or do homework. The problem isn't the actions; it's the brain in-between the plan & the actions. The simple logic goes like this: anything achievable is doable. Doable tasks are either easy or hard - but they ARE doable. We can't do everything all at once, so we have to do tasks over time. Eventually, once all of the tasks are completed, our project is completed & our goal is achieved. Anyone can get a six-pack or pick up a side hustle to make more money or pursue further education, but most of us don't because there are invisible barriers in the way, all of which reside in our brain. Just to geek out on productivity a little, here is my current working theory:
The Holy Trifecta of Productivity:
* I am grate artiste
Whenever you go to do something, I call that a
Task Battle. Some of them are fun (playing video games, surfing ATOT, etc.) and some of them are chores (cleaning the house, doing homework, etc.). A Task Battle is simply the to-do item in front of you, the action you need to take in the moment. Mastering how to attack that, and how to do it over time, is what leads to getting the results you want, because that's simply how we accomplish stuff & how we get good at stuff - we chip away at it over time. The problem is that most people on window-shop (re: Pinterest), rather than actually taking consistent action against something. Otherwise no one would care about six packs, because everyone would have them!
First, in order to do a task, you need clarity. By default, we try to hold everything in our heads: all of the stuff we have to do, all of the steps required to do them, what priority they should go in, and when to remind ourselves of when to do them. But we lack the ability to remember 100% of everything & we also have no built-in calendar or alarm clock, so sometimes we simply forget stuff. Then that pressure builds up & causes stress, because have all of this stuff on our mind. Fortunately, someone already solved this issue (David Allen, who created the GTD system) & teaches you how to setup a system that offloads the task of tracking & managing your commitments to an external "database", and then walks you through clarifying everything into a list of next actions required. So rather than working off a huge mental list of vague stuff, you literally have a list of what to do next, things that you can actually
do. So that provides the clarity aspect. Like a missile without a target, we are kind of useless as productive people without a clear target to aim at & work towards.
Second, how easy a task is & how enjoyable it is is controlled by your energy. Your energy level is dictated by four things: your sleep hygiene, your diet, your exercise plan, and stress management. Go to bed early & get lots of sleep, and do that consistently, and you're going to feel great! Eat a great diet (I recommend IIFYM) & you'll be fueling your body properly & feeling good as a result. Exercise on a regular basis & keep your weight at a healthy level & you're going to feel good because you've released all of those endorphins. Manage your stress (I recommend GTD, as it's the ultimate commitments manager) & you'll be able to enjoy being able to focus on what you're working on instead of being distracted & also be low-stress or stress-free. Because think about what happens when you take the opposite actions: stay up late, don't get enough sleep, eat like crap and/or intermittently, never exercise or do it sporadically, and don't managed your commitments well or at all & watch what happens to your stress levels. The more energy you choose to release to yourself through healthy decisions, the better you will feel, which will making the Task Battle easier & more fun. Even dishes are a major chore when you're tired & don't feel good!
Third, setup a KPR Stack. This works off Iceberg Theory: the action itself is only the
tip of the iceberg. You need a huge support structure underneath to make that happen: you need something to trigger you into doing that action, you need a procedure to follow for how to do the action itself, and you need a structured environment or a "battlestation" tuned for low-friction, which simply means having all of the tools & supplies you need & having them be instantly or easily accessible, and also working to make things fun & rewarding. So the way you implement Iceberg Theory is with a KPR Stack: Kit, Procedure, Reminder. Do you have an alarm set to tell you when to do your workout or study? Do you have a procedure, which can be a checklist of what to do or a written-out plan? If you have homework tonight, where's your list of homework items to do? If it's time to do your workout, what's your plan - how many pushups are you going to do, how many deadlifts with how much weight, how many minutes on the cardio machine? Finally, what does your battlestation look like? If you want to get in shape, where's your giant lunchbox with your meal prep? Where's your giant water bottle? Where's your protein shakes? It's extremely hard to be successful at anything over time without a proper KPR Stack reminding you to do your action, telling you exactly what you're supposed to DO during this particular timeframe, and having everything setup & ready to go so that you can successfully execute the desired action.
Fourth, which is optional but highly recommended, is having a Sponsor, which is central to the other three items. A sponsor is simply someone you are accountable to - a cheerleader, a babysitter, just someone to help you make sure you get done what you want to get done. Without accountability, we tend to drift. A few of us are highly productive people, and even those are typically only highly productive within a few specific niches, like work or playing the guitar or whatever. Most of us just kind of goof off a lot. People don't tend to work too well in a vacuum. If you look at just about any successful person, they're surrounded with a support group, whether you're the lead singer in a band & have your band & your fans pushing you along, or you're the CEO of a company & have a board of directors motivating you, or you're a student & have a teacher giving you deadlines & causing potential anxiety in class if you show up unprepared & have to take a test or get called on in class for an answer. That's why most of us need teachers & need bosses, because otherwise, we wouldn't do squat!
Some people have figured out how to bypass those systems, and some people are just so self-motivated & driven that they can't help but go out & be productive, but for most of us...nah!
So looping back to the idea of taking away B&M schools to save costs & improve efficiency, in theory, it's a wonderful the idea. The problem is that, in practice, very few kids are self-motivated & have the ability to self-direct to the point where they'd actually do their schoolwork first & get it done before doing anything else. Case in point: who actually does that? Anyone can do that, right now, for free...but most of us don't. Why is that? It goes back to those invisible barriers inside of our brain. I mean, I can go around & figure out where people are & where they're going to be simply by auditing them against my trifecta of productivity: if you have low energy, zero clarity on what you're actually supposed to do, nothing setup (alarms/procedures/work area & tools & supplies), AND don't have a sponsor to help babysit you, then I can pretty well estimate your chances at (1) doing well at your task, and (2) even doing it at all.
Part of the problem is our brain (most of the problem, really), and the other is that we live in an age where we have information overload. Constant distractions, endless amusements, never-ending availability of knowledge. I am totally guilty of spending hours going down wikipedia, google, and youtube rabbit holes
without actually accomplishing anything. I literally watched videos of primitive fishing traps using stuff like bamboo & plastic water bottles to catch fish for like
four hours straight not too long ago. This leads back to the idea of putting a kid at the distraction stations we call computers & telling them to study, rather than going to a traditional brick & mortar school. Yeah, a
percentage will be able to do it, but most of us require that additional structure of having to show up somewhere & have some peer pressure in order to get stuff done. PS here's one of the videos, I highly recommend watching all of the crazy fish & critter traps they make on the Youtube sidebar when you're bored & can't fall asleep one night, lol:
Facebook
Twitter