Simpleology: The Simple Way to Get Things Done

“Simpleology – The Simple Science of Getting What You Want” is a productivity system created by Mark Joyner which follows the basic tenet that simple, small things can have a profound difference in your productivity and in your ability to create happiness and success in your life.

There are three Simpleology courses:

• Simpleology 101: The Simple Science of Getting What You Want
• Simpleology 102: The Simple Science of Money
• Simpleology 103: The Simple Science of Energy

This article is about “Simpleology 101″, which teaches a system for managing your time based on years of productivity research. Best of all, it’s completely free. (Simpleology 102 and 103 are paid courses, but you don’t need to purchase them to get all of the benefits of Simpleology 101). Below you will find an explanation of Simpleology 101 and how you can start applying it in your life right away.

“Simpleology” Courses Are Online Multimedia Courses

“Simpleology” courses are online multimedia courses. They’re straightforward, fun, easy, and entertaining. Their purpose is not to inform you, but to transform you. Each course applies proven techniques of Learning and Behavioral Psychology to improve your retention. In order to expose your mind to the ideas presented in the course in as many different ways as possible, the multi-media “Simpleology” courses include:

• Five-minute videos with animated cartoon lessons.
• Retention-building quizzes.
• Memory joggers distilling the essence of what you need to know from each lesson.
• Step-by step course checklists.
• A “Virtuosity Book” (a downloadable PDF version of all the lessons).
• Audios of the “Virtuosity Book” so that you can listen to each lesson as you read along.

Simpleology 101 – An Overview

“Simpleology” dictates that in order to hit a target you first have to clearly identify what that target is. That is, you have to know what you want. In addition, it explains that you need to start with the big picture: describe what your ideal or ultimate life would look like.

Then you set milestones toward creating that ideal life-focusing on one element of your ideal life at a time so that you don’t scatter your energy–and you further break down these milestones into the smallest chunks you can think of. You then plan each day based on the small steps you have identified which will steadily move you toward achieving your goals. The Simpleology system refers to goals as targets.  In addition, praxis (the plural is praxes) is their term for habit.

The Five Laws of Simpleology

There are 5 basic laws of Simpleology:

1. The Law of Straight Lines: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. I wrote more about this law in my post “The Elasticity of Time (Part 1)” and in my post “Three Awesome Productivity Tips”.  This law emphasizes two points: in order to reach your goals you must take action, and it must be the right action.  Right action takes you closer to your goals, whereas wrong action moves you away from your goals.

2.  The Law of Clear Vision, in order to hit a target you need to see it clearly.  That is, in order to get what you want you must know what you want.  And you have to be specific.

3.  The Law of Focused Attention: in order to hit a target you must focus sufficient attention on it until you hit it.  To read more about focus visit my post “How To Leverage the Power of Focus”.

4. The Law of Focused Energy: in order to accomplish something you must focus sufficient energy on it.

5. The Inescapability of Action/Reaction: there are two things from which you can never escape: action and reaction.

These laws provide the framework for doing what you need to do in order to reach your goals.

Your Power: Your Ability to Bring About Results

Another of the main ideas behind Simpleology is that you have three basic sources of power, which are always in flux: Time, Energy, and Money. How you use these three resources will also determine how quickly you reach your goals.  You’re asked to practice increasing one of these sources of power each day.

For example, every time you put money to work for you–purchasing stocks, bonds, or investment property–you increase your power.  When you spend money you decrease your power.  By leveraging the time of others–outsourcing, delegating, and so on–you increase that source of power.  If you exercise regularly your energy increases; if you’re basically a couch potato and are always eating junk food your energy decreases.

The Pathway to Power

Mark Joyner explains that in order to combat the fluctuating readiness levels of soldiers, the US Army developed the concept of the Band of Excellence. They identified a number of core competencies that any unit needed in order to remain “combat ready”.  In the same way that you can only focus on one target at a time, the Army can’t train on every core competency at the same time. So they recognized that systematic review and refinement of each of the core competencies was required.

When a unit trained in one skill, their proficiency in other skills would drop. But if they organized systematic training in each of the skills at the appropriate times, the overall readiness of the unit would be on a constant upward trend. Likewise, if you systematically improve your proficiency in each of the three sources of power–time, energy, and money–your overall effectiveness will increase in an upward spiral. The Simpleology Praxes–which are explained further down below–will help you do that.

The Two Most Important Decisions of Your Life

Another key aspect of Simpleology is the idea that there are two decisions you make that will affect how quickly you reach your goals (or if you even reach them at all):

Decision #1: Will you take actions that bring you toward you desired targets, or away from your desired targets?

Decision #2: Will you engage in behaviors that strengthen your power or weaken your power?

The Scientific Formula for Success

Finally, Simpleology 101 presents you with the Scientific Formula for Success:

Step One: See your target.

Step Two: Keep it in your sights.

Step Three: Hit it, until you hit it.

Simpleology offers a daily practice in order to apply this three-part formula, which I explain in the section below.

The Simpleology Praxes: Daily Habits

After they’ve given you the theory, Simpleology provides you with the tools that you need to take this information and put it into practice. This is done with your Daily Target Praxis and with your Daily Power Praxes.

• The Daily Target Praxis is a fifteen minute procedure designed to get you focused on your goals and help you make decisions on what you will do that day in order to reach them.

• The Daily Power Praxes are designed to increase your power (your Time and Energy in Simpleology 101, and then your Money if you choose to continue with Simpleology 102).  The idea behind the Daily Power Praxes is to look at one source of power each day and determine what you can do to increase that source of power.

The Daily Target Praxis begins with a “brain dump” during which you simply write down anything that comes to mind on a sheet of paper; this includes every nagging thought and every little idea.  Then you go through a process called “Do It – Deliberate – or Dump It”.  This process allows you to look at each item and determine if it’s really important that you complete it on that day.

Once you’ve come up with a list of definite targets to hit for that day, you decide whether to do them yourself or to delegate them. In addition, during the Daily Target Praxis you make sure that you’ve scheduled the small steps that will move you toward achieving your goals.

The Daily Power Praxes are designed to increase your awareness of the weakening decisions and the strengthening decisions you are making in relation to your power.  This practice will help you to identify your time, energy and money leeches, remove them, and replace them with something else.

Free Software

In addition to the “Simpleology 101″ course, when you sign up for free for “Simpleology” you have access to a suite of software applications which you can immediately download:

• The WebCockpit is software that allows you to integrate the basic principles of Simpleology into your daily life for quick results.

• The DesktopCockpit allows you to extend the Webcockpit onto your desktop so that you can have instant access to these functions throughout the day.

• The Wimiki sits in the lower right corner of your desktop and directs you throughout the day to do things that will boost your energy and raise your productivity. It’s like having a mini-coach right on your computer.

Conclusion

By planning your life backwards to determine the steps you need to take in order to create your Ultimate Life, following the 5 laws of Simpleology, working to increase your power, following the formula for success, and doing your daily praxes, you’ll soon be on your way to a more productive you.

You can watch the “Simpleology 101″ quick start video on YouTube to get a better idea of how it works.  If you’re interested in taking a look at “Simpleology 101″ to see if it’s right for you, simply click here.

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photo credit: Global Jet

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