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How can you improve your life in 2 years you ask... by taking premeditated actions that,a) Move you towards your goal and,b) Do so in the most effective an efficient manner possible.Before considering massive action plans for improvement or solutions for your current circumstances, it is important that take time to understand who you are and what you want. Identifying what beliefs or actions have held you back up until this point is also incredibly valuable.So with that said….Know who you are.1. Personality typing categorises people according to their tendencies to think and act in particular ways. It can help predict your behaviour towards others as well as identifying what strengths you hold and careers you may find fulfilling. Some great tests include DISC profiles, career aptitude tests, work values test, Jung personality test, team roles test, signature strength assessment, Myers-Briggs personality types. Most of which can be undertaken free online.2. Limiting beliefs are those, which constrain us in some way. Just by believing them, we do not think, do or say the things that they inhibit. In doing so we impoverish our lives. Prior to commencing your quest for self-improvement you want to address your limiting beliefs – excuses, negative thoughts, justifications, beliefs conditioned by culture or family, thought patterns etc. There are a number of articles, exercises and videos available online to assist you.3. Take ownership by addressing the choices you have made and acknowledging the impact they have had on your journey. Taking ownership of your own behaviour and the consequences of that behaviour will help you develop self-respect and an internal locus of control. Looking at your circumstances retrospectively will help you identify additional behavioural habits, limiting beliefs, coping mechanism, bullshit stories you tell yourself etc.Know who you are about to become.1. Mission, Vision and Values - Personal mission statements are an important component of personal development. They force you to think deeply about your life, clarify its purpose, and identify what is truly important to you.There is plenty of information on the net about these topics; as such, I won’t elaborate upon them here.2. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge and helps you to organise your time and your resources so that you can make the most of your life.I have written an eBook on goal setting which can be found via my profile link.Some important things to note:a. Does your goal have a purpose, process and payoff?b. Is the goal in alignment with your mission and vision?c. Is it authentic?d. Do your goals evoke emotion and presuppose success?3. Prioritising your goals – “you can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything you want”. If you have multiple goals you wish to achieve over the next 2 years, now is the time to prioritise them.Which goal is most important to you? Which will have the greatest impact? Is there a goal the precedes another?My tip is to write down all of your goals and rank them. Ask yourself is it more important that I (goal 1) or (goal 2). Is it more important that I (goal 1) or (goal 3). Continue this process until you have all 10 ranked in order.4. Build & replace habits to support your goals. Habits are more effective than transient or intermittent motivation. Understanding the power of habits and how to develop, instil or replace them will be a game changer. I suggest you check out the work of Charles Duhigg or James Clears.Question to ask yourself.1. What do I want more of in my life?2. What have I had enough of and needs to end today?3. What is missing that I deserve to have?4. What is making me feel trapped? Isn't it time to break free?5. What did I do, who did I meet and how did I grow today?Based on your responses above, you may want to consider all or perhaps just some of what is written below.Universal applicable strategies.1. Eliminate the unnecessary and cultivate the essentials - the act of letting things go will help you to simplify, to focus on what is important, and to build the life you want.2. Develop an action bias – Knowledge is not the key to power and change. Applied knowledge is. I am not suggesting you develop a “just do it” mentality and leap blindly towards opportunities without full consideration. What I am suggesting is that you balance input and output to ensure your acquired knowledge and skills are given the opportunity to create the change you desire.3. Listen more than you talk – Nobody learns anything whilst they are talking.4. Take notes - Memories are notoriously unreliable.5. Dress well – If you want to get in, you must fit in. Something that starts with how you present yourself. Years of social conditioning means you will be judged long before you extend your hand or open your mouth. How you dress will determine how your message is received or if it is received at all.Invest in quality garments that are flexible and can be styled up or down depending on the circumstances.Productivity.1. Find minutes in your day – Wake up 15 minutes earlier every day. This simple task just created you an extra 4 days (close enough) of “free” time each year.Could you find 15 minutes from your lunch break? Why not leave home 10 minutes earlier to avoid being stuck in the morning traffic? Could you sacrifice 15 minutes worth of screen time each day? Now we are saving weeks, not days.2. Unplug to increase output – technology is amazing and if used effectively can rapidly improve your productivity. Unfortunately, most people let technology control them.Give yourself permission not to be reactive when it comes to your devices.Could you benefit from checking your phone once an hour, on the hour, instead of every 10 minutes? How about disconnecting the internet and switching your phone to silent for 2 hours of each day so you can get in some focused work.3. Minimise your distractions – Turn off your notifications. Manage your email inbox (check out Unsubscribe from emails, instantly. to unsubscribe in one click). Don’t read an email if you aren’t prepared to respond. Unfollow people on Facebook (you remain friends, but won’t see them in your news feed). If you find yourself losing time to sites that are not essential for work blacklist them using a tool like Self Control app (Mac), Cold Turkey (Universal) or Stay Focused (Chrome).Organise your space to remove distractions. This comes back to the notion of eliminating the unnecessary.4. Blocking or batching with a single task focus - Ultimately, multitasking is a myth that many of us fall for at some point. Instead of dividing your attention and rapidly switching between activities, commit your focus to the task and you will see your productivity rise.Task batching allows your brain to focus on one type of task at a time. For example, email correspondence and answering blog posts call for similar mindsets. Respond to all your emails, and then answer all your blog posts.5. Bookend your days – a lot has been written on the benefits of developing a morning routine but what about an evening routine. In the book The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, he discusses the concept of bookending your days. Developing a well-established routine that positions you for success regardless of what happens during the middle of the day.If you want to know more about routines check out the books own the day or millionaire morning.6. Control your calendar – Time is your most valuable asset so you must learn to manage it. Learn to say no to people and opportunities that do not align with your goals. Learn to be efficient as well as effective. What would happen if you made all meetings 25% shorter in duration?Schedule time for growth (learning) and contribution (providing value). Do not leave them to chance.Try removing the number 7 from your decision-making. If someone asks you to do something or invites you to an event give it a number from 1 – 10. 8 or above you commit to, 6 or below is at your discretion. Removing the number 7 takes away the indecision about the value of the opportunity or experience.7. Build a daily to-do list - Do you often find yourself working tons only to find you did not get any “real" work done?Then you should try this tip. Separate your tasks into one of four categories:Important & urgent (e.g. presentation due tomorrow)Important & not urgent (e.g. exercise, working on a presentation two-weeks in advance)Not important & urgent (e.g. social media updates phone calls)Not important & not urgent (e.g. surfing the web)Now rank your “to do list” in order of most important & urgent to least.8. Eat the frog first - What you do at the beginning of the day will dictate the flow for the rest of the day.The way I see it, you have two options:Do the hardest task first so everything else feels easierDo the easiest task first to build up some momentumPersonally, I always feel better and perform better when I eat the frog (do the task that will move the needle the most, rarely the thing you want to do, but always the thing you need to do) first.9. Get a password manager – A chrome extension like Last Pass will save you time and mental energy by storing all your passwords in one location.10. Pomodoro technique – Google it, you will thank me.Book Suggestions:· The Power of Habit – Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg· The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss· Deep work by Cal Newport· Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi· Own The Day by Aubrey Marcus· The Compound Effect by Darren HardyEducation.1. Identify your learning type. By recognising and understanding your own learning styles, you can use techniques better suited to you. This improves the speed and quality of your learning.The Seven Learning StylesVisual (spatial): You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.Physical (kinaesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.2. Identify your learning opportunities and outcomes – Knowing the purpose of your studies is important. Education for the sake of education is a waste of time. Education for the benefit of application is the goal. It’ll help keep you focused in your search for the ideal course or content that can contribute to your goals.It is important to recognise that not all learning is guided or formal. When it comes to career progression, employers often acknowledge formalised learning, not independent learning. If you are an independent learner look for ways to utilise your skills and build a portfolio of results which validate your knowledge and prove your competency.So where can you turn to expand your knowledge and hone your expertise - books, audio books, podcasting, mastermind groups, mentoring, formalised education, experiences, subscription learning sites like LinkedIn learning or Lynda etc.Note: Just because you got a book from the library, does not mean it is free. The time you spend reading the content is time that could be spent elsewhere. As a result, the book has an opportunity cost, not a financial one.3. Networking + mentoring - Knowing more people gives you greater access, facilitates the sharing of information, and makes it easier to influence others for the simple reason that influencing people you know is easier than influencing strangers.Networking, its benefits, and how to best approach it is all documented and discussed online, so I will not drill down into this one.4. Immersive education – There are two ways to achieve an immersive educational