“Marathon Mindset” ā€” Optimizing Your Daily Focus

“You can do anything, but not everything.”

– David Allen

There are more options available today than EVER before in the history of time.

And thereā€™ll be even more tomorrow. 

So how do we stay FOCUSED in a world of increasing optionality? 

Is there a framework to align short-term focus with long-term results

Letā€™s find out.

Cultivating a “Marathon Mindset” 

A marathon is 26.2 miles (42km).

26.2 miles is a long car ride. 

Let alone a run. 

WHY would anyone put themselves through this?

Spoiler: the endeavor is actually more mental than it is physical. 

And I highly recommend it. The experience taught me a valuable mental framework I use frequently. 

Quick rewind. The end of 2018 I made the decision to break down this seemingly impossible feat. 

I popped open a new browser tab…typed ā€œsheets.newā€.

And came up with a quick plan in Google Sheets to run the Austin Marathon in February.

This literally was a marathon, not a sprint. So I had to plan accordingly. 

Here was the exact plan, I cleverly titled “Running Miles.”

After each run, Iā€™d fill the cell green for accomplished (nice!). 

Then on Sundays, Iā€™d look at the upcoming week and plan accordingly on my calendar. 

Some days I didnā€™t feel like running. And by ā€œsomeā€ I mean most. 

But I had a goal. 

And I knew each day was an important step in my plan to get there.

This was critical. 

The quickest path astray is not showing up on any given day. One day quickly can turn into two. And that’s a slippery slope.

The best way to combat this… is simply to remove decisions. 

Having a plan removes decisions. 

I madeā€”and therefore removedā€”my future decisions when I drafted the plan. 

So I could show up each day and just execute. 

Planning and executing are two VERY different brain activities

The clearer the plan, the easier the execution. 

So how do you make a good plan? 

Two things to remember:

  1. Start small. 
  2. Keep a clear scorecard.

The first day I just ran 2 miles. Easy. 

I also had a clear scorecard telling me exactly what to do that day.

The daily frequency allowed it to stay top of mind. Any longer and Iā€™d forget.

I didnā€™t realize it at the time, but this simple system unlocked my ā€œMarathon Mindset.ā€

It allowed me to simultaneously zoom in and out. To see where I was vs. where I was going toward the goal. 

The more I trusted the process, the more I could focus on my daily inputs and ignore everything else.

I could have a singular day view of the world focusing only on winning that day. 

Then come back to the dials each Sunday to make sure everything is on track.

A SIMPLE Heuristic 

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.

Mark Twain

Hereā€™s a question I ask myself almost daily… ā€œWhat’s the simplest version of this look like?ā€

This can be applied to marathon training or to a random project that comes up at work. 

The brain likes to overcomplicate things. So this question reminds me to break things down into tiny actions. Otherwise, Iā€™m overwhelmed and donā€™t know where to start.

General process looks like this: 

  • Project comes up
  • Break it down into tiny units of action (tasks and sub-tasks)
  • Take the first action (lead domino)
  • Suddenly thereā€™s momentum! 

Action creates momentum.
ā†’ Momentum creates progress.
ā†’ Progress gets things done. 

A simple plan helps highlight the first action to take. And the cycle continues.

There are different approaches to having a plan or system. 

The bestselling book, Getting Things Done (GTD), has a great system for this:

  • Capture. Everything big or small.
  • Clarify. Use action verbs rather than nouns. (ā€œSchedule email for Wedā€ vs. just ā€œemailā€)
  • Organize. Put everything into place. (prioritize, calendar, etc.)
  • Review. Update and revise often.
  • Engage. Do whatā€™s MOST important. 

This might seem like a lot of steps just to manage some to-dos. 

However, a system saves not only brainpower… but also TIME.

And as humans, we donā€™t do well grasping the concept of time. 

We have the tendency to overestimate what we can do in a day. And underestimate what we can do in a year. 

But the aspect of time ā€” plays a crucial role in how we should plan.

Think about planning a vacation for a weekend vs. a month. Adjusting for different durations of time would drastically change our approach to planning the trip.

Therefore our individual plans or systems should START with a rough outline of the big picture.

It doesn’t need to be perfect. And yes, it’s hard to think that far in advance. And also yes, it certainly will change.

But having ANY long-term direction unlocks our short-term focus.

In order to plan for the long-term, we must factor in the aspect of time.

A TIME Billionaire 

One million seconds = 11 days. 
One billion seconds = 31 years.

Let that sink in for a second.Ā 

Society places such emphasis on ā€œdollarā€ billionaires and we often forget the time component of life.Ā Ā 

For example, would you switch places with Warren Buffet to become a ā€œdollarā€ billionaire? Youā€™d also be 90 years oldā€¦ approaching ā€œtimeā€ poverty. 

My answer is no way. 

Time is the ULTIMATE resource. 

A 20-year old might lack money or resources. But they have TIME. They likely have 2 billion seconds (60+ years) to accumulate resources.

The time billionaire, therefore, can afford to have a long-term view.

They can leverage their greatest resource (time) ā€” and slowly compound assets (money, skills, etc.) over that time.

Trusting The Process

So if we have the time, how do we put it to use?

If (when) I get overwhelmed with all the things I want to doā€¦ I remind myself of my time advantage. 

With the long-term in mind, I can be way more selective with my short-term focus. 

I can do a FEW things great this year. And save the others for later. 

But this long-term mindset does NOT come easy to me. 

Ross Perot describes an entrepreneur as, ā€œSomeone who’s grateful for the progress thatā€™s been made, but simultaneously dissatisfied with the rate at which theyā€™re making it.ā€

Iā€™m constantly trying to remind myself of the long game.

From there, step one is almost always making/updating the plan. 

The plan will change and thatā€™s fine. 

But Iā€™d rather take action on small inputs toward an imperfect plan… Than take no action waiting for the perfect plan. 

Make a plan. Break it down. Get started. Then adjust along the way. 

The real insights come from actions. The actions come from trusting the process. 

Letā€™s get to work. šŸ™‚

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