Don't Jump Straight to Tactics
22 Aug 2023
I recently read Dr. Peter Attia's book Outlive, which I highly recommend if you're into health and lifestyle.
The third chapter, "Objective, Strategy, Tactics" highlights a common oversight: most of us jump straight to tactics.
Cold plunging, waking up at 5am, fasting until noon, or chugging down apple cider vinegar every day, we sometimes miss the strategic thinking behind our actions.
At work, I use a similar structure for project and communication planning: Status quo - Objective - Audience - Strategy - Tactics.
Seeing Dr. Attia use the same framework for health got me thinking...
I tried to apply this framework to create a 'life plan', and it has brought me great clarity.
Here are three prompts if you want to apply it to your own life:
What are your high-level objectives?
Anchor your life around 3-5 major objectives.
If you have more, see if you can merge them.
For example, I set up objectives for Mind, Body, and Business.
Create sub-goals if you want to go in more detail.
If you're not sure what your objectives should be, think about what you're doing right now in your life (productivity), and from there you can derive your priorities and purpose, as illustrated in this visual from The One Thing by Gary Keller.
Fun fact, you can apply this model both ways:
Productivity > Priority > Purpose to find out your purpose in life based on what you're currently doing
Purpose > Priority > Productivity to find out what you should be doing to fulfil your purpose
2. What do you need to do to achieve your objectives?
Jumping straight to tactics stops us from seeing the forest for the trees.
But if you know what you need to do to achieve your goals, you will have your anchor.
Strategy = the what.
This should be pretty high-level, details are for the tactics.
A template to create your strategy: (Achieve Your Objective) By (what you're going to do).
For example: Become financially independent (Objective) by diversifying my income streams (the what).
3. How will you achieve your strategy?
Now you have your objectives (goals) and your strategy (what?), you can get to the how.
Tactics take up most of the space in your plan, mainly because there are so many ways to reach an objective.
Here's an example of objective, strategy, and tactics in play.
Objective: Lose my belly fat
Strategy: Lose my belly fat by consistently being in a calory deficit
Tactics: 200-500 Kcal deficit every day, walk 20 minutes every morning, stop cooking with oil, count calories...
I believe in systems and processes to optimize for happiness.
“Desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.” - Naval Ravikant
So rather than setting distant goals, focus on systems you can do every day.
There's a big difference in aiming for a 200 kcal deficit every day versus 10% bodyfat.
Until you hit your bodyfat goal, you won't feel fulfilled. But by achieving your kcal deficit every day, you'll get that daily sense of accomplishment.
The book summarizes it nicely with the infamous Sun Tzu quote: "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."
Remember, Objectives -> Strategy -> Tactics. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet at me @Sandrerooo.
Fun Fact of the Week
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.
Solar panels convert sunlight directly into electricity.
A power plant doesn't 'have' energy, but transforms it.
In the same way, you don't 'have' a specific reality - you generate it.
You don't 'have' clarity - you create it.
You don't 'have' happiness - you cultivate it.
Quote of the Week
Impermanence, impermanence, impermanence.
This, he said, is the cornerstone of Buddhist teachings. It’s the idea that everything is, well, impermanent. Nothing lasts and, therefore, nothing can be held on to.
By trying to hold on to that which is changing, like our life itself, we ultimately end up suffering.
The Buddha’s final words were on impermanence, a reminder that all things die. “All things change.
Whatever is born is subject to decay…,” he said. All individual things pass away.
From The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
Have a great week!
Sandrero