experience.a. You are placed in a physical or virtual environment that allows you to experience a real work scenario without influencing the real business processes.b. You immerse yourself into a task without distractions. Dedicating periods to a single task, event or goal. It is common to hear about writers renting a hotel for a weekend and writing. Leaving only if necessary. Why not use immersion to fast-track your education. Got a book you want to read or a topic you want to understand, why not set aside 48 - 72 hours and immerse yourself.5. Education over entertainment – if you want to get ahead substitute entertainment options for educational alternatives.Book Suggestions:· The First 20 Hours. How To Learn Anything Fast – Josh Kaufman· The Little Book of Talent – Daniel Coyle· The 4-Hour Chef – Tim Ferriss· Make It Stick – Mark McDaniel & Peter BrownFinances.1. Develop a financial plan and look to the futureWhere are you going to invest?How much are you going to invest?Can you consolidate your debts?What is your retirement plan?Do you have Budget (sorry for swearing)?This list goes on which is why you should either a) educate yourself or b) pay someone who already knows everything you want to know.2. Live lean - What I mean by this is live within your means. If you are spending less than you are bringing in, it is difficult to get yourself into bad financial positions.3. Track spending to see exactly where your money is going. This can be helpful to look at when deciding what areas of your spending you need to cut down on. My go-to is Tiller. Tiller connects your financial accounts to spreadsheets and automatically updates them with your daily transactions and balances.Once you know where your money is going you can develop a conscious spending plan. A plan that involves four major buckets where your money will go - fixed costs, investments, savings, and guilt-free spending money.4. Invest early - If you invest $5,000 every year (which is $417/month) for 10 years, from age 25 to age 35 and then never invest again, you would still have more money at retirement, than someone who starts at age 35 and invests $5,000 every year UNTIL they retire.The 25-year-old starter invests $55,000 and ends up with $615,000 (given an 8% annual return, which is close to the average return of the stock market per year). The 35-year-old invests $130,000 and ends up with $431,000.Reference – I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi5. Understand the difference between investing in an asset and purchasing a liability - The main difference between assets and liabilities is that assets provide a future economic benefit, while liabilities present a future obligation.There are also two types of assets.Depreciating assetsAppreciating assetsDepreciation is when the value of an asset decreases and appreciation is when the value of an asset increases. Therefore, a depreciating asset is an asset that continues to decrease in value over time whereas an appreciating asset is an asset that increases in value.6. Manage your debts and improve your credit rating - Establishing good credit is the first step in building an infrastructure for getting rich. Think about it, our largest purchases are almost always made on credit, and people with good credit save tens of thousands of dollars on these purchases. Credit has a far greater impact on your finances than saving a few dollars a day on a cup of coffee.7. Automate your savings - Automating your savings can make money management and reaching your savings goals that much easier. You will find it easier to adjust your spending to accommodate for this expense and will be building up that savings account without any effort.8. Sell unwanted material possession – According to research, the average household has $5,400 worth of unused items that they could sell. Why not pawn that on the Facebook marketplace, gumtree or craigslist etc.How would that money benefit you right now?9. Consider a no-spending challenge - No-spend challenges are not about not spending anything whatsoever. It is about not spending in problem areas you may have. Areas like shopping, eating out, entertainment, and big purchases.It teaches you patience and helps you uncover spending triggers you may have.10. Earn More - While most people can do better with their budget, it does not hurt to cut that budget from a bigger pie.Book Suggestions:· Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki· I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi· Money Master The Game by Tony Robbins· Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping by and Get Your Financial Life Together by Erin Lowry· The Barefoot Investor by Scott PapePhysical Health. If your goal is to lose weight, you would be well advised to read this blog post - https://liamanderson.quora.com/How-To-Lose-Weight-A-Beginners-Guide1. Exercises frequently – Without complicating it, move often and do so with purpose and intensity.To accelerate your results here invest in a program from a trainer or coach who can distil their industry experience into a personalised plan.2. Prioritise whole foods – “In a world of trending diets and food fads, don’t forget the benefits of simply eating whole foods.The term ‘whole food’ is normally applied to vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains and meats with minimal processing. It is not as simple as neatly dividing foods into two groups – either whole foods or processed foods. Most foods we eat have undergone some degree of processing, whether it is washing, chopping, drying, freezing or canning, and that is not always a bad thing. For example, freezing and canning food gives us access to a variety of foods all year round. However, as the degree of processing and refining increases, the foods nutritional value decreases. It is important to be aware of that.A 2014 analysis by Yale University researchers found that the claims of health benefits for many popular diets such as low glycaemic, Paleo and vegan were exaggerated. The one consistent finding was that “a diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention”.”Reference – HCF Health Agenda3. Portion control and energy balance - Energy balance is the difference between your energy input (calories that you put into your body) and your energy output (number of calories you burn each day). For weight loss, it is a basic, but an essential element.Portion control is the tool that allows you to “eat your cake and have it to”.4. Be consistent – Rome was not built in a day and your new body will not be either.5. There is more than one road that leads to Rome – When it comes to getting in shape or weight loss it is easy to compare your process to someone else’s. What you must realise is that you can get the same results by doing things your way.3 x 3 = 9 as does 3 + 6 and 7 + 1 + 1.What you want to avoid doing is going against the advice you have been given because Johnny or Mary are seeing results doing shakes, paleo, fasting, IIFYM, carb cycling etc.3 x 6 doesn’t = 9, nor does 3 + 1 + 1.Develop a process and stick to it, so long as it is working.6. The scale is not always accurate – a traditional scale only measures body mass, not body composition.When it comes to measuring your progress, a scale can be deceptive and a real buzz kill. See, when your body fat goes down but your muscle mass goes up the number on the scale does not represent the true nature of your results.For this reason, I suggest a combination approach.1. Photos2. Circumferential measurements3. Traditional scale4. BIA scale – Get access to over 40 different measuring parameters such as skeletal muscle mass, total body water, bone mineral content, protein, body fat percentage, visceral fat levels and segmental analysis, B.M.R and total energy expenditure​, age match to body (fitness age) and much more!7. Curb your cravings & learn to identify emotional eatingTips to help curb cravings:· Make sure you have protein and fibre in your meals to increase satiety.· Drink more water.· Plan your meals. This will help control both blood sugar levels and subsequent cravings.· Practice mindful eating.· Seek professional advice to identify, isolate and manage cravings.The difference between emotional eating and physical hunger.Emotional hunger comes on suddenly, craves specific foods, often leads to mindless eating, is not satisfied when you are full, stems from the head not the stomach and often leads to regret, guilt or shame.Emotional hunger is also triggered by situations, places, or feelings such as.· Anger, fear, sadness, anxiety, loneliness, resentment, shame, and boredom.· Your habits could also be linked to your childhood. Did your parents reward your behaviour with food or attempt to comfort you with treats?· Food choices can also be linked to nostalgia among other things.Questions to ask yourself surrounding emotional eating.· Does stress make you eat more?· Do your eating habits make you feel calm?· Does food make you feel safe?· Would you consider food a friend?· Do you ever eat when you are not hungry or already full?· Do you reward yourself with food?· Do you feel powerless or out of control around food?8. Sleep quality – Waking up at the same time every day will stabilise your circadian rhythm and optimising your sleeping environment will improve the quality of your sleep.Working on these two things will result in you being more productive during the day; recovering faster from exercise and balancing your hormones (those that regulate hunger and appetite and can contribute to weight gain).9. Some people benefit from a public declaration – Nothing like a little external accountability and pressure to keep you motivated. Do not ask for support, but say “I’m on this new thing where I’m going to…”10. Brush your teeth after dinner - It is a simple thing which will help control after dinner snacking.Book Suggestions:· The Fitness Mindset by Brian Keane· No Sweat by Michelle Segar· Becoming Ageless The Four Secrets To Looking and Feeling Younger Than Ever by Strauss Zelnick· Becoming a Supple Leopard by Dr. Kelly Starrett· The 4-Hour Body by Tim FerrissCareer.1. Be amazing - Regardless of what you are doing right now, do it to the best of your best ability. You never know who may be watching or what doors may open because of it.2. Develop skills and find ways to add value – Focus on fewer things, but get great at them. Workers are working nonstop to stay relevant in their careers and you should be too. What skills will you need in the future and how can you acquire them today?By adding value to your employer, not only are you displaying a strong commitment to your team and the business as a whole, but it also holds you in good stride when it comes to career advancement.If you are a contractor, consider value adding as a way of creating trust, credibility and authority in the eyes of individuals and companies you wish to work with.3. Network - By maintaining professional social networking profiles, talking to others in your industry, participating in forums, and attending networking events, you increase your chances of forging solid connections that can boost your career. Get your name out there and make sure those within your industry know who you are.4. Know your value - Even if you absolutely love your job and the company you work for, ignoring other opportunities could mean losing precious footholds as you climb the corporate ladder.Even if you don’t intend on leaving your current position, it is worth reviewing industry wage standards and your market value so you can renegotiate your current salary (provided you are performing).5. Curate your social media - You never know who’s checking them out, so be sure to scrutinise your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages as if you were a prospective employer or job contact.What are your socials saying about you?6. Intern, volunteer – It looks good on your resume, it’s a great way to build your network and add value, it can help you determine your career goals, it allows you to develop and refine your skills and it will build your confidence.7. Invest in your resume – A professionally written resume and cover letter could be the difference between an interview and a missed opportunity.When it comes to your resume, select your formalised education based on gaps that need filling or strengths you wish to highlight for prospective employers.8. Put in the work – Getting ahead in your career requires you to put in the work. You can accelerate your career by building great relationships and delivering exceptional results (consistently).Book Suggestions:· Mastery – Robert Greene· What Color Is Your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles· So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport· The New Rules of Work by Alexandra Cavoulacos and Kathryn MinshewRelationships.1. