KEY TAKEAWAYS
[03:24] Right out of university, Will starts trying to optimize his working life.
[04:29] Will and his friends wonder if their pre-pandemic job offers are secure.
[05:21] Feeling disconnected from his university, Will is skeptical about virtual on-boarding.
[07:00] When the second lockdown happens in the UK in November 2020, Will and his friends gather a large group to go work remotely in the Canary Islands.
[08:07] Will finds it hard to balance on-boarding with learning how to work effectively entirely virtually.
[09:48] Before serious work starts, Will wants to benefit from a less intense schedule and surf more.
[11:51] Will decides to set himself a sports related challenge to force him to improve his work pattern.
[13:24] Preparing for an Iron Man race requires 2 to 3 hours of training a day.
[14:12] To improve productivity, Will starts alternating periods of high intensity work and training.
[15:21] The culture of Will’s employer supports open conversation about mental well-being and how to achieve high outputs.
[16:04] His company backs the fundraising that Will connects with each race.
[17:15] Will gets more responsibilities and starts to focus on how to maximize outcomes.
[18:25] Sports training models help Will figure out optimization patterns for his work.
[19:30] WIll develops two ways to stay accountable and on track—a mentor and fundraising goals.
[20:30] A big hairy audacious goal is always the starting point!
[21:22] Will applies the same approach to commitment to his work goals.
[21:49] Setting a Guinness World Record as a new goal!
[23:35] Will and his friend tell everyone about the new goal so they can’t back out.
[24:10] They break the Guinness World Record and raise over £20,000 pounds for charity!
[25:27] Guilt about his non-traditional work routine was key for Will to manage.
[26:37] Work has a daily flow which Will “micro steers”, recalibrating often.
[27:25] The fine-tuning model was developed together with his boss—through experimentation and ongoing conversations.
[29:00] Will and friends are contemplating a new audacious goal!
[31:03] The difference between “willpower” and “way power”
[31:30] Removing layers helps maintain a baseline as well as motivation.
[32:42] Will wants to inspire people by what he has discovered through experimentation in sports as well as committing to something and finding external accountability.
[34:38] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Discover what drives your energy patterns. Work out how to hold yourself accountable. Then map the way to remove steps or hinderances to achieving your goals.
QUOTES
“As long as I would give the output that was required, I could free myself to experience more surfing.”
“I would work intensively for 90 minutes, focus only, everything off, phone away and be very productive. And then I would allow myself to completely disconnect and have a 90-minute recovery from brain activity by doing exercise and physical activity. And then, switch back.”
“Aim big and you will figure a way to do it. You're not too busy. Aim to do a big fundraising, this will hold you accountable to your race because you've raised that much money.”
“Every time I complete one of those crazy extreme challenges, when I cross the line, I tell myself: never again, this was really suffering from A to Z.”