All posts tagged challenge

900 Minutes of Meditation (and a request for advice!)

by Jason on April 1, 2012 in Essays with 11 Comments

Yogi on Meditation.Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Beni Ishaque Luthor. via Compfight

The conundrum

One habit I’ve been wanting to add into my life is meditation. Recent research in mindfulness meditation indicates that regular practice “increases the brain’s gray in regions closely associated with memory, learning, and emotional regulation” (Greatist). Great stuff right?

I’ve had an ongoing battle with meditating since high school, when I was first introduced to it as a technique for increasing my focus and improving my ability to perform in clutch situations on pommel horse.

In college, I used an iPhone app called Habits and meditated 8 minutes in the morning and evening everyday (90% of the time) for about 6 months. Then I got some major knee surgery, throwing off my schedule and never got back in the groove of things.

The enlightenment

I recently was having a conversation with entrepreneur who is also a dedicated meditator and relayed my frustration for 1) losing this habit I had struggled to maintain for 6 months and 2) not feeling like I was getting much out of the meditation and thus having low motivation to continue my practice.

What he told me that his medication practice is one of the most important things he has in life (strong words!) and that it takes a deeper investment of time to see the returns. The longer the blocks and the more total time spent on cushion the bigger the gains.

The challenge

So I’m dedicating April 2012 to be the month where I log 900 minutes of meditation. Here are the details:

  • 900 total minutes of cushion sitting
  • shooting for 30 minutes a day – 20 mins in the morning, 10 mins at night
  • using guided meditation via the Simply Being meditation app
  • weekly updates on this blog about my progress

The request

So my request to you, dear reader, is to share with me your best piece of actionable advice on building a habit, based on your own experience (or the experience of someone you know well). Please share your comment below – I will repost the best ones in a follow-up blog post on building habits!

I am writing a book called Winning Isn't Normal. Check it out.

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How Long It Takes Me to Write a Blog Post

by Jason on May 23, 2011 in General with 9 Comments

So one thing I had sort of meant to do is write about how my experience has been blogging 5 days a week (as I outlined in my post “Writing More”). I plan on doing a full recap after the four weeks eventually but here’s something interesting: a minute-by-minute break down of how I write my blog posts.

I tracked exactly what I was doing in 5 minute increments for two posts and here are results. I was honestly surprised at how long it took me to write each post – but that’s the power of actually measuring what you do, right?

First breakdown:

Step Up and Deliver: What Gymnastics Taught Me About Performing Under Pressure

This was definitely going to be a substantial post, though I didn’t realize how big it would be at the time. It’s funny how taxing an exercise writing can be. You’re not just hitting keys on a keyboard – it’s like doing pushups with your mind. You get tired and need to recharge. The dashed lines delineate different writing “sessions” – sometimes it was the same day sometimes it was a different days.

10 mins – getting bullet points for post in shower
10 mins – rapidly putting down an intro in wordpress
10 mins – listing bullet points in wordpress
20 mins – watching youtube videos of jordan, paul hamm, li xiao peng, jonathon horton looking for clutch performances,
10 mins cleaning intro, organizing bullet points, embedding video
10 mins distraction watching unrelated videos
20 mins – fleshing out the first half of the bullet points
—-
10 mins – fleshing out half of the first bullet point
10 mins – more distractions
20 mins – more fleshing out
—
10 mins – re-reading, editing, adding picture
20 mins of editing
10 mins – final touches

Total time: 170 mins (2 hrs 50 mins)

Second breakdown:

How Blogging Can Increase Your Luck Surface Area

This post originated as a response to a question posed on an email list – so it has a different profile, which is why I thought it would be a good one to look at. I dashed off the original email quickly and then thought it would make a good post – but of course it would require a bit of touching up. It turned out that I would spend 7x the amount of time it took to write the original email to finish a post.

—
15 mins – writing email response to question from the list
—
10 mins – added two 2 paragraphs
–
5 mins – reread, kill intro
20 mins – write new intro / 1st half
10 mins – reading posts from Lingbo, who I quote
15 mins – writing more
10 mins – getting a picture, formatting it, getting photo credits
10 mins – adding in links to certain sections, formatting changes for quoted sections
25 mins – edits, clarifications, making it tighter, adding more links, scheduling post

Total time: 120 mins (2 hrs)

I am writing a book called Winning Isn't Normal. Check it out.

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Writing More (a new personal challenge)

by Jason on March 25, 2011 in Essays with 10 Comments

Colored pencils

I have a new challenge: I’m going to blog five days a week, Monday through Friday, for the next four weeks.

Why?

Three reasons:

1) I want to produce more high quality content, and Sebastian Marshall and others have convinced me that writing more will help me do that

2) I want to have more influence and reach as a blogger and data from Technorati and other sources suggests that blogging more will help me do that.

3) If rejection therapy has taught me anything, it is that embarking on personal challenges can be fun and bring interesting things to my life

A bit more on the first two poinst:

More High Quality

In Sebastian Marshall’s post “How do I write so much, you ask? Well, glad you asked” he talks about the law of Equal Odds which he basically interprets as meaning “a creator can’t entirely control the quality of their output. In order to do high impact excellent work, you have to do a lot of work, which includes low impact not excellent work.”

