Start with Small Steps

5 - Prevent Mistakes and Look Upstream I talk about the book “Upstream” by Dan Heath. It’s all about taking a proactive approach to avoid mistakes and achieve your goals. Instead of just reacting to problems downstream, the book suggests a pre-mortem strategy that involves identifying likely mistakes ahead of time, involving all stakeholders in the discussion, and making it difficult to fail. But that’s not all. Heath also warns against over-preparing and rewarding failure and recommends building a system that tolerates errors. By following these principles, individuals and organizations can anticipate and prevent problems before they occur, ultimately leading to greater success and productivity. So if you’re tired of constantly putting out fires and want to get ahead of potential issues, this episode is for you. https://startwithsmallsteps.com/?p=2255 Poka-Yoke https://kanbanize.com/lean-management/improvement/what-is-poka-yoke Upstream by Dan Heath https://heathbrothers.com/books/upstream/ https://www.entreleadership.com/blog/podcasts/dan-heath-upstream Moral Hazards https://www.lemonade.com/insuropedia/dictionary/moral-hazard/ Over Preparation https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-stop-over-preparing-actually-get-things-done-ncna810126 Jill’s Linkshttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/startwithsmallsteps Twitter startwithsmallsteps Email the podcast at jill@startwithsmallsteps.com

4 - Use Personality Tests to Achieve Goals In this episode, we’re diving into the fascinating world of personality tests. We all have unique personalities, motivations, and ways of working, but have you ever stopped to think about what makes you tick? Well, today’s article explores how personality tests like the Four Tendencies and the Enneagram can give us valuable insights into our inner workings. We’ll be discussing the importance of knowing ourselves and matching our goals to our schedules, taking into account whether we’re larks or owls. We’ll also touch upon the concept of chronotypes and how they can impact our ability to achieve our goals. Personality tests can be informative and help us pick apart our personalities to find what triggers work for us. By understanding our tendencies, we can set up situations that make it more likely for us to achieve our aims, make better decisions, meet deadlines, and engage more deeply with others. So, whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, a Type A or a Type B personality, this episode is for you. After all, the ultimate goal is to learn more about ourselves and use that knowledge to succeed. https://gretchenrubin.com/books/the-four-tendencies/intro/ https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test https://www.bbc.com/news/health-25777978 https://www.bulletproof.com/sleep/sleep-hacks/sleep-chronotype-circadian-rhythm/ Links https://startwithsmallsteps.com/why-small-steps/ Jill’s Linkshttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/startwithsmallsteps Twitter startwithsmallsteps Email the podcast at jill@startwithsmallsteps.com

3 – Ruthlessly Eliminate Noise In this podcast episode, I dive into the topic of eliminating noise in life and the significance of focusing on what truly matters. The episode stresses the need to prioritize tasks that have the most impact and eliminate low-value distractions that consume a lot of time and energy. To achieve this, the episode introduces the Pareto principle, which helps identify the 20% of tasks that cause 80% of problems. By concentrating on these high-impact tasks, individuals can make the most of their time and effort. In addition, the podcast suggests reading Essentialism by Greg McKeown, which is an excellent resource for anyone looking to eliminate noise and focus on what’s essential. McKeown’s book emphasizes channeling energy and resources toward the most significant tasks while eliminating low-value distractions. It also urges readers to prioritize their goals and make space for what matters most. This podcast episode also offers practical tips for prioritizing and eliminating tasks, including writing down goals and ranking them in order of importance, identifying the tasks that contribute most to problems, and removing tasks that don’t help overall progress. By adopting these strategies, individuals can focus on the tasks that matter most and progress toward their goals. Overall, this podcast episode is packed with valuable insights into the significance of eliminating noise and prioritizing what really matters in life. Individuals can optimize their efforts and make the most of their time by focusing on high-impact tasks and eliminating low-value distractions. https://startwithsmallsteps.com/?p=2223 https://gregmckeown.com/book/ https://jamesclear.com/buffett-focus https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/331703 https://www.podfeet.com/blog/  Jill’s Linkshttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/startwithsmallsteps Twitter startwithsmallsteps Email the podcast at jill@startwithsmallsteps.com

2 - Why Small Steps for Success and Change Are you ready to achieve your dreams? Today, we dive into the world of Alice in Wonderland, the Full Focus Planner, and The ONE Thing. With insights from author Gary Keller, you’ll learn how to set achievable goals, pinpoint the key areas of your life, and assess your available resources. Plus, we’ll introduce you to the Full Focus Planner and Gary’s own One Thing planner and system. Get ready to take your first step towards success! https://startwithsmallsteps.com/?p=2214 https://fullfocusplanner.com https://focusonthispodcast.com https://www.the1thing.com/blog/the-one-thing/66-day-challenge-tip-1-set-bigger-goals-focus-on-smaller-habits/ https://www.the1thing.com/thank-you/?resource=3917 Jill’s Linkshttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/startwithsmallsteps Twitter startwithsmallsteps Email the podcast at jill@startwithsmallsteps.com  

As I listened to the Queen’s 2019 Christmas speech, I was struck by the power of small steps and how they can lead to significant change. I learned that even when faced with obstacles and setbacks, it’s important to keep going and focus on rebuilding relationships and achieving our goals. One particularly powerful idea was the concept of getting 1 percent better each day. It may seem like a small improvement, but over a year, it can lead to incredible results - thirty-seven times better, in fact! The key is to break down our goals into tiny, manageable steps that we cannot fail. By creating a connected trigger, naming the tiny habit, and celebrating our successes, we can build momentum and achieve great things. So, here’s my challenge to you: pick one thing that you can break into a small, tiny action that you know for sure you can do. Let’s take that first step towards lasting change together. Links and Resources: The Queen’s Speech on Small Steps to Change the Worldhttps://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a30260865/queen-elizabeth-christmas-message-transcript-2019/ James Clear on Being One Percent Betterhttps://jamesclear.com/marginal-gainshttps://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits BJ Fogg on Tiny Habitshttps://www.tinyhabits.com/300recipeshttps://www.tinyhabits.com/ Stephen Duneier on Small Decisionshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQMbvJNRpLE Half Sized Me on Slowing Downhttps://www.halfsizeme.com/why-you-need-to-slow-down/ Business Insider on Saving $1 a Dayhttps://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-much-youd-have-if-you-saved-1-a-day-for-the-rest-of-your-life-2017-7 Links https://startwithsmallsteps.com/why-small-steps/ Jill’s Linkshttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/startwithsmallsteps Twitter startwithsmallsteps Email the podcast at jill@startwithsmallsteps.com

Trailer This podcast is for real people who want to make changes but don’t know how to start. If you feel like positive change is overwhelming or elusive, or building the life you want seems far away, I will help you create easy and practical steps toward success. If you don’t have time to sift through thousands of hours of podcasts, hundreds of books or centuries of advice, let me do it for you! I will help you start with small steps in categories like productivity, self-help, health, technology or best practices. Each episode of my podcast will be posted in a blog format on my webpage, so you’ll always have the resources and links.