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✔️✔️✔️🧠 Use the Triple Check Method to jumpstart your brain | Anne-Laure Le Cunff

🤖 AI Summary

👑 Productivity and Procrastination

  • 🤬 Procrastination has become a dirty word because of hundreds of years of moralization ⚖️ around productivity and work [00:00].
  • 🔗 Self-worth is tied to productivity, and not being productive means being lazy or not contributing [00:16].
  • 🔔 Procrastination is a signal that is worth listening to, rather than a character flaw 😈 due to the industrial age’s efficiency worship 🙏 [00:34].
  • 😩 Whenever procrastination occurs, try to ignore it, push through using willpower, and feel self-blame and self-judgment [01:25].

✨ The Triple Check Method

  • 🔬 The Triple Check is a tool based on self-discovery and thinking like a scientist to understand the procrastination signal [01:38].
  • ❓ The tool asks: Why am I procrastinating? Is it coming from the head 🧠, the heart ❤️, or the hand ✋ [01:45]?
    • 🧠 Head (Rational): Lacks full conviction 🤔 that the task should be worked on [01:57].
      • Solution: Redefine the strategy ✍️ or brainstorm with colleagues to find a better approach [02:35].
    • ❤️ Heart (Emotional): The task is not perceived as fun or enjoyable 😞 [02:08].
      • Solution: Redesign the experience 🎨 to make it more fun, such as co-working or changing the location [02:50].
    • Hand (Practical): Not equipped 🛠️ with the right tools or resources to get the job done [02:13].
      • Solution: Raise that hand 🖐️, ask for help 🙋‍♀️, or seek mentoring or a course [03:06].
  • 🚧 If alignment is felt across all checks, it is worth looking outside for systemic barriers and having difficult conversations 🗣️ with stakeholders [03:32].

💡 Mindful Productivity

  • 🖼️ Magic windows are moments of high productivity, creativity, and focus 🎯 where time flows and zero effort is involved [03:53].
  • 🧘‍♀️ Mindful productivity is about cultivating awareness in the way work is done and focus is directed [04:49].
  • ❓ This practice answers three questions: When is my magic window? What belongs in this window? How can I keep that window open [05:04]?
  • 🔋 The perspective must change from time ⏱️ to energy as the most important resource [05:42].
  • 🧠 Mindful productivity considers physical 💪, emotional 😢, and cognitive resources (energy, emotions, and executive function) [05:26].

🎯 The Second Arrow

  • 🏹 The brain is simply trying to send a signal 📡 when procrastination occurs [06:12].
  • 🤕 Buddhist philosophy uses the concept of death by two arrows 🏹🏹 to explain suffering [06:31].
  • ➡️ The first arrow is the difficult emotion or the procrastination experience itself [06:38].
  • 🚫 The second arrow 😩, which is the shame and self-blame experienced, is completely optional and should not be added [06:45].

🤔 Evaluation

  • ⚔️ This perspective contrasts with the pervasive and often-cited goal to “beat procrastination” 🥊, repositioning the behavior as a valuable diagnostic tool 🩺 rather than a moral failure [05:51].
  • 🤝 The Triple Check framework offers a highly actionable system for diagnosing the root cause (rational, emotional, or practical) before attempting a solution, making it more effective than generic advice [01:45].
  • 🧘 Integrating the Buddhist concept of the two arrows 🎯 provides a powerful cognitive reframe, immediately addressing the self-inflicted shame 😩 that often accompanies delayed work [06:31].
  • 🔋 The shift in focus from time management ⏱️ to energy management offers a more holistic and sustainable framework for long-term output, valuing one’s internal state over adherence to a clock [05:42].

🔭 Topics for Better Understanding

  • 🧠 Explore the neuroscience behind the “magic window” 🌟 state, often referred to as flow state, to understand its specific cognitive triggers and physiological basis.
  • 🏢 Investigate specific strategies for navigating the systemic barriers 🚧 in professional environments, focusing on evidence-based techniques for having the difficult conversations 🗣️ required with colleagues or managers [03:32].
  • 🔎 Research how the Head/Heart/Hand model aligns with or diverges from established motivation theories (like Self-Determination Theory) to place the Triple Check within a broader psychological context.

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