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.2. Work on your relationship with yourself – “You must love yourself and make yourself happy before you can extend that love and happiness to others.” While our feelings about ourselves can certainly influence our feelings about others (and vice versa), it is important to understand there is a delicate balance at play.People with lower self-esteem tend to underestimate their partners' love, report lower levels of satisfaction in relationships, are less optimistic about the future and spend more time monitoring their partner’s behaviour for signs of rejection.On the other end of the scale, extremely high self-esteem can shift towards narcissism. Which as we all know is not a positive trait.3. Develop your listening skills - Listening is a crucial skill in boosting another person’s self-esteem, the silent form of flattery that makes people feel supported and valued. Listening and understanding what others communicate to us is essential to building good relationships.4. Develop your communication skills - Communication occurs when someone understands you, not just when you speak. One of the biggest dangers in communication occurs when we work on the assumption that the other person has understood the message we are trying to get across.5. Two I’s make a Team - The foundation for a thriving, growing, mutually-supportive relationship is to be separate and connected. When you are separate and connected, each individual “I” contributes to the creation of a “we” that is stronger than the sum of its parts.6. Accept and value differences and learn from disagreements - We often gravitate towards people who have qualities and abilities we desire.Not everyone that you have to deal with on a daily basis will meet this criterion. As such, you must learn to be open minded whilst accepting and valuing that people have differences in opinions. Try to see things from people’s perspective or discuss their opinions before passing judgement. You will not always agree, but you may learn something along the way.7. Forgive those who have hurt you but change whom you surround yourself with.8. Develop your EQ – By definition, EQ is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathise with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. Seems important to me.9. Learn the science of body language – Relationships are not always built with words. They are often the result of actions. Your body language is a sequence of actions that is saying a lot about you. What exactly? Read up on Vanessa Van Edwards to find out more.10. Learn the languages of love when it comes to improving your spousal relationship1. Words of affirmation – using words to build up the other person. “Thanks for taking out the garbage.” Not – “It’s about time you took the garbage out. The flies were going to carry it out for you.”2. Gifts – a gift says, “He was thinking about me. Look what he got for me.”3. Acts of Service – Doing something for your spouse that you know they would like. Cooking a meal, washing dishes, vacuuming floors, are all acts of service.4. Quality time – by which I mean, giving your spouse your undivided attention. Taking a walk together or sitting on the couch with the TV off – talking and listening.5. Physical touch – holding hands, hugging, kissing, sexual intercourse, are all expressions of love.Out of these five, each person has a primary love language which speaks more deeply to them than all the others. Discovering each other’s language and speaking it regularly is the best way to keep love alive in a marriage.Book Suggestions:· The Five Languages of Love by Gary Chapman· How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie· Captivate by Vanessa Van EdwardsMental and Emotional Health.1. Speak Up – If you need help, the best thing you can do is speak up.2. Develop mental fortitude and improve resilience – Another topic highly covered in the digital space. Take some time to explore this one.3. Develop an internal locus of control - Research has shown that those with an internal locus of control (they feel that they control their own destiny, rather than their fate is largely determined by external forces) tend to be happier, less depressed, and less stressed.There is a great article on this topic - Cultivating an Internal Locus of Control and Why It’s Crucial by Margarita Tartakovsky. Check it out.4. Practice gratitude - Tony Robbins once said trade your expectations for appreciations and your whole world changes and he is right. For this reason, many people practice the art of journaling. A process where they consciously identify and acknowledge the things they are grateful for in their lives.5. Stop Ruminating - Ruminating is where you repeatedly go over a thought or a problem without completion.There is a great article on how to stop ruminating called 10 Tips to Help You Stop Ruminating by Erica Cirino.6. Practice Meditation - Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique, such as focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity, to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state.Meditation has been practiced since antiquity in numerous religious traditions and beliefs and its benefits have been well documents amongst high achievers.Not everyone has the time or access to guided meditation, which is where an app like headspace can be very valuable.7. Fresh air, exercise, sunlight and gardening – 4 things science have proven to improve your mood and mental state.8. The power of language – There are countless studies on the impact of language on psychology. I am no expert, but there are plenty of experts out there and once again this is a topic worth exploring.Some simple tips on language change are,· If you tend to speak in absolutes, stop.· Phase out phrases like, ‘I have no choice’, and, ‘I can’t…” You can replace them with, ‘I choose not to,’ or, ‘I don’t like my choices, but I will…’· Use words to shift your perception and probability. I.E by ‘June 10 I want to lose 10 kg’ could be reworded to say ‘By June 10 I will have already lost at least 10 kg.’· Try replacing the words should, must and have to with words that are linked to needs and wants. I.E ‘I have to lose weight’ to ‘I need to lose weight’, or, ‘I should go to that event’ to ‘I want to go to that event’.· Add the words ‘before now’ or ‘until now’ at the end of the disempowering statements. I.E ‘I have never been able to get my finances in order, until now’.These are a couple of examples as to how your language can be manipulated to empower yourself and those around you.Book Suggestions:· Unf*ck Yourself by Gary John Bishop· Rewire Your Brain by John B. Arden· The Courage to be Dislike by Ichiro Kishimi· Unbeatable Mind by Mark Divine· The Power of Now and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

The answer provided is also seen on the question “How can I improve my life dramatically in 2 years”How can you improve your yourself in 6 months you ask... by taking premeditated actions that,a) Move you towards your goal and,b) Do so in the most effective an efficient manner possible.Before considering massive action plans for improvement or solutions for your current circumstances, it is important that take time to understand who you are and what you want. Identifying what beliefs or actions have held you back up until this point is also incredibly valuable.So with that said….Know who you are.1. Personality typing categorises people according to their tendencies to think and act in particular ways. It can help predict your behaviour towards others as well as identifying what strengths you hold and careers you may find fulfilling. Some great tests include DISC profiles, career aptitude tests, work values test, Jung personality test, team roles test, signature strength assessment, Myers-Briggs personality types. Most of which can be undertaken free online.2. Limiting beliefs are those, which constrain us in some way. Just by believing them, we do not think, do or say the things that they inhibit. In doing so we impoverish our lives. Prior to commencing your quest for self-improvement you want to address your limiting beliefs – excuses, negative thoughts, justifications, beliefs conditioned by culture or family, thought patterns etc. There are a number of articles, exercises and videos available online to assist you.3. Take ownership by addressing the choices you have made and acknowledging the impact they have had on your journey. Taking ownership of your own behaviour and the consequences of that behaviour will help you develop self-respect and an internal locus of control. Looking at your circumstances retrospectively will help you identify additional behavioural habits, limiting beliefs, coping mechanism, bullshit stories you tell yourself etc.Know who you are about to become.1. Mission, Vision and Values - Personal mission statements are an important component of personal development. They force you to think deeply about your life, clarify its purpose, and identify what is truly important to you.There is plenty of information on the net about these topics; as such, I won’t elaborate upon them here.2. