Get More Mileage from your Thinking Time
The Thinking Tactics Mastery Program is a paid membership program for past attendees of Thinking Tactics or Tap Your Own Brilliance who want more tips, more help, and more practice using Thinking Tactics on their own real-life issues.
Already a member? Visit the passworded members' site.
Let me explain each of the parts:
Weekly thinking tips are a constant source of suggestions and encouragement, giving you a quick nudge here and there about how you can use targeted thinking in your life right now. Each one offers a short thought on how to apply Thinking Tactics in some situation, or it offers a related technique.
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Tip: Tackle the "Blob" with a "Maybe" List Imagine that every time you faced a daunting task, you could immediately hit on a way to make it easy and inviting to get started. I bet you can—if you make a "Maybe" list. The problem you have is a blob of overload and uncertainty in your mind. You know too much about how hard the task is. You know you can't just plunge in. But you don't know enough to see clearly what would be a good first step. That's why it's daunting. It's big and you don't know how to tackle it. In this situation, you can exploit what you know by making a "Maybe" list. Write down all the things that you "might" do that "maybe" will help with the daunting task. Try for 10-20. For example, if you realize you have too much to do in a day, don't just let your stomach sink. Make a list of things you "might" do that "maybe" will help you stay on top of things. Or if you are supposed to get a project done by a certain deadline, and it seems hopeless, make a list of things you "might" do that "maybe" will help you get it finished that early. It is crucial that you ask yourself what you "might" do that "maybe" will help, because those are answerable questions. Don't ask yourself what you "should" do or "need" to do or even "can" do. You don't know how to handle this task (it's daunting), so those questions are too hard. On the one hand, you do know a lot about the daunting task. And based on what you do know, you will probably find that you can make up a list of "maybe's"—things that might help you get it done. After you have the list, you can then look through it and see which ones would in fact be worth doing to help you get started. This process is amazingly helpful. I find that when I make the "Maybe" list, I immediately relax. I see that there are a couple of things I can do to deal with the "blob," and that gives me confidence to get moving. And then, of course, once I start taking action on the task, I learn what I need to know to figure out the next steps. (And if not, I can make another "Maybe" list.) Not surprisingly, since the "blob" involves both overload and uncertainty, this process combines the basic solutions to overload and uncertainty. List/Group/Choose & Gather Data/Test Assumptions/Sum Up become "List possibilities," "Test whether they'd help," "Sum up with a next step." So, next time your heart sinks at the prospect of tackling some task, make a "Maybe" list. I bet something you know how to do will help you get moving on that task, without a lot of angst.
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You may not use the tip immediately, but a steady stream of suggestions will stoke your subconscious with ideas for what to do when you do feel stuck.
There is much more to say about Thinking Tactics than can fit in an all-day workshop.
At least once a month, I hold a one-hour teleclass to review a concept from Thinking Tactics or a new topic that couldn't fit in the class. In class we either discuss how to apply it to members' real-life situations, or we do a short individual exercise. All you need to attend these sessions live is a regular telephone.
Mastery classes are held on Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. or 8:00 pm ET.
If you can't make the live session, never fear.
First, you can always send in questions or cases in advance. I'll be sure to cover them in the live session, plus give you a short answer by email.
Second, after each session, I put a recording up on the web on a special page which only members can access. You can easily download an MP3 file and listen to the class on your computer—or offload it to your MP3 player listen to it on the go.
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"The mastery classes have been extremely valuable.
In addition to reviewing the tactics, Jean gives examples and solicits other
people's examples—then shows how to apply the tactic to them. I was
surprised at how much I had forgotten from the course, and how much this is
helping me apply and reinforce what I learned. For example, after the
session on 'spiraling,' I found I could end procrastination and get right to
work, not just that day, but the next day." |
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"I like the practical
nature of the mastery classes. Even though Thinking Tactics is still fresh
in my mind, the angle you take in the review sessions is different and helps
concretize the method." |
There are always at least a few previous mastery classes available on the web. At present, more than a half a dozen are available.
Basic membership in the mastery program is only $25/month. To sign up and start listening now, you can pay by credit card or get information on sending a check here.
Just the mastery classes and tips would cost this much in other membership programs. But this program offers an individual component also...
The payoff from Thinking Tactics comes from the doing. The third part of the mastery program is a library of step-by-step exercises to help you apply the skills on real life issues. Doing them helps make the tactics second nature.
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"While going through the exercises, I was
amazed at how using thinking on paper consistently solidified my thinking.
It helped me notice options—options
that just weren't obvious before. Thinking on paper is now an important part
of my everyday life." |
These "step-by-step instructions" are similar to the individual exercises you did in the workshop, e.g., the first "thinking on paper" exercise you did. First I introduce the issues, then I describe how to pick a suitable topic from your life to use for the exercise, then I give you step-by-step instructions for what to do.
