https://elizen.me/en/ Recent content on Elizen Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://elizen.me/en/posts/2025/01/2025-week1-and-week2.en.md/ Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://elizen.me/en/posts/2025/01/2025-week1-and-week2.en.md/ <p>I kicked off the new year by reading a book about efficiency. I’ve long been desensitized to these types of books, but as old Luo once said, “Chicken soup—if it’s not the same recipe every time—can still be helpful if you have a bowl once in a while.” Moreover, our attitude toward a book subtly shifts over time.</p> <p>The book is called The 12 Week Year. In short, it says not to make annual plans anymore because of the numerous downsides. The biggest one is that you end up overestimating your own potential, which leads to a delay in execution. The result is that every month you push back your plans, believing there’s plenty of time, thinking you’ll catch up. Then, by the end of the year, you’re filled with regret and start making plans for the new year all over again.</p> <p>The author quotes another book, The War of Art:</p> <p>Most of us have two lives: the life we live, and the unlived life within us. The latter captivates me.</p> <p>I really like this line, as well as the new perspective this book offers: what truly affects us is our ability to take action. To address this, the author proposes a new way of thinking—12 weeks is a year. All planning and design revolve around a 12-week cycle, so each day roughly becomes a week, and 12 weeks roughly becomes a year. Of course, there’s a lot more behind this methodology to support its execution, which I won’t elaborate on here. If you’re interested, you can check out the book yourself.</p> <p>In fact, this all likely draws on some principles of behavioral psychology. Put simply, we don’t take action because we like something; rather, through continuous action, we start liking it. Most of the time, we don’t actually know what we enjoy. It’s often just a chance encounter that leads to a small success, which brings a sense of recognition, forming a positive cycle. We repeat similar actions, achieve another small success, and again gain recognition, continuing that cycle. Over time, we come to believe we “like” something—even though it may not necessarily be true. Think back: chances are, what we enjoy doing now probably began with some blind attempt in the first place.</p> <p>The setup of this book is similar: just start acting, compress your timeline, execute efficiently, and at the same time, clarify your broader life vision so that every action moves you in the direction you truly want to go.</p> <p>Initially, I wanted to write a “biweekly journal” on a two-week cycle, but I got carried away at the beginning. I’ll wrap it up here.</p> <p>Treat this as the wedge—an introduction.</p>