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge and helps you to organise your time and your resources so that you can make the most of your life.I have written an eBook on goal setting which can be found via my profile link.Some important things to note:a. Does your goal have a purpose, process and payoff?b. Is the goal in alignment with your mission and vision?c. Is it authentic?d. Do your goals evoke emotion and presuppose success?3. Prioritising your goals – “you can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything you want”. If you have multiple goals you wish to achieve over the next 2 years, now is the time to prioritise them.Which goal is most important to you? Which will have the greatest impact? Is there a goal the precedes another?My tip is to write down all of your goals and rank them. Ask yourself is it more important that I (goal 1) or (goal 2). Is it more important that I (goal 1) or (goal 3). Continue this process until you have all 10 ranked in order.4. Build & replace habits to support your goals. Habits are more effective than transient or intermittent motivation. Understanding the power of habits and how to develop, instil or replace them will be a game changer. I suggest you check out the work of Charles Duhigg or James Clears.Question to ask yourself.1. What do I want more of in my life?2. What have I had enough of and needs to end today?3. What is missing that I deserve to have?4. What is making me feel trapped? Isn't it time to break free?5. What did I do, who did I meet and how did I grow today?Based on your responses above, you may want to consider all or perhaps just some of what is written below.Universal applicable strategies.1. Eliminate the unnecessary and cultivate the essentials - the act of letting things go will help you to simplify, to focus on what is important, and to build the life you want.2. Develop an action bias – Knowledge is not the key to power and change. Applied knowledge is. I am not suggesting you develop a “just do it” mentality and leap blindly towards opportunities without full consideration. What I am suggesting is that you balance input and output to ensure your acquired knowledge and skills are given the opportunity to create the change you desire.3. Listen more than you talk – Nobody learns anything whilst they are talking.4. Take notes - Memories are notoriously unreliable.5. Dress well – If you want to get in, you must fit in. Something that starts with how you present yourself. Years of social conditioning means you will be judged long before you extend your hand or open your mouth. How you dress will determine how your message is received or if it is received at all.Invest in quality garments that are flexible and can be styled up or down depending on the circumstances.Productivity.1. Find minutes in your day – Wake up 15 minutes earlier every day. This simple task just created you an extra 4 days (close enough) of “free” time each year.Could you find 15 minutes from your lunch break? Why not leave home 10 minutes earlier to avoid being stuck in the morning traffic? Could you sacrifice 15 minutes worth of screen time each day? Now we are saving weeks, not days.2. Unplug to increase output – technology is amazing and if used effectively can rapidly improve your productivity. Unfortunately, most people let technology control them.Give yourself permission not to be reactive when it comes to your devices.Could you benefit from checking your phone once an hour, on the hour, instead of every 10 minutes? How about disconnecting the internet and switching your phone to silent for 2 hours of each day so you can get in some focused work.3. Minimise your distractions – Turn off your notifications. Manage your email inbox (check out Unsubscribe from emails, instantly. to unsubscribe in one click). Don’t read an email if you aren’t prepared to respond. Unfollow people on Facebook (you remain friends, but won’t see them in your news feed). If you find yourself losing time to sites that are not essential for work blacklist them using a tool like Self Control app (Mac), Cold Turkey (Universal) or Stay Focused (Chrome).Organise your space to remove distractions. This comes back to the notion of eliminating the unnecessary.4. Blocking or batching with a single task focus - Ultimately, multitasking is a myth that many of us fall for at some point. Instead of dividing your attention and rapidly switching between activities, commit your focus to the task and you will see your productivity rise.Task batching allows your brain to focus on one type of task at a time. For example, email correspondence and answering blog posts call for similar mindsets. Respond to all your emails, and then answer all your blog posts.5. Bookend your days – a lot has been written on the benefits of developing a morning routine but what about an evening routine. In the book The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, he discusses the concept of bookending your days. Developing a well-established routine that positions you for success regardless of what happens during the middle of the day.If you want to know more about routines check out the books own the day or millionaire morning.6. Control your calendar – Time is your most valuable asset so you must learn to manage it. Learn to say no to people and opportunities that do not align with your goals. Learn to be efficient as well as effective. What would happen if you made all meetings 25% shorter in duration?Schedule time for growth (learning) and contribution (providing value). Do not leave them to chance.Try removing the number 7 from your decision-making. If someone asks you to do something or invites you to an event give it a number from 1 – 10. 8 or above you commit to, 6 or below is at your discretion. Removing the number 7 takes away the indecision about the value of the opportunity or experience.7. Build a daily to-do list - Do you often find yourself working tons only to find you did not get any “real" work done?Then you should try this tip. Separate your tasks into one of four categories:Important & urgent (e.g. presentation due tomorrow)Important & not urgent (e.g. exercise, working on a presentation two-weeks in advance)Not important & urgent (e.g. social media updates phone calls)Not important & not urgent (e.g. surfing the web)Now rank your “to do list” in order of most important & urgent to least.8. Eat the frog first - What you do at the beginning of the day will dictate the flow for the rest of the day.The way I see it, you have two options:Do the hardest task first so everything else feels easierDo the easiest task first to build up some momentumPersonally, I always feel better and perform better when I eat the frog (do the task that will move the needle the most, rarely the thing you want to do, but always the thing you need to do) first.9. Get a password manager – A chrome extension like Last Pass will save you time and mental energy by storing all your passwords in one location.10. Pomodoro technique – Google it, you will thank me.Book Suggestions:· The Power of Habit – Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg· The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss· Deep work by Cal Newport· Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi· Own The Day by Aubrey Marcus· The Compound Effect by Darren HardyEducation.1. Identify your learning type. By recognising and understanding your own learning styles, you can use techniques better suited to you. This improves the speed and quality of your learning.The Seven Learning StylesVisual (spatial): You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.Physical (kinaesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.2. Identify your learning opportunities and outcomes – Knowing the purpose of your studies is important. Education for the sake of education is a waste of time. Education for the benefit of application is the goal. It’ll help keep you focused in your search for the ideal course or content that can contribute to your goals.It is important to recognise that not all learning is guided or formal. When it comes to career progression, employers often acknowledge formalised learning, not independent learning. If you are an independent learner look for ways to utilise your skills and build a portfolio of results which validate your knowledge and prove your competency.So where can you turn to expand your knowledge and hone your expertise - books, audio books, podcasting, mastermind groups, mentoring, formalised education, experiences, subscription learning sites like LinkedIn learning or Lynda etc.Note: Just because you got a book from the library, does not mean it is free. The time you spend reading the content is time that could be spent elsewhere. As a result, the book has an opportunity cost, not a financial one.3. Networking + mentoring - Knowing more people gives you greater access, facilitates the sharing of information, and makes it easier to influence others for the simple reason that influencing people you know is easier than influencing strangers.Networking, its benefits, and how to best approach it is all documented and discussed online, so I will not drill down into this one.4. Immersive education – There are two ways to achieve an immersive educational experience.a. You are placed in a physical or virtual environment that allows you to experience a real work scenario without influencing the real business processes.b. You immerse yourself into a task without distractions. Dedicating periods to a single task, event or goal. It is common to hear about writers renting a hotel for a weekend and writing. Leaving only if necessary. Why not use immersion to fast-track your education. Got a book you want to read or a topic you want to understand, why not set aside 48 - 72 hours and immerse yourself.5. Education over entertainment – if you want to get ahead substitute entertainment options for educational alternatives.Book Suggestions:· The First 20 Hours. How To Learn Anything Fast – Josh Kaufman· The Little Book of Talent – Daniel Coyle· The 4-Hour Chef – Tim Ferriss· Make It Stick – Mark McDaniel & Peter BrownFinances.1. Develop a financial plan and look to the futureWhere are you going to invest?How much are you going to invest?Can you consolidate your debts?What is your retirement plan?Do you have Budget (sorry for swearing)?This list goes on which is why you should either a) educate yourself or b) pay someone who already knows everything you want to know.2. Live lean - What I mean by this is live within your means. If you are spending less than you are bringing in, it is difficult to get yourself into bad financial positions.3. Track spending to see exactly where your money is going. This can be helpful to look at when deciding what areas of your spending you need to cut down on. My go-to is Tiller. Tiller connects your financial accounts to spreadsheets and automatically updates them with your daily transactions and balances.Once you know where your money is going you can develop a conscious spending plan. A plan that involves four major buckets where your money will go - fixed costs, investments, savings, and guilt-free spending money.4. Invest early - If you invest $5,000 every year (which is $417/month) for 10 years, from age 25 to age 35 and then never invest again, you would still have more money at retirement, than someone who starts at age 35 and invests $5,000 every year UNTIL they retire.The 25-year-old starter invests $55,000 and ends up with $615,000 (given an 8% annual return, which is close to the average return of the stock market per year). The 35-year-old invests $130,000 and ends up with $431,000.Reference – I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi5. Understand the difference between investing in an asset and purchasing a liability - The main difference between assets and liabilities is that assets provide a future economic benefit, while liabilities present a future obligation.There are also two types of assets.Depreciating assetsAppreciating assetsDepreciation is when the value of an asset decreases and appreciation is when the value of an asset increases. Therefore, a depreciating asset is an asset that continues to decrease in value over time whereas an appreciating asset is an asset that increases in value.6. Manage your debts and improve your credit rating - Establishing good credit is the first step in building an infrastructure for getting rich. Think about it, our largest purchases are almost always made on credit, and people with good credit save tens of thousands of dollars on these purchases. Credit has a far greater impact on your finances than saving a few dollars a day on a cup of