Hello everyone, this is Helen Huang @ Organizing, based in Beijing, China. In order to better learn and practice the YiXiaoNeng Time Management System, after finished publishing 100 Chinese articles, I decided to continue writing and publishing a daily English article in another 100 days based on the "YeWuBin Time Management 100 Episodes" audio program. Today is the 149th day.

Today's topic is: The Three Question Sentence Method of Translating Ideas into Results

Today, in this lesson, I want to share something very important with you. If you can learn the method I am about to share with you, then you will be able to successfully translate your ideas into action, and your action into results.

In the first several lessons of the Ximalaya time management lessons, I talked about the value of planning. I explained that the brain is inefficient at managing events. The essence of time management is the classification of events, and that we can do it much more efficiently using proper planning than the brain can at managing. The brain is a processing unit not a hard disk.

Therefore, the first step is to empty the brain of its memory storing function and collect all of its ideas. Remember, the brain is used to think, not to remember. Memorizing is a brain activity that takes up valuable brain resources, so we must keep it at a minimum to free it up for other more important things. The brain cannot efficiently remember things. It struggles do so.  This is why things that have not been completed, will fester in the brain and stay there, and cause anxiety. 

It is far better to collect these items and tasks and put them away into lists, preferably in an app on our mobile phones. There are two types of items we can put in our lists: chores and actions.  Chores cannot be managed.  They include things like your worries, concerns, ideas...these things cannot be used for action.

So, today I want to share an important idea: Chores cannot be managed.  Only action can be managed!

In order to determine whether a task is a chore or an action, ask yourself three questions. 

First, should I do this?

Second, what is the result I want?

Third, what is my next action?

Some tasks are not necessary.  We let them occupy our minds but they do not advance us towards our goals.  They are not important and they are non-urgent.  These are the items we delegate and delay.

Next, consider what is the result you want to achieve. Is the result important to you?  Is the result necessary to your needs?  Are you simply doing this to act without attention, or is the result meaningful to you?

Then ask yourselves: "What kind of results do I want to achieve?"  After you have determined that the result is important, you must determine the quality of the result you want - The kind of result.

Here's a formula for you: I + verb + key person + thing. The words: verb, key person, thing - this is a reflection of one thing: that's the result you wish to accomplish.

Let's look at an example of the verb, key person, and thing setence.

Imagine you are stressed about a medical exam or checkup that you need to have. You know you need to make an appointment to get this exam, but you are too busy and you know it's not easy to make the time to get to the exam. And further you know that you must schedule your exam several weeks in advance in order to get a time slot with doctor, but you don't remember to do this either. You forget. You procrastinate. Finally, after many weeks you make some time for the exam, but you realize that since you didn't schedule it, you cannot set an appointment so soon. 

What should we have done differently?

The first thing, I suggest we should have done is: write the need for a medical exam down. Because you are busy, like we are are, you don't have to write much, just the words "physical examination". Just write it down. When you do this, you have released the item "physical examination" from the brain, and put it into the recording system outside your brain, which allows you to feel at ease to continue the work you are currently doing.

Later, when you have some time, clean up the recording system outside your brains, which means organizing it using a system. When you later review these items, and come across the physical examination item, ask yourself: "Do I want still want to get a physical exam?" If you have not had an exam for a long time, then you must continue to get one. It's important to you. it's something you need.

Then, you need to ask yourselves the second sentence: "What results do I want to achieve?" Well, you need a medical report that tells you how you are doing, how you are feeling, what your health is.

Then, ask yourselves the third sentence: "I am very busy now, but for the medical examination, what can I do right now? What's the action? What's the thing I can do right now?" Well, the next step is to make an appointment by phone!

So at this time, the recording system outside your brain can revise the chore "physical examination" that the thing you put down, and convert it into an action sentence, using it in the following formula: [I + verb + key person + things].

For example,

* I, will call - that's the verb, I will call.

* Then the key person - I will call the doctor's office.

* And then the thing - To make an appointment for the medical examination in the hospital. So that thing is the thing you need to accomplish.

So that's the physical examination to become a sentence. That  sentence is: I will call the doctor's office to make an appointment for the medical examination in the hospital. They comprise that I + verb + key person + things]. Can you see how that works?

At this time, the chore "physical examination" becomes the next action "call and make appointment for medical examination", and it becomes a thing to make a call. It's no longer chore.

If you can convert your list items from chores to actions, you begin to think more clearly and your ability to achieve results will become very strong! This way of thinking is a very powerful skill that will change the way you review your tasks and translate your ideas into actions and your actions into results.

Thank you being with me together today. Have a wonderful day!