One of the hobbies I’ve built into my routine is reading. It never used to be this way, I actually hated to read when I was young, but since entering my twenties, learning from others I’ve found is the best way to acquire new skills and change mindset.

My most recent read was, “The 3 Alarms: A Simple System to transform Your Health, Weatlth and Relationships Forever.” I read this while on vacation, and knocked it out within three hours while in an airport/airplane, a new record for me.

The book covers a wide variety of ways that humans reach their full, “potential.” Normally, I hate that word. I find the word is often set by others in what they think believe a version of someone else is, not usually used by an individual in a self-reflective sense. In the introduction to this book, Partaker talks about the four traps humans fall into:

• Trap #1: Lack of Intentionality
• Trap #2: Perfectionism
• Trap #3: Too Much Structure
• Trap #4: Procrastination

Out of the three, I resonated with many of these, and thinking back, noticed how I’ve grown in and out of these boxes. When I was young, I was a Perfectionist. I refused to try things or show them unless they were perfect, causing me to be afraid of failure. I never played piano for anyone for three years, and never sang solo in front of a crowd for 8, simply because I didn’t think I was good enough.

As I’ve grown, I find myself falling more in Traps 1 and 4, hence the Commit to the Bit mantra carrying forward through 2024. My biggest struggle this year has been overcoming procrastination and becoming intentional with my time, making sure I am dedicating appropriate time to my YouTube channel, and working through the blocks I dedicate to it.

The tip Partaker gives to procrastination talks about removing the “I have to” phrase from your diction. If you think about those three words, the word that often follows is: “finish.”

• “I have to finish this YouTube video.”
• “I have to finish this song.”
• “I have to finish my homework.”

Focusing on finishing can be overwhelming, triggering procrastination once again. Instead build on your language of choice by focusing on starting for a small amount of time

-Eric Partaker

Partaker talked through four different strategies to overcome procrastination: Positive self-talk, Focusing on starting, Centering, and guilt-free play.

The Three Legged Stool

Health, work, and relationships represent the three-legged stool that provides stability and meaning to our lives. Remove a leg, and the stool becomes imbalanced. Remove two, and life will be very wobbly indeed

Eric Partaker

The next section of the book I particularly enjoyed. As I’ve learned through a workout organization I became a part of through COVID, balance is sexy. Humans are well rounded and we need to feel healthy, feel meaningful, and feel loved.

Especially in the programmig world, I see a lot of people let their health go to shit as they grind up the career latter. It wasn’t really until my later 20s when I realized how off I feel when my fitness is off track. If I’m not in the best physical form, I typically am not in the best mental form. Everything is connected, and I’ve taken strides this year to keep that on track. I was a fan of how Partaker phrased this.

The Three Alarms

The largest section of the book focuses on the three alarms: three alarms you set daily to remind yourself who you are in those moments. Every day you shift between the best versions of youself, and alarms act as a reminder to be yourself in those moments.

In relation back to the the three legged stool, life is a balance. Reflect those in the versions of yourself whom you wish to set.

For me, I’ve divided my day into four alarms – they are are as follows:

6:30a.m – Detroit’s Best HIITer

At 7am every morning I go to F45, a HIIT studio over in Detroit. I love this gym and the community around it, and every morning I strive to be the best version of myself there.

9:00am – America’s Most Creative Coder

When 9:00 rolls around, I am in full on work mode. Typically I’ve done two leetcode problems by now and my brain is fully functioning. I keep trying to improve my algorithms, mathematical skills, and just overall engineering efficiency throughout the day.

5:00pm – Best Internation Boyfriend

I’ve been in a long distance relationship with my girlfriend, Phoebe for about 2 years now. Every day we call, and this alarm is a reminder for me not to worry about work in these moments. Separation from work is difficult for me, and being present during a call is something I am always working towards

8:00pm – World’s Most Curious Man

The 8pm alarm reminds me to stay curious. Be it working on a Youtube video, learning new code, writing songs, blog posts, or throwing a frisbee, curiosity fills me up with joy. It’s something I feel will keep me young forever, and I really cant wait to keep rolling.

Jon’s Takeaways/Implementables

• Implementation of the 3 Alarms as a part of my routine
• Implementation of a weekly review – Noting big wins, progress on your Top 3 objectives, what went well, and what didn’t
• 28% of the workday is lost due to task switching – stay focused until something is complete
• Treating productivity as a planning and execution practice, and learning to turn your obstacles into advantages. We are never done, never finished.

Commit To the Bit, fam.

-Jon