In order to produce better stuff, it’s important to produce more stuff.

This is similar to a story from the book Art & Fear where a pottery class was divided into two groups. Group A would get a grade for the semester based on a single piece of pottery, while Group B would get a grade based solely on the weight of the pottery they had made (50 lbs got you an A, 40 lbs got you a B, etc). Guess which group produced the best work? (Read the story to find out..)

More Influence

I found a study that was originally published by Technorati back in 2006 (which is like eons ago in Internet time, so maybe the conclusions are no longer valid?) but basically they show a correlation between increased blog authority (based on the number of other blogs linking to the authoritative blog) and frequency of posting. Here’s what they had to say about the “very High Authority Group” which had over 500 blogs linking to each one over the last 6 months:

“Bloggers of this type have been at it longer – a year and a half on average – and post nearly twice a day, an increase in posting volume of over 100% from the previous group.”

Consistently producing content can be good for traffic. Another quick data point can be found from an articled called “How to Punch Through Concrete Walls” by Matt Ackerson here he talks about the law of consistency (not the same as persistence). The money quote here: “For example, for 7 weeks now I’ve been writing one article every single weekday for my company’s blog on PetoVera.com. Traffic has increased over 350% during that time.”

I’m sold. =)

My Game Plan

So I’m starting today – this my first post of the series. My plan is to create a schedule:

  • Monday - Quote Day. I’ll post a quote like this one on fame and obscurity, or this Bruce Lee quote on surpassing limits.
  • Tuesday - Regular Post Day. I’ll post a full-length (300-500 word) article. No particular topic focus for now.
  • Wednesday – Video Day. I’ll post a video like this HALO trailer or my Europe trip video.
  • Thursday - Regular Post Day. I’ll post another full-length article.
  • Friday – Link Roundup + Challenge Reflection. I’ll post five cool links to things I encountered that week, and reflect on how the challenge is going.

I’ll try to schedule all the quotes and all the videos this weekend for the next four weeks, then write the articles on the weekend, so during the week, all I’ll have to do is create the link roundup, which isn’t too bad.

If you’ve got any ideas or comments or feedback on my plans or what you’d like to see me write about, I’m all ears. It’ll likely be a mix of startup, gymnastics, leadership and other ass-kicking stuff.

Link Roundup

So since it’s Friday, I figure I should go ahead and post my first link roundup.

1) Penolope’s Guide to Blogging – My dad recently emailed me and told me he was ready to start blogging on the site I had registered for him over a year ago. This is one of the posts I stumbled upon. Very handy and filled with interesting and useful ideas.

2) How to Negotiate Your Cable and Phone Bill and Save Thousands – I recently tried to do this and the article was a great resource. It gives you step by step instructions on who to ask for and what to say. Check it out.

3) 48 Laws of Power (summary) – fresh off my quote from the book, The 48 Laws of Power, I wanted to share this page which succinctly lists all 48 laws. The book is super long so this post is helpful in reminding you what the key points were.

4) What are some stupid things smart people do? – This is a post on Quora, which is filled with all sorts of valuable information. This one is a good to check in with – I assume my readers here are intelligent folks. We have certain follies to watch out for.

5) How We Made $1M for SEOMoz – this a detailed case study from a marketing firm the focuses on conversion rates an explains the step-by-step way they studied, built and tested a brand new landing page which brought in tons of new revenue for SEOMoz.

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So You Want to Try Doing Rejection Therapy Eh? Here’s My Advice…

by Jason on November 3, 2010 in Essays with 11 Comments

As many of you know, I’ve been doing this thing called the Rejection Therapy Challenge – created by another Jason – Jason Comely. [1]. It’s still going on and I’m getting a lot out of it (more in another post) but this week instead of continuing to write about MY rejections, I wanted to focus on YOU.

Many people have expressed interest (either through comments on HN/this site, via email or in person) in doing a rejection challenge themselves. I get a real kick out of hearing this because I love it when people decide to challenge themselves and go outside their comfort zones. At the same time, I get a little sad because I know that most people [2] won’t actually follow through with it.

Why? I think the reasons fall into two buckets:

1) Asking for things and getting rejected is uncomfortable

In some ways, the Rejection Therapy Challenge is a really weird thing. Who would go out of their way to do this? Someone who is a little crazy – and I don’t think people really like identifying as a border-line nutcase. [3]

Most people don’t like to impose on others because it makes them feel bad. Most people are afraid to ask for what they really want. We were always told not to talk to strangers so it feels dangerous sometimes. All these uncomfortable feelings are an important part of Rejection Therapy but they can wear on you and make doing the challenge very uncomfortable.

SOLUTION: Accept and embrace the discomfort. Let fear be your guide. I promise that doing Rejection Therapy exposes you to very minimal downside (just don’t ask for anything REALLY stupid and you’re fine). However, the upside is great – this experiment can introduce some amazing stories and interesting opportunities that are well worth the risk and last beyond the 30 days.