The exercises are up on the passworded members site so you can browse through them. All of them require paper and pencil. They are designed to take 20-40 minutes each.
What are the topics? At present, they cover roughly a superset of the material in Thinking Tactics and Tap Your Own Brilliance, with a few extras. Expect additions over time.
Exercises to practice "Concentrating the Power of Your Mind"
(Thinking Tactics Part 1):
1. Topics for Thinking
2. Lifetime Goals
3. Thinking on Paper
4. Going Deeper with Q&A
5. The Basic Solution to Overload
6. Quick Condensations
7. Three Steps for Dealing with Uncertainty
8. Asking As Opposed to What?
9. Transforming Floundering into Action
10. Resolving External Conflicts
11. Identifying Inner Conflicts
12. Recalibrating Emotions
13. What to do About Paralysis
14. Using Creative Association
15. How to Stop Flailing
Exercises to practice "Getting the Thinking Job Done"
(Thinking Tactics Part 2):
0. Comment: "Spiraling" vs. "Layering"
1. Topics for Spiraling
2. Using Post-its to Capture Complexity
3. Taking Passes to Get Frequent Overviews
4. Finding the Weakest Link
5. Prepared Questions
6. Generating Your Own Warmup Questions
7. Scaling Down to Implement the 80:20 Rule
8. Three Ways to Scale Down
9. Balancing Time & Quality
10. Positive reinforcement
11. Motivating Unpleasant and Boring Tasks
12. How to Plan with Layers
13. How Brainstorming Works
14. Triggers for Brainstorming
How does it work? I recommend everyone start with #1 "Topics for Thinking" to generate possible topics for the other exercises. If you're not sure which exercise would help with your particular issue, you are welcome to ask for suggestions from me.
You can do the exercises at your own pace, in any order you want. Some eager participants finished fifteen exercises in under two months. Others do them only when I feature an exercise in conjunction with a teleclass or weekly tip.
These exercises can be used as mental callisthenics. They are exercises that help you practice Thinking Tactics and apply them to tasks on your particular agenda.
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"I'm a bit astounded at how much I've accomplished in the last 2-3
months, and I know doing these exercises regularly was part of the
reason." |
Some people attack the same nagging problem with each of the different tools, and get surprising results.
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"I am looking at a clean office. By using this
topic as the subject of your exercises, I brought myself closer to acting. Phrases from my
thinking on paper such as "pull out the papers and sort them into piles,"
"have an empty waste basket next to me," "start with the files on the
floor," "toss out most of the stuff," "pull out the papers in the green
duffle bag, a handful at a time" helped me into action. The upshot—I sorted
the papers, I got rid of the duffle bag, I bought myself, not one, but two
small pieces of furniture I needed. Your exercises got me moving. They
convinced me that a little time devoted to cleaning my workspace would have
big payoffs psychologically. And once I figured out what I needed to do, it
was easy to do this cleanup project that I'd put off for ages." |
You get all of this—weekly tips by email, monthly teleclasses, and a library of instructions for thinking through tough issues—for only $25/month. Sign up for a full year in advance and get two months free. Pay only $250 for an annual subscription instead of $300 (a 16.7% discount). Click here to sign up.
It helps to have individual instruction and feedback!
Some people will work their way through exercises, but it's a lot easier with some guidance. With this option, just send me your answers to the exercises, and I'll give confidential feedback.
Plus, get a one-hour tutorial every three months you're in the program. Choose from any of the topics I offer by tutorial. The tutorial is worth $125, but you get it at less than half price, because the deluxe version of the program costs only $20 more (or $60 for three months)! Plus, if you want extra individual tutorials, you can have them at the highly discounted cost of $75/hour.
You get all of the basic member benefits, plus individual feedback and a 1-hour tutorial every quarter, and a discount on additional tutorials, for only $45/month. Sign up for a full year and get two months free: only $450/year.
Note: Because of my limited time, I reserve the right to limit participation in the deluxe program. Plus, it is up to the member to schedule the tutorials. Unused tutorials cannot be rolled over to the next quarter.
Start making Thinking Tactics part of your everyday process. Sign up now. You can pay by credit card or get information on sending a check here.
Not sure? Need more information? Email me with questions—and don't forget to ask me how you can hear a sample teleclass from the program. I'm at: jm@thinkingdirections.com.
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"I think the
format you use in the teleclasses is excellent. First you present the concepts and then
you engage us in short
exercises to practice and internalize the concepts. It's just the right balance. All I can say is
keep up the good work! And my goal is to increase my time and commitment to
applying your techniques. ('You can't get enough of a good thing!')" |
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"Your Mastery Program is simply outstanding. I just
downloaded the teleclass on "Using Targeted Thinking to Get What You Want,"
and as usual, I found it very helpful and illuminating." |