coffee.7. Automate your savings - Automating your savings can make money management and reaching your savings goals that much easier. You will find it easier to adjust your spending to accommodate for this expense and will be building up that savings account without any effort.8. Sell unwanted material possession – According to research, the average household has $5,400 worth of unused items that they could sell. Why not pawn that on the Facebook marketplace, gumtree or craigslist etc.How would that money benefit you right now?9. Consider a no-spending challenge - No-spend challenges are not about not spending anything whatsoever. It is about not spending in problem areas you may have. Areas like shopping, eating out, entertainment, and big purchases.It teaches you patience and helps you uncover spending triggers you may have.10. Earn More - While most people can do better with their budget, it does not hurt to cut that budget from a bigger pie.Book Suggestions:· Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki· I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi· Money Master The Game by Tony Robbins· Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping by and Get Your Financial Life Together by Erin Lowry· The Barefoot Investor by Scott PapePhysical Health. If your goal is to lose weight, you would be well advised to read this blog post - https://liamanderson.quora.com/H...1. Exercises frequently – Without complicating it, move often and do so with purpose and intensity.To accelerate your results here invest in a program from a trainer or coach who can distil their industry experience into a personalised plan.2. Prioritise whole foods – “In a world of trending diets and food fads, don’t forget the benefits of simply eating whole foods.The term ‘whole food’ is normally applied to vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains and meats with minimal processing. It is not as simple as neatly dividing foods into two groups – either whole foods or processed foods. Most foods we eat have undergone some degree of processing, whether it is washing, chopping, drying, freezing or canning, and that is not always a bad thing. For example, freezing and canning food gives us access to a variety of foods all year round. However, as the degree of processing and refining increases, the foods nutritional value decreases. It is important to be aware of that.A 2014 analysis by Yale University researchers found that the claims of health benefits for many popular diets such as low glycaemic, Paleo and vegan were exaggerated. The one consistent finding was that “a diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention”.”Reference – HCF Health Agenda3. Portion control and energy balance - Energy balance is the difference between your energy input (calories that you put into your body) and your energy output (number of calories you burn each day). For weight loss, it is a basic, but an essential element.Portion control is the tool that allows you to “eat your cake and have it to”.4. Be consistent – Rome was not built in a day and your new body will not be either.5. There is more than one road that leads to Rome – When it comes to getting in shape or weight loss it is easy to compare your process to someone else’s. What you must realise is that you can get the same results by doing things your way.3 x 3 = 9 as does 3 + 6 and 7 + 1 + 1.What you want to avoid doing is going against the advice you have been given because Johnny or Mary are seeing results doing shakes, paleo, fasting, IIFYM, carb cycling etc.3 x 6 doesn’t = 9, nor does 3 + 1 + 1.Develop a process and stick to it, so long as it is working.6. The scale is not always accurate – a traditional scale only measures body mass, not body composition.When it comes to measuring your progress, a scale can be deceptive and a real buzz kill. See, when your body fat goes down but your muscle mass goes up the number on the scale does not represent the true nature of your results.For this reason, I suggest a combination approach.1. Photos2. Circumferential measurements3. Traditional scale4. BIA scale – Get access to over 40 different measuring parameters such as skeletal muscle mass, total body water, bone mineral content, protein, body fat percentage, visceral fat levels and segmental analysis, B.M.R and total energy expenditure​, age match to body (fitness age) and much more!7. Curb your cravings & learn to identify emotional eatingTips to help curb cravings:· Make sure you have protein and fibre in your meals to increase satiety.· Drink more water.· Plan your meals. This will help control both blood sugar levels and subsequent cravings.· Practice mindful eating.· Seek professional advice to identify, isolate and manage cravings.The difference between emotional eating and physical hunger.Emotional hunger comes on suddenly, craves specific foods, often leads to mindless eating, is not satisfied when you are full, stems from the head not the stomach and often leads to regret, guilt or shame.Emotional hunger is also triggered by situations, places, or feelings such as.· Anger, fear, sadness, anxiety, loneliness, resentment, shame, and boredom.· Your habits could also be linked to your childhood. Did your parents reward your behaviour with food or attempt to comfort you with treats?· Food choices can also be linked to nostalgia among other things.Questions to ask yourself surrounding emotional eating.· Does stress make you eat more?· Do your eating habits make you feel calm?· Does food make you feel safe?· Would you consider food a friend?· Do you ever eat when you are not hungry or already full?· Do you reward yourself with food?· Do you feel powerless or out of control around food?8. Sleep quality – Waking up at the same time every day will stabilise your circadian rhythm and optimising your sleeping environment will improve the quality of your sleep.Working on these two things will result in you being more productive during the day; recovering faster from exercise and balancing your hormones (those that regulate hunger and appetite and can contribute to weight gain).9. Some people benefit from a public declaration – Nothing like a little external accountability and pressure to keep you motivated. Do not ask for support, but say “I’m on this new thing where I’m going to…”10. Brush your teeth after dinner - It is a simple thing which will help control after dinner snacking.Book Suggestions:· The Fitness Mindset by Brian Keane· No Sweat by Michelle Segar· Becoming Ageless The Four Secrets To Looking and Feeling Younger Than Ever by Strauss Zelnick· Becoming a Supple Leopard by Dr. Kelly Starrett· The 4-Hour Body by Tim FerrissCareer.1. Be amazing - Regardless of what you are doing right now, do it to the best of your best ability. You never know who may be watching or what doors may open because of it.2. Develop skills and find ways to add value – Focus on fewer things, but get great at them. Workers are working nonstop to stay relevant in their careers and you should be too. What skills will you need in the future and how can you acquire them today?By adding value to your employer, not only are you displaying a strong commitment to your team and the business as a whole, but it also holds you in good stride when it comes to career advancement.If you are a contractor, consider value adding as a way of creating trust, credibility and authority in the eyes of individuals and companies you wish to work with.3. Network - By maintaining professional social networking profiles, talking to others in your industry, participating in forums, and attending networking events, you increase your chances of forging solid connections that can boost your career. Get your name out there and make sure those within your industry know who you are.4. Know your value - Even if you absolutely love your job and the company you work for, ignoring other opportunities could mean losing precious footholds as you climb the corporate ladder.Even if you don’t intend on leaving your current position, it is worth reviewing industry wage standards and your market value so you can renegotiate your current salary (provided you are performing).5. Curate your social media - You never know who’s checking them out, so be sure to scrutinise your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages as if you were a prospective employer or job contact.What are your socials saying about you?6. Intern, volunteer – It looks good on your resume, it’s a great way to build your network and add value, it can help you determine your career goals, it allows you to develop and refine your skills and it will build your confidence.7. Invest in your resume – A professionally written resume and cover letter could be the difference between an interview and a missed opportunity.When it comes to your resume, select your formalised education based on gaps that need filling or strengths you wish to highlight for prospective employers.8. Put in the work – Getting ahead in your career requires you to put in the work. You can accelerate your career by building great relationships and delivering exceptional results (consistently).Book Suggestions:· Mastery – Robert Greene· What Color Is Your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles· So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport· The New Rules of Work by Alexandra Cavoulacos and Kathryn MinshewRelationships.1. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.2. Work on your relationship with yourself – “You must love yourself and make yourself happy before you can extend that love and happiness to others.” While our feelings about ourselves can certainly influence our feelings about others (and vice versa), it is important to understand there is a delicate balance at play.People with lower self-esteem tend to underestimate their partners' love, report lower levels of satisfaction in relationships, are less optimistic about the future and spend more time monitoring their partner’s behaviour for signs of rejection.On the other end of the scale, extremely high self-esteem can shift towards narcissism. Which as we all know is not a positive trait.3. Develop your listening skills - Listening is a crucial skill in boosting another person’s self-esteem, the silent form of flattery that makes people feel supported and valued. Listening and understanding what others communicate to us is essential to building good relationships.4. Develop your communication skills - Communication occurs when someone understands you, not just when you speak. One of the biggest dangers in communication occurs when we work on the assumption that the other person has understood the message we are trying to get across.5. Two I’s make a Team - The foundation for a thriving, growing, mutually-supportive relationship is to be separate and connected. When you are separate and connected, each individual “I” contributes to the creation of a “we” that is stronger than the sum of its parts.6. Accept and value differences and learn from disagreements - We often gravitate towards people who have qualities and abilities we desire.Not everyone that you have to deal with on a daily basis will meet this criterion. As such, you must learn to be open minded whilst accepting and valuing that people have differences in opinions. Try to see things from people’s perspective or discuss their opinions before passing judgement. You will not always agree, but you may learn something along the way.7. Forgive those who have hurt you but change whom you surround yourself with.8. Develop your EQ – By definition, EQ is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathise with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. Seems important to me.9. Learn the science of body language – Relationships are not always built with words. They are often the result of actions. Your body language is a sequence of actions that is saying a lot about you. What exactly? Read up on Vanessa Van Edwards to find out more.10. Learn the languages of love when it comes to improving your spousal relationship1. Words of affirmation – using words to build up the other person. “Thanks for taking out the garbage.” Not – “It’s about time you took the garbage out. The flies were going to carry it out for you.”2. Gifts – a gift says, “He was thinking about me. Look what he got for me.”3. Acts of Service – Doing something for your spouse that you know they would like. Cooking a meal, washing dishes, vacuuming floors, are all acts of service.4. Quality time – by which I mean, giving your spouse your undivided attention. Taking a walk together or sitting on the couch with the TV off – talking and listening.5. Physical touch – holding hands, hugging, kissing, sexual intercourse, are all expressions of love.Out of these five, each person has a primary love language which speaks more deeply to them than all the others. Discovering each other’s language and speaking it regularly is the best way to keep love alive in a marriage.Book Suggestions:· The Five Languages of Love by Gary Chapman· How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie· Captivate by Vanessa Van EdwardsMental and Emotional Health.1. Speak Up – If you need help, the best thing you can do is speak up.2. Develop mental fortitude and improve resilience – Another topic highly covered in the digital space. Take some time to explore this one.3. Develop an internal locus of control - Research has shown that those with an internal locus of control (they feel that they control their own destiny, rather than their fate is largely determined by external forces) tend to be happier, less depressed, and less stressed.There is a great article on this topic - Cultivating an Internal Locus of Control and Why It’s Crucial by Margarita Tartakovsky. Check it out.4. Practice gratitude - Tony Robbins once said trade your expectations for appreciations and your whole world changes and he is right. For this reason, many people practice the art of journaling. A process where they consciously identify and acknowledge the things they are grateful for in their lives.5. Stop Ruminating - Ruminating is where you repeatedly go over a thought or a problem without completion.There is a great article on how to stop ruminating called 10 Tips to Help You Stop Ruminating by Erica Cirino.6. Practice Meditation - Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique, such as focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity, to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state.Meditation has been practiced since antiquity in numerous religious traditions and beliefs and its benefits have been well documents amongst high achievers.Not everyone has the time or access to guided meditation, which is where an app like headspace can be very valuable.7. Fresh air, exercise, sunlight and gardening – 4 things science have proven to improve your mood and mental state.8. The power of language – There are countless studies on the impact of language on psychology. I am no expert, but there are plenty of experts out there and once again this is a topic worth exploring.Some simple tips on language change are,· If you tend to speak in absolutes, stop.· Phase out phrases like, ‘I have no choice’, and, ‘I can’t…” You can replace them with, ‘I choose not to,’ or, ‘I don’t like my choices, but I will…’· Use words to shift your perception and probability. I.E by ‘June 10 I want to lose 10 kg’ could be reworded to say ‘By June 10 I will have already lost at least 10 kg.’· Try replacing the words should, must and have to with words that are linked to needs and wants. I.E ‘I have to lose weight’ to ‘I need to lose weight’, or, ‘I should go to that event’ to ‘I want to go to that event’.· Add the words ‘before now’ or ‘until now’ at the end of the disempowering statements. I.E ‘I have never been able to get my finances in order, until now’.These are a couple of examples as to how your language can be manipulated to empower yourself and those around you.Book Suggestions:· Unf*ck Yourself by Gary John Bishop· Rewire Your Brain by John B. Arden· The Courage to be Dislike by Ichiro Kishimi· Unbeatable Mind by Mark Divine· The Power of Now and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

Hard Work and Practice in Programmingby Tim O'Reilly | @timoreilly | +Tim O'Reilly | December 20, 2008At the Program For the Future event commemorating the 40th anniversary of Doug Englebart’s “mother of all demos” in 1968, I was privileged to hear an inspired rant by Alan Kay about the unwillingness of people to work hard to learn new skills. I’m quoting from memory, so the lines below are not exact, and there’s no way I can convey the wonderful sense of outrage expressed in Alan’s voice, but I hope you can imagine it:If some entrepreneur introduced the bicycle today, no one would fund him. You have to actually learn how to use it! …I saw a controller for Guitar Hero that costs a couple of hundred dollars. You can get a decent electric guitar for that price. But you’d have to actually learn something to play it!There’s a long arc in computing that teaches us how much we gain through advances in ease-of-use, with the iPhone being the latest breakthrough success. But it’s important to remember how much we lose when we think that ease of use is everything. Many things worth doing are hard, requiring a great deal of practice before you achieve mastery.Shortly thereafter, I was intrigued to see an interview entitled Bjarne Stroustrup on Educating Software Developers (via Slashdot) sounding the same theme:High schools could teach students to work hard at something (just about anything), to search out information as needed, and learn to express their ideas in writing and orally. Project-based work is good for that. Exactly which programming language is used for software is less important, but the aim should not be to make tasks as simple as possible but to challenge students.And of course, practice, specifically “10,000 hours of practice” during childhood, is one of the themes of Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, Outliers.The interview with Stroustrup provoked a great discussion on the O’Reilly editors’ backchannel. It was so juicy that I wanted to share it with all of you.Simon St. Laurent:“One aspect of learning programming that often eludes both students and teachers alike is the importance of practice, of actually working through all of these formal structures we teach. Most of our books, in a way, offer a promise of learning that avoids the slow repetition of practice.I’ve worked in other fields where practice really mattered. I hated to practice exercises on trumpet as a kid, but as I return to it as an adult, I’m actively seeking exercise books to play. It’s the only way to get the skills back, even though I “know” how to play all of these things. In woodworking, it’s painfully clear that the best way to learn is to do, and do a lot, preferably without taking a long time in between projects. (And watching little Sungiva figuring things out and trying them repeatedly gives a new sense of the importance of practice.)In computing, though, we often assume that readers will learn by reading, trying, and a bit of fiddling. We even assume a whole category of readers who will assemble applications by cutting and pasting code together without much understanding of what they’re doing and how to smooth the rough edges.Some of our books incorporate practicing the kinds of thought we’re teaching. Head Firsteven incorporates repetition, though it tries hard to give readers variation as they go over the same territory. Our Learning books sometimes have exercises, though resistance from authors (myself included) and a belief that readers aren’t likely to actually use them limits their value.The most interesting place I’ve seen this kind of practice is in the “homework” for the O’Reilly School of Technology’s Java course. It’s one detailed exercise per lesson, and then it gets “handed in”. There’s a lot to think about in each of those exercises, and given the context, learners will actually do them.“According to Dizzy Gillespie, it takes ten years of practicing your butt off to achieve Mastery. His statement has been backed up by scientific research which shows that to reach a very high state of mastery, a task should be repeated about a million times, which takes about ten years. Better get busy!” (Sound the Trumpet, pp 67-68)”Mike Loukides:“That’s a good point. One of the things I noticed when [my daughter] Alexandra gotinto the 9th grade math class was the emphasis on practice. I hadbeen teaching her algebra, but I’d explain some concept and give her3 or 4 problems to solve and say, “Good, you understand that.”The Algebra 1 class that she’s in is doing more or less the sameconcepts, but they’ll do something like solving equations withabsolute values, and she’ll come home with a homework set of 25problems. The next night, there’ll be 25 slightly more complexproblems. The next night there’ll be 25 more slightly more complexproblems, with some simpler problems thrown in for review.There are a number of things I don’t like about the way mathematics istaught, but I think they’re profoundly right about this. You’ve gotto do these things until they become second nature.”Beth Freeman:“We are actively working on related ideas in Head First now – lookingat ways we can extend the book experience with online experiences thatwill include many ways to continue the practice that readers begin inthe books. And, as you identify, making it fun, making it feel likeplaying is an important part of the motivation to get people topractice. Game elements can really encourage this – the whole idea ofgetting to the next level in a game is basically promoting practice atthat game until you get good enough to get to the next level. Thisidea applies to learning anything, and making those levels explicit ina way that is fun and motivates people is key. (e.g. the variouscolored belt levels in martial arts). What are the equivalent ways ofmeasuring competence in programming and technology that encourage andmotivate (and don’t feel exclusionary or too hard to even try)?We have a few ways that Head First readers can continue their practiceonline at the Head First Labs site now, but it’s pretty limited.One aspect of practice that is really important that I think is worthmentioning is that most true creativity comes from people who havedone a lot of work in their field. (See Explaining Creativity bySawyer and On Intelligence by Hawkins). Most of that work is“practice” – getting to a level of expertise so that we can think moreabstractly about whatever the topic is and combine old ideas in newways, which is the heart of creativity. In other words, if you’refocused on learning the little details because you haven’t practicedenough, it’s unlikely that you will be able to see the big picture ina way that will allow you to invent / create new ways of doing orthinking about that topic.”Brett McLaughlin:“I think there are two key points that Beth mentioned that, in myopinion, have to enter any real discussion of practice (I speak as apedagogical fanatic, but