Who's Itching for a Sprint?

Using timed containers to gamify life

Summer is upon us and to be honest I’m itching to get a few projects off the ground. And yes, I know I’ve been on the flow train for a while, but sometimes it’s fun to use a Chronos (tracked time) container to add a little pressure to daily life. To gamify it so to speak. Especially when I’m looking to build an Ironman Suit to carry me into the next life chapter. It’s a lot easier to build when there’s a concrete deadline and a nice dose of focus.

So I’m going to initiate my 2-Week Life Sprint June 8-21. And I figured I might as well extend the invite to y’all. If you want to join, keep these dates in mind.

Key dates

1. Friday, June 5 @8am PT - Sprint kickoff call (paid members): I’ll break down my game plan and provide space for us all to share our intentions and goals.

2. Monday, June 8 - Sprint begins: be sure to share your goals by commenting to this post.

3. Sunday, June 14 - Midpoint checkin: do a mini-retrospective to gauge how your 1st week went and if you want to change anything. I’ll share mine in another post and you can comment with yours.

4. Sunday, June 21 - Sprint ends

5. Monday, June 22 - Do your retrospectives: Again, I’ll post mine and you comment with yours. Key questions:

   1. Outcome: What went well, not so well, how to improve?

   2. Feeling: How did you feel, what do you want to stop or continue?

6. Wednesday, June 24 @8am PT - Sprint retrospective call (paid members): come together to celebrate and share learnings.

While paid Expansion members can join our kickoff call and retrospective workshop (I’ll send these out separately), this Sprint’s open to anyone. Just post up your sprint goals in the comments below.

So what’s a Sprint?

If you’re new to the concept, here’s a 1-hour masterclass (from my days moonlighting as a productivity YouTuber ;) that’ll teach you everything you need to know:

But all it is is mapping out just a handful of focus areas and goals, and staying on them throughout the two weeks. You’ll be surprised by how much ground you can cover in a very small amount of time with intentional focus. But even more than productivity is the self awareness you’ll gain through the reflection process.

Why did I create it?

I was going through a rut during the pandemic and needed a way to get out of it. I worked in tech at the time and took inspiration from Agile development’s system of a 2-week sprint where engineering and product teams would hyper focus on a few concrete goals and get a lot of sh!t down in a very small amount of time. More than anything though, I wanted to feel the wind behind my back again. That feeling of momentum and making progress, being pulled towards something.

The framework that emerged ended up launching every major project in the past 5 years. Now looking back, it was entirely within my nature (in the Tao Te Ching sense) to create something like this, given half of my top 10 CliftonStrengths are geared towards gamifying life. I literally get a dopamine kick out of future planning, goal setting and strategizing, working towards that goal with discipline and focus, and ultimately achieving it.

Your stack will be different, so the way you “sprint” will also be different. If you’re an experienced Sprinter, then I encourage you to use this opportunity to find your own productivity style. Jen V, a long-time member, uses these sprints to intentionally slow down life. Whodatonk?

This also means if you’ve taken the Clifton Strengths AND the VIA 24 assessments, do use them to shape your goals also. For example, a big part of my sprint goals will be nailing my Pillars of meditation, sleep, exercise, and diet. This works well to my Discipline and Focus traits while creating the foundation for being more present through life.

And if you’re new, then watch the masterclass, join our meetups and learn the template first, then adapt to your needs. The most important concepts I’ll share on Friday will be SMART goal setting, time management, practicing self-grace, save points, and gaining self awareness of who you are and what you truly want out of life.

Alright guys, less talking, more doing, and most importantly, more being.

Best,

Sheng