The Quadal technique
Want to keep a journal but struggle to establish the habit?
A few years ago I created a super simple, behaviourally informed format that I use every single day. I call it the "Quad-al technique".
It works so well because:
- takes less than 5 minutes;
- it's structured without being constrictive; and
- it access different parts of your brain.
I explain it, along with the science behind it in this clip.
For more on habits, you might find my book The How of Habits useful.
Snails really are brilliant
Snails are amazing, the way they lug their homes on their back.
It’s quite the balancing act:
- Too heavy a shell, they can’t move.
- Too flimsy, it doesn’t protect them, which curtails their freedom.
It’s a balancing act humans are subject to, as well.
We’re constantly assessing what level of risk to carry before we compromise either freedom or safety.
- Yes, I can post on social media, but what if I attract hate?
- Yes, I can buy your services,...
Human nature is perpetual
"Human nature is perpetual. In most respects, it is the same today as in the time of Caesar. So the principles of psychology are fixed and enduring. You will never need to unlearn what you learn about them.” - Copywriter Claude Hopkins*
And as if to prove this, Claude wrote these words in 1923.
Imagine enjoying a few hours of training and coming away with skills you can use everyday for the rest of your life. That's what I'd like to offer you.
...
How outcome bias impacts decisions
Outcome bias is our tendency to judge a decision by its eventual outcomes instead of the quality of the decision at the time it was made.
In other words, that decision you make today, feeling pressured or frustrated, will be judged without the benefit of context.
No one will care what was happening to you or around you – they’ll only care how your decision turned out.
Two things to consider:
- Next time you feel overwhelmed and uncertain about what to do, imagine...
Why restaurants REALLY use tablecloths
According to restaurateur Grant Achatz, restaurants often use tablecloths to hide crappy tables.
Problem is, these tablecloths end up costing about $70,000 per annum to launder.
It’s not only restaurants that fall into this kind of trap.
A lot of businesses pour money into dressings like social media and marketing, without first considering whether they (or their agency) actually know how best to influence their market.
Sure, you can keep paying for laundry, but why...
Everyone's an outsider
You were supposed to want the white picket fence.
To wear the uniform.
And take the corner office.
A TV ad for Lexus is a nice illustration of what to do when you are a Challenger brand: appeal to the outsider.
But isn’t everyone an outsider?
When it comes to influencing people, we can:
- Show what others are doing, which can make people more inclined to follow. Think of ‘best seller’ book lists and ‘most popular’ product options; or
- Signal how you,...
What gets measured is the problem
Einstein told us that if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
I believe that.
Are you seeing the disconnect, though?
It’s not simplicity, or more specifically clarity, that we measure our work against.
No. It’s a volume game, modern business.
Get it out the door and get on with the next assignment.
It takes time to curate, pare back, refine, and s-l-o-w thinking is no match for our itch to scratch off the “to-do” list.
As...
Fully occupied
Are you busier than a marketer in 1982? Objectively, yes. Subjectively, I’m not so sure.
Take the Australian TV landscape back then. There were only three commercial TV stations (channels 7, 9 and 10) and one public service (channel 2).
So the marketer’s job must have been easy, right?
They only had three networks to choose from when it came to ad placement, and a captive audience who wasn’t flicking between multiple screens.
But it’s a mistake to judge...
Randomness is the problem
It’s not complexity that kills us, it's randomness.
That’s according to neuroscientist Carmen Simon, who masterfully shares how to engage an audience in her latest book, Made You Look.
People will put up with complex ideas in a document or presentation – indeed, they may thirst for them – but if they are communicated haphazardly, they’ll tune out.
How you structure your ideas is just as important as the ideas themselves.
Directing effort. Theirs and yours.
“The less energy they expend on your prose, the more they’ll have left for your ideas.” - Paul Graham
Making something difficult to understand says more about the writer’s limitations than the reader’s.
You know this already.
So where are you putting your time and effort as a communicator?
Because there are two parts to this dance.
- How you communicate.
- What you communicate.
Don’t ruin your what by your how.