also as a musician who still manages two orthree hours a day on his instrument):Practice must be proportional to the goal.Practice itself is rarely fun, especially in the early days. Idisagree a bit with Beth that the practice itself is fun; but where wedo agree is that the goal is crucial. I will play a lick at a speed sounwieldy that it stops being music, and play it at that speed until myentire family is yelling at me… IF and ONLY if the lick atperformance speed is truly exciting. So the practice itself is awful,and boring, and terrible in many cases, but the end result isproportionate with the goal.But with most of us, the goal — passing a class, or getting a betterjob, or playing like Jimi or Mayer or Miles or Rachmaninov — has tobe within reach, and attainable, or we’ll give up. And yes, practiceis one of the trickiest things to encourage and/or simulate becauserepetition is something technology is great at DOING, not PRODUCING.Think about it: technology ultimately came into being to help us AVOIDrepetition. So it’s a big problem, and one I have ideas about, but amstill formulating enough to write and speak on.Practice must, over time, simulate deeper understanding.Good practice, over time, connects ideas. Bad practice, over time,only creates muscle/mind memory. Practice structured correctly willeventually create a fluidity with the mechanical components of [insertdiscipline here], and free the mind up to consider the bigger picture.Practicing a scale in a particular configuration enough reinforcestones that are appropriate over certain chords, the rhythmic patternsavailable, and allows the mind to create melodies and play thosemelodies with little forethought. Repetition without a correctstructure, though, will leave a musician hobbled and trapped within apattern, unable to be creative.Alexandra’s successively complex problems are creating a mentallandscape of absolute value. By problem 20 (or 10, or 5), she’sstopped thinking about mechanically solving the problem, but isinstead connecting the methods she’s using with the methods she usedfor the last problem set — and the ones before that — and iscreating a math understanding that’s deeper than how to solve aparticular problem.Think about it this way: give a student enough structured binomials tomultiply, with a reinforcing organization, and they will at some pointcome up with FOIL on their own. It’s simply a fact… if the practiceis correctly structured, and if the repetition is great enough toallow the mind to wander a bit, and make deeper connections.Mini-conclusion: Repetition MUST be connected to a deeper understandingIt’s my opinion that we often think we can reach the second goal(deeper understanding) through purely qualitative means: betterwriting, better speaking, better visuals. But there’s got to be SOMEelement of quantitive means, too. I think we can reduce the number ofrepetitions through careful structuring and reinforcement, but that’sreduce, not eliminate.”Mike Loukides:“That’s a really interesting insight: technology is all about*avoiding* repetition. I don’t write a program until I’ve donesomething a few times, and don’t want to do it again. So at somelevel, we’re talking about technology that forces us to do what weusually use technology to avoid. Which means we’re making technologydo what it really doesn’t want to do, what it wasn’t designed to do.”Simon St. Laurent:“While there is a fundamental problem there – technology teaches us that repetition is bad – I don’t think that it’s a matter of misusing technology.”It’s mistaking facts about technology for facts about us. It’s true: teach a program once, and it will do what it does forever, the same way, until the context changes and it breaks. Teach a person once, and you’re nowhere near done. Of course, we tend to adapt better to context…chromatic:“The question is *what* you’re practicing. The Art of Agile Development has aconcept of etudes, which should be familiar to anyone who’s played piano orrecognizes Chopin. They’re small exercises suitable for repetition andreflection as a whole team during a lunch hour. Unlike the potential (andsilly) exercise of writing a for loop or a fold or an iterator a hundredtimes, they study how you communicate as a team, how you consider designproblems, and how you prioritize and reflect.You could consider the retrospective portion of agile development — performedeach week at the end of an iteration — an opportunity to reflect on theweek’s practice and make the higher connections more explicit. In one sense,reflective iterations are a way to turn the often unorganized and chaoticactivity of software development into structured practice. That’s not acoincidence.Beth Freeman: “This is a great way to describe Design Patterns, which are essentiallypatterns that emerge after a lot of experience solving similarproblems in similar ways (ie, practice).”Scott Gray:“So, I think we’d all agree that you can’t learn to program without actually programming. Just like you can’t learn to drive without actually driving. You can’t learn math without doing math. Yet, one of the hardest things to accomplish in teaching is to get students (end users) to actually program or do math or work on the skill it is they are trying to acquire.Of course, there is a set of people who who inherently understand that they need to program and practice in order to learn. Evidently some or most of O’Reilly’s book customers understand this. If they are buying the book but not actually working on a computer then I guarantee they aren’t learning to program….they might be learning something, but it isn’t programming. Until they actually have built something and gone through the entire process of building something they simply aren’t a programmer and aren’t likely to be. I disagree with Bret here. Programming and practice can and should be rewarding. If it isn’t rewarding to students to make programs then they are not likely to become good at that skill (same goes with Mathematics, Physics, etc.)So, what Simon didn’t tell you is that what we do [at the O’Reilly School of Technology, which Scott leads] is set up situations where we get students to do work and at first do small programs that demonstrate the concepts being talked about in the content. We don’t discuss anything without them doing an example. It also turns out that if you set up the situation just right, you can get close to 100% of the people DOING programming in order to learn programming. When they build these programs and see it work and know they created it, then they gain a sense of ownership over the skill they are learning which prepares them to do a project without our guidance which is what Simon was telling you about.It’s also important to have instructors there to help students through the frustrations they are likely to encounter when learning. Our instructors are their coaches. They coach them through the process, motivate them to work it out themselves and solve that problem they’re having because isn’t that what a programmer is someone who can deal with a situation and work on it until the program does what it’s designed to do.People who can go from novice to expert with books are actually quite rare. It doesn’t seem like they are rare to O’Reilly since these are the types of people you’ve been selling to all along. However, if you’ve ever taught at a University you know that maybe 2% of the students you teach can learn themselves from nothing but a book. It’s not that this other 98% are dumb it’s that they haven’t learned how to learn a skill like programming or mathematics and have to be motivated to do kind of work they need to do to learn. Unfortunately, in most courses students do the minimum amount of actual practice that they can get away with because it’s not been made available in a form that gives them *ownership* over the process.What we learned at the University of Illinois Math & Mathematica project was that properly used the computer can be used to not only get students working and practicing but give them ownership over the material as well. OST is basically replicating this same pedagogy that works for those Mathematics courses. The recipe is to merge content and tools in a way that fosters student activity, and to provide coaches to give students positive feedback and to help them through the rough spots.At this point I could go into the business aspect of this and discuss the need for credits in order to hit the price point per student to pay for this process and also to motivate students to actually take these courses and work hard to finish them. Let me just say that for courses the extrinsic motivation of certificates and degrees makes it all come together so that both the students and the institution are happy and successful.The nice thing about the book business, is that you don’t have to deal much with end users or observe whether they are actually accomplishing your instructional goals. The only types of feedback you get are reviews, sales, and anecdotes. Once you start teaching courses and adding assessments and feedback the expectations change. When you sell someone a book, if they don’t read it or they don’t pick up the skill they generally don’t hold the book responsible, it’s probably their own fault. However if they take your course, and they don’t learn it’s your fault. There are much higher expectations with courses, so you better get it right.So far over the last five years we’re getting 80% of our students through these courses. The industry standard for online courses is 30%. We’re doing something right.Allison Randal:“I’ve been deeply impressed by Scratch in this respect.The real magic of learning is to practice without realizing you’repracticing. My son is learning to program not because he dutifully sitsdown to work through exercises, but because he’s having fun creatinggames and animations to share with his friends.We don’t learn applications like Word because we set regular practicesessions, we learn them because there’s something we want or need to getdone, and this tool helps us do it.The same is true of natural language, you can drill and drill and drill(and should, to build vocabulary), but will never really get thelanguage until you use it in active communication. And putting yourselfin a situation where the language you’re learning is the *only* possiblelanguage you can use to communicate with those around you leads toexponential leaps and bounds in language skills.There’s a fantastic book on language learning around this subject, thatdoesn’t teach you a specific language, it teaches you how to learn anylanguage (Language Acquisition Made Practical.) It includes exercises that are moresuggestions than drills, like “Have a conversation with your neighborabout the weather”, so you gradually start to integrate the skills intoyour life.Scott Gray:“By the way, ‘practice’ brings up all kinds of negative connotations like‘drill’. Nobody likes drills do they?Practice can and should be part of the process of creating something,like Allision pointed out.Again, I hate to seem like I’m plugging my stuff too much, but it seemsrelevant to the discussion. Just this month one of our students won aYahoo! Hack day by adapting a project he created in one of our courses.A lot of our assignments that they do and hand-in for feedback are“Build something cool that incorporates X”.Kurt Kagle:“I’m watching my eight year old daughter go through a distance learning curriculum, and its been something of an eye opener from a number of perspectives. Jennie is a natural on computers – she figured out the