1,969 Legos from Uncle Jason to create a Saturn V Lego Rocket.
Dear Lego Maniac,
So, this is one of those “Do as I say, not as I do!” moments.
I picked you up yesterday (Saturday) for my half of parenting time over your winter break, and several times in the past week I thought to myself, “Self, you should probably write your letter before she gets here so that you get it done on time!”
And I knew I was giving myself good advice.
But then “Self” would say, “Oh, no worries. You can just write it after she goes to bed on Saturday night.”
And I listened to “Self.”
And Saturday night came and you refused to go to bed and I never wrote the letter and it was not ready to go out by my 9am deadline on Sunday morning.
All because I procrastinated.
So here I am at 12:24am on Sunday night/Monday morning writing your letter a day later than I was supposed to.
Thankfully the experience gave me a topic that I think is important because it’s one of the core values of the company I currently work for and I can see this lesson playing out in the success of our company.
Don’t procrastinate. Don’t wait to do things. Have a bias toward taking action.
But why?
The path to success for most people is one of taking action, getting feedback, adapting, and taking action again. This process is called “iteration” and the act of iterating forward is what leads to productive, improved action, and ultimately getting better at “doing something.”
I procrastinated by not writing your letter when I could have. And now I’m writing a rushed, choppy letter because it’s late and I’m ready for bed. But I could have had a more polished, focused letter if I’d taken action earlier and given myself to edit more.
In business and in life, the process of getting feedback is super super super important for improving what you’re doing and making what you’re doing better.
Plus, if you don’t take action, you simply won’t meet your goals.
I didn’t take action to write your letter on time, and “life happened” and I didn’t meet my goal of publishing a letter every Sunday. I shouldn’t have procrastinated. It won’t hurt anyone, but it didn’t get my closer to my goal for you either.
Sometimes, lack of action will be the difference between success and failure, so err on the side of taking action in your life and adapting foward. You will be rewarded with a more fruitful, fun, and adventurous time on this planet.
If you’d like more information on the idea of “iterating forward” look up or study Lean manufacturing, the PDCA/PDSA cycle, and W. Edward Deming. You’ll find a lifetime of information about how to live a more productive, action oriented life!
And with that, I’m going to take my next action of going to bed. Last night was rough, but tonight we had a good snuggle and you’re happily off in dreamland now. Sweet dreams!
Love,
Daddy, Master Of Legos
P.S. If you’re a reader of Ellie’s letters, tell her how taking action helped you reach a goal or how not taking action prevented you from reaching a goal.
P.P.S. I was going to tell you a joke about procrastination today, but I decided to tell it to you tomorrow instead.
FINISHED! 12/31/2019
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dad @ startwithadollar.com