2) New behaviors are difficult to maintain

Developing new habits is hard. That’s why most people fail to achieve their New Year’s Resolutions. Rejection Therapy is a very unconventional new behavior (compared to something like “going to the gym”) which makes it a little more awkward for you to share with friends. It’s easy to to fall back into old routines or just skip a day.

It also requires you to keep thinking of new things to get rejected from and trust me, that can be pretty difficult. You’re also doing the challenge in isolation for the most part – none of your friends are doing it – which makes it less fun. We know that commitment can be very powerful – but staying motivated for 30 days is hard.

SOLUTION: Get someone to do it with you. Or at least be your accountability partner. This means you’ll have someone who will share stories with you, brainstorm rejection ideas and be your cheerleader when you get down. Hell, I’ll even be your partner if you want. If you email me at [jasonyshen]@[gmail].[com] with the subject: “Rejection Therapy Accountability Partner” I’ll see what I can do!

So that’s what I got this week. My rejection attempts roll onward and you’ll get a full recap next week, promise. In the meantime, I hope this post helped you get a little closer to doing your own Rejection Therapy Challenge. If you do decide to do it, with or without my help – please drop me a line! I’d love to know.

Footnotes

[1](Jason Comely)  I’ve actually met the guy and he’s really cool. Definitely a more reserved person (he basically created the game to push himself into more social situations) but very smart and nice guy. We’re cooking up some interesting plans so stay tuned..

[2] (most people won’t follow through) Wherever I refer to “people” in these following paragraphs note that I’m extrapolating ideas from personal reflection, conversations with others, and a lot of self-directed study into psychology and behavioral economics. I don’t presume to speak for the people who’ve said they want to do the challenge.

[3] (identifying as a borderline nutcase) But normalcy is overrated. Do you know what else isn’t normal? Winning – anything. By definition, winners are not normal. Neither are millionaires and successful startup founders. Life is too short to be normal.

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The Rejection Therapy Challenge – Week 2

by Jason on October 27, 2010 in General, Projects with 24 Comments


The plot thickens as I continue into the 2nd week of the Rejection Therapy Challenge. (I posted previously about week 1 rejections.)

A recap for new readers: I’ve taken on a 30 day challenge where I need to get personally rejected by someone every single day. I was inspired by www.rejectiontherapy.com to try it and thought it might be fun and help me get out of my comfort zone. I’ve been documenting this stuff on my blog.

INSIGHTS: I think the rejections this week are more interesting and more “real” than last week which I think is great (of course you can be the judge). I’ve also noticed that the challenge is making me more open to talking with strangers – because they might hold a rejection opportunity. It makes me more aware of my surroundings in general. I see that I’m exposing myself to serendipity, as Paul Buchheit recommends. It’s fun, a little stressful at times and as a fringe benefit, it’s makes for a great introductory story when meeting new people.

WEDNESDAY OCT-20

We were out for isocket team lunch and noticed a really nice, brand new Jaguar parked out in front of the restaurant. Later when we’re finishing up lunch we see the owner talking to someone and getting ready to drive off. I run outside and tell him I think he has a really nice car and ask if I could sit in it. He agrees. We talk briefly about why he got the car and how long he’s had it. As he push button starts the car, I ask if I could take it for a spin – he laughs and says no. REJECTION!

THURSDAY OCT-21

Today I got a free V8 with tea infusion from some promoter on the street. Later I run into a homeless guy who  asks for change. I offer the V8 bottle and he refuses! I even ask again “are you sure?” in my most persuasive voice – still no. REJECTION!

Later I was working at Starbucks before a Doctor’s appointment and ended up taking a 25 min phone call with a potential customer. When I ended the call, the old lady sitting across the table from me leaned over and said “I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t think that phone call was appropriate.”

She then proceeded to lay into me about how Starbucks isn’t my home office and how phone calls ruin the coffee shop atmosphere. I took it all in good stride and she ended up shaking my hand as she left – I tried hard not to be say anything to provoke her. More amused than anything else at the UNPROMPTED REJECTION!

FRIDAY OCT-22

I was eating lunch at a small Vietnamese place in Burlingame and started joking with the owner about how maybe I could do the dishes instead of paying. She kind of went along with it at first, saying I’d need to wash 8 buckets in 2 hrs and dry them etc. Since that was not really a rejection, I decided to push it by actually pretending like I was going to do it.

At the end of the meal I said “OK, let’s do this!” I took off my jacket, put dishes into the tray and started busing the table. She’s lets me do all this and I start getting nervous. I walk into the back room to start washing the dishes and finally she’s says “Alright, you can stop! I was just joking!” I smile, and silently whisper thanks. REJECTED!

Later that night I was at dinner with friends in Palo Alto when I saw a girl who kind of looked someone I had met a while back. I tried saying her name and seeing if she responded. She didn’t. But she was so *almost* like the person I knew that I just went up to her group and asked if her name was Rui. “Nope it’s not.” she says.

I ask her name. She says she won’t tell me but shell let me guess. The guy next to her says it starts with a “J”. I guess Jessica. Wrong. Jennifer. Wrong. Then she tells me in a condescending tone that her name doesn’t even start with a “J”. EPIC GROUP REJECTION!

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