level editor for SuperTux at the age of six, was navigating through web pages by the age of five, even though she wasn’t really “reading” yet (which says something very profound and disturbing about our assumptions about reading, I suspect) and has reached a point where she’s gaming the cheat codes in Sims, without really realizing that she’s actually using the programmer’s interface into the program and beginning to learn LUA. She also does most of the practice math exercises in the GCompris quickly and usually enthusiastically … especially if there is a game context associated with it.The problems she face with this, however, are two-fold. She gets easily bored when forced into the school tempo, she finds physical writing to be frustrating (partially due to an abysmal first grade teacher, partially because of disgraphia) and overall she finds that repetition without some kind of contextual framework to be tedious in the extreme. My wife and I also tend to be at odds about the degree of computer interaction that Jennie should have; to me, what’s important is the conceptual practice that she could get just as easily with a computer, with Anne, what’s more important is that she do the repetition on the worksheets because she’ll have to do them that way in real life.While I’m not sure what the resolution of this particular conundrum will end up being, I think it does point out a somewhat bigger picture. I like computer-based “practice” precisely because it both gives you a stronger mastery with a shorter feedback time and it provides a way to easily test that mastery, especially in areas where repetition is significant. Moreover, it provides a way to build simulations that can help you work through a problem.This doesn’t mean that I approve of all educational software … I’ve written educational software for Fisher Price, Microsoft and works such as The Oregon Trail over the years, and some of it (the stuff I usually didn’t have a design hand in, generally, though I would think that) was pretty dreadful. On the other hand, the ones that worked well were the ones that provided an enjoyable context, a compelling narrative and enough awareness to determine when someone just wasn’t getting it, and all the repetition in the world wouldn’t help the student make the conceptual leap.Yet this short feedback loop is very much at odds with the way that teachers currently teach – in part because they have 30+ kids to track typically, and as such,individually they can give these kids only a small percentage of time spent specifically with them. I think there’s also been this emphasis in recent years away from repetition, both because it forces everyone to move at the pace of the slowest student and because in an age of media bombardment, kids lose patience with boring repetition that has no context and a non-contextual feedback loop (the students get back their homework two or three days after they complete it, typically long after they’ve moved onto new work and only with an indication showing them that they got the answer wrong, not why). This is especially true in areas like mathematics.There’s still a very strong Calvinistic ethic that permeates the educational culture, with one of the most insidious beliefs being that in order for something to be educational, it must not be pleasurable – that said pleasure actually distracts from the process of learning. The O’Reilly Head First books are a prime counterpoint to that – engaging, relevant, and generally fun, I think they are some of the best educational books out there, but there are a few people know who have told me that they don’t seem like real teaching books precisely because they are flip and irreverent. Teaching is best done with massive tomes set in thick type with few examples, interspersed with deep theory, according to this viewpoint, though I’ve noticed that while books like these may get bought, they also have a tendency to sit on the shelves.While I’m not a huge fan of a lot of computer games (way too much violence) I do recognize that there are games out there that challenge people to think, that justify the onerousness of repetition with a tangible reward (achieving the next level) and that provide a context and narrative in a way that “story problems” usually can’t or don’t.Case in point. One of my eldest daughter Kate’s teachers assigned a homework problem – design a simple floorplan for a house that had to fit within a lot (i.e., take up a certain area), one that had to include two bathrooms and two bedrooms at a minimum, then calculate the total surface area involved. Kate’s solution was actually pretty inspired – she powered up Sims, created a building from scratch, then began putting in the various walls, fixtures and appliances, working within the constraints that each of these occupied both square footage and had implications for plumbing and the like. Once she’d done this, she printed up the floorplan, measured the dimensions, converted the units into meters and calculated the area from there.What I find interesting here was that she used the simulation to help turn what could have been a very boring exercise into an engaging one, and one that also showed that there was much more to the particular context than just finding a number. She still had to do the math (my insistence), but with the same simulation she could also determine a significant amount of other information that she wouldn’t have been able to do with the previous exercise (how much would such a house cost to build, how much to carpet, how much area did a staircase take up, and so forth).To tie this back into the thread – she was playing, within the parameters established for that play. She gained immediate feedback that let her see when something worked or didn’t (a hallway that was too thin for people to pass, a bathroom that was shaped wrong for a bathtub, etc.), and in the end, she had something that she could not only play with but also share with her friends (Kate’s my social butterfly). She was problem solving (the use of a Sims game for laying out a house was not something I would have thought of), and she was practicing not just one skill, but several that were likely to be used in concert together.Consider, for instance, the last time that you needed to just calculate the area of a plot of land. In the last several years, I think I’ve spent perhaps twenty minutes total involved in that particular exercise, after an investment of several years worth of learning the math to get me there. If I was an architect or a construction manager, I’d have done it on a computer using some kind of 3D rendering package, and if I was hiring that architect or construction manager, I’d probably fire them if I found that they were doing all of these calculations by hand.Practice is necessary to learn a skill (it takes about a million repetitions, typically around ten years to master any given skill), but I think that we have become so fixated upon this necessity that we have to question if the skills that we are spending so much of our time and resource educating them are ones that they truly need.If our children are going to live in a world heavily dominated by computer technology, is it worthwhile for us to be practicing skills that we’ll only use a handful of times in our life? When we have the means to make learning subtasks engaging and fun, does it really behoove us to make them dull, pedantic (funny how that has become a synonym for dull) and time-consuming?My own belief is that our children are growing up having to adapt to a world of information bombardment. Children generally learn to adapt to their world despite our best intentions in trying to teach them how to live in ours. This growing disconnect is going to eventually rupture as the mission of the school system becomes fundamentally incompatible with their needs. I think we are now in a position to start doing something about that, to recognizing that practice, while necessary, can be readily disguised as play, and that learning should be challenging but engaging, not repetitious and dull.Scott Gray:“Repetition and drill sucks. Creation and discovery rocks.I once saw a show on new learning techniques. They took a first orsecond grade music class and told the students they were going to playthem a song and that they should come up with a way of remembering thetune. Each of the children came up with a different method mostly usingcrayons and construction paper. They created different ways to designatethe notes and loudness and spaced things to indicate the timing, etc.Then they showed each student how the method they came up with mapped tosheet music. According to the program I was watching this was reallyeffective in teaching children how to read sheet music.What I’ve seen and first learned while teaching was that instead oftelling students things and explaining everything we can set upsituations where they discover what we want them to. For example, Itaught students about differentiation and integration by giving them aproblem about driving to the store and figuring out their speed withouta speedometer. (all written up in Mathematica so they could follow alongand experiment). Eventually they each came up with the main idea aboutdifferentiation. When they were done….I’d say “oh yeah, what you justdiscovered is what Isaac Newton discovered in the 1600’s, it’s called‘Differentiation'”. It’s quite a powerful thing to create and discoverideas whether or not it was created and discovered previously. Afterall, Mathematics is about creating and discovering.Computers and the internet can be used to scale the learning bydiscovery paradigm.”Simon:“Scott said ‘Repetition and drill sucks. Creation and discovery rocks.’Now we’re starting to reach the opposite of what I was thinking this morning, which is always a great thing in a conversation. My point this morning was in large part that repetition and drill matter, and that once you’ve figured out that they’re actually helping you, they ‘suck’ a lot less.It’s not just a matter of Calvinist ethics (sorry, Kurt) – it’s an opportunity for learners to move forward by doing things a lot, shifting ahead a bit at a time. The great leaps are fun as well, but build on smaller steps.My concern with this is that while letting kids figure out what works for them is a good idea and that different kids will figure out different things, actually becoming good at things is about a lot more than discovering them or creating them.Reading sheet music is one thing – learning to play an instrument is another. And I figured out what integration and differentiation were about long before I got to calculus, but I probably should have flunked my second semester of calculus because I just couldn’t wrap my head around how to actually make it work. (Which shocked me, because math up to then had just flowed naturally for me.)Ideally I’d love to have discovery and creativity motivate learners’ actions – but they still need to motivate learners into a tremendous amount of repetition to get there.Kurt said ‘Computers and the internet can be used to scale the learning bydiscovery paradigm.’ Yes, and they can also be used to manage, moderate, and fine-tune repetition. Hopefully we can combine all of that into something that gives people instruction at a pace they can maintain, thrilled by their progress, but also in a way that sticks with them.”I hope you all found that discussion as thought-provoking as I did. I’d love your thoughts. How have you found practice to be important in your programming — or in other aspects of your life?