The Year of the Zen Archer

This is my ‘/word page’ - a place to document my intent for the next chapter of the life of timall.red

It’s all part of the Choose One Word ‘Ritual of Becoming’ from Dr Jason Fox and The Cleverness.

Backstory

I first embraced the ritual of Choosing One Word as an anchor / reference point for my year in 2016, with my Year of the Warrior, and then followed up with the Year of the Rogue Scholar in 2017. I didn’t choose a word for 2018 (not sure what happened there...), and then picked Phoenix for 2019 with little connection or alignment, so of course it lacked much value, however I held onto it throughout the year.

The last 12 months have been a season of change and busyness with a new baby added to my wonderful (and crazy) family, as well as a shift in my work context (joining Spotless Group’s Infrastructure & Construction team). What I do know is that 2020 will be another action-packed year with some key milestones taking place - one of which will be the completion of my Professional Studies Doctorate at USQ which I commenced in 2016.

The next 12 months will require a renewed focus.

So as the end of 2019 approached, I knew it was important to reconnect to the fuzzy beacon of a guiding word / theme for the year.

Thinking-in-draft, I commenced the Choose One Word programme with the word of Focus in mind for 2020. Thankfully I was challenged to go deeper through the programme and not rush into choosing the word (else another Year of the Phoenix), preventing a repeat of last year’s disconnect with my theme word.

The Year of the Zen Archer.

A skilled bowman who prefers the fringe of the battle field, however is adept at being in the perfect position to patiently wait for the right moment to loose the arrow through the air to the target.

One who has a deep understanding that everything is aiming. The position of the feet, how the bow is held, the breath during the loose of the arrow, the direction and strength of the breeze - is intertwined with determining the end result.

Principles

1. Attention and Focus. Correct shooting is correct hitting.

The archer’s attention is not just on the target alone. They are attentive to the range of the target, the wind, and angle and adjust for other variables that may affect the shot. The archer can sustain focus and attention over time to ensure they can strike exactly when needed.

2. Clarity of Mind. A mind fully present, aware and free.

The archers mind is free from anger, fear, and ego during combat and in everyday life. When the mind is still, you can think clearly and achieve a better understanding of the actions that need to take place. When quiet and calm, the ability to think about and process the information received is much stronger.

3. Intentionality and Purpose. Every arrow has a purpose.

The archer’s quiver contains a finite number of arrows, so they must be strategic and intentional with their use. This is about living life intentionally and acting with purpose rather than going with the flow of whatever comes my way. Every shot counts, and each has an intended target.

Patterns

The patterns and behaviours supporting the Year of the Zen Archer will revolve around more deliberate and reflective practices. These will integrate into my daily rhythms over the course of this year.

Mindfulness practices - I will incorporate box breathing, gratitude as well as deep listening techniques into my day to ensure I’m being present with and aware of those and what is around me. I will create a Third Space practice in the transition between work-mode and home-mode to ensure my focus shifts appropriately to those that are important to me, and so I adequately manage life’s stressors.

Focused time - I will incorporate blocks of time dedicated for focused work. For those familiar with Maker vs Manager time, this is my Maker time. I find my mornings are best for, and I will use the Pomodoro Technique to minimise mental fatigue and maintain focus during these periods. I will build focused writing time into my week before work and weekends.

OODA Loop - I will apply the OODA Loop as a continual learning process. A method for dealing with uncertainty. By observing and taking into account new information about our changing environment, we are able to gain the knowledge and understanding that’s crucial in forming new mental models. By orienting we make adjustments to our mental models to create a new perspective that better matches your current reality. By deciding we move forward with our best hypothesis about which mental model will work. By acting we find out if our mental models are correct. If they aren’t, then we start the OODA Loop again using our newly observed data.

After Action Reviews - I will undertake After Action Reviews each week to review how I went in achieving my 3 High Value Targets for the week (asking how far did I get, why, and what I will do about it), as well as during and after key projects and activities at work. The After Action Review is a tool to understand what was supposed to happen (versus what actually happened), why things went well/poorly, and what will be done to improve.

Projects

Over the course of this year I intend to form a diverse group of high performing / ambitious / focused individuals to be a peer accountability network. I’m still in the draft thinking of what this will look like, however anticipate that it will start to take shape around the middle of the year.

How you can help

As I’m sure you can appreciate, being in my final year of my doctoral studies, I may have to withdraw from a few social activities in order to focus on finalising my thesis. I will be scheduling time for fun, as this will also be required.

You may see me sporting a fancy pin - a way for me to symbolise the Zen Archer. So ask me how I'm going embedding the Zen Archer into my daily rhythms. Better yet, share with me your Word and we can journey on this together!

Head over to the Choose One Word ‘Ritual of Becoming’ program and sign up today.

Full disclosure: This is an affiliate link which gifts me $50 for spreading the word (about One Word). If you use it, and are willing, I’d be more than happy to shout us coffee, breakfast, or a sneaky cocktail to discuss our Word for 2020! Just shoot me an email.