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Hey there!

I hope you've had a productive week! If you are new here, welcome to our Friday Roundup.
What is the Friday Roundup?

A roundup of the best in evidence-based productivity for freelancers, small business owners & founders to help you work smarter and live more.

Be on the lookout for our Tuesday original content that includes an Interview, Case Study, or Study Breakdown.

-Jenae :)

The Rundown

• 🚀Productivity Quick Tip: Does practice really make perfect?

• Neuroscience Says Embracing This Mindset Actually Changes How Your Brain Is Wired (in the Best Possible Way)

• Stop using these 5 toxic phrases the most successful people never say to themselves: Psychologist at Yale

• Jeff Bezos isn’t a fan of ‘time blocking’—here’s what he does instead to boost his productivity

• TikTok ban: What happens next after US Senate passed the bill?

• Add this book to your reading list

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🔥Quote/Prompt

Use the quote as a writing or thinking prompt to finish your week strong.

A bit from mine:

(posted in our Doer Entrepreneurs Free Community — off social media)

Did someone forward this to you?

📈 Performance

Neuroscience Says Embracing This Mindset Actually Changes How Your Brain Is Wired (in the Best Possible Way)

We talk frequently about the importance of being intentional and the reason we do and why it’s so important is because our brains aren’t ever doing NOTHING. Meaning, if we do not consciously CHOOSE…the automation we’ve set up (again, either intentionally or unintentionally) will take over. In this article, the author discusses this point around mindset and how we default into either Fixed (this will never work, I’m just this way) or Growth mindset (that didn’t work, let me try something else or I’m this way now but I’m working on it).

Below is an excerpt from the article quoting 3 studies that show the importance of a growth mindset. Check out the full article to get all the deets!

• A study published in Psychological Science found that people with a growth mindset exhibit a higher Pe (error positivity) waveform response, which correlates to paying greater attention to mistakes -- and makes those individuals much more receptive to corrective (whether internal or external) feedback.

• A study published in Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience found that a growth mindset was related to ventral and dorsal striatal connectivity with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (the brain region responsible for learning and self-control), therefore improving error-monitoring and behavioral adaptation. (In non-researcher-speak, wiring you to better learn from your mistakes.)

• A study published in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience found that a larger Pe difference helps people perform with greater accuracy after making mistakes. Why? People with a growth mindset aren't as afraid of messing up along the way, because they see making mistakes as part of the developmental process.

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⚙️ Optimization

Stop using these 5 toxic phrases the most successful people never say to themselves: Psychologist at Yale

To be honest we almost glossed right over this article until we saw that all-important word “say to THEMSELVES” — ah, hello, self-talk, my friend. Alright, we’re listening. The best part about this article is it recognizes that hey, we’re human, so some of these might be in our “default setting” but…the good news is we can change it and the author gives you some ways you can start to change your defaults around these phrases.

A few are common in these types of articles (e.g., ‘I’m not good enough’) so below are two that might be common, but perhaps less “flagged” as problematic. Check out the full article for all 5!

4. ‘I can’t believe I did that, I am so stupid’

It’s hurtful when someone calls you stupid — including when that someone is you. It’s draining and demeaning. And it can make you stop trying. 

It’s also not true. (Noticing a pattern here?) The only way anyone learns — whether they’re a genius or a baby — is by letting themselves try and making mistakes. One study found, for example, that mistakes students make while studying can help them learn better.

Toddlers learning to walk fall down every couple of steps. You don’t call them stupid or judge them for it. Instead, you cheer them on until they can take a few steps in a row, and then a few more. 

Plus, research has found that people aren’t judging you as harshly as you think when you make an embarrassing blunder. 

What to try instead

Give yourself the same grace and encouragement you’d give that toddler when you’re ruminating on something that didn’t go perfectly. 

“Nobody’s perfect” and “everyone makes mistakes” are universal truths. By reminding yourself of those facts — and the likelihood that you’re judging yourself more ruthlessly than others are — you can relax, take a breath, and move forward. 

5. ‘I’m not as good as them’

When you compare yourself to others, it’s easy to feel like you don’t measure up. And the truth is, you don’t. Nobody does. Because everyone is different. 

What to try instead

Rather than focusing on the fact that you’re not as beautiful or funny or innovative as someone else, focus on what attributes you do bring to the table. 

Maybe your jokes sometimes fall flat, but you’re warm and people feel comfortable around you. You may not speak five languages, but your Excel spreadsheet skills are unparalleled. 

When I teach executives, we do an exercise called the Reflected Best Self, in which you ask your friends and colleagues what they most appreciate about you. Chances are, they’ll say similar things.  

This exercise boosts your resilience and belief in yourself and your capabilities, research shows. This feedback can help open your eyes to how much you contribute to those around you and how much they appreciate you and your strengths. 

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⏲️ Time Management

Jeff Bezos isn’t a fan of ‘time blocking’—here’s what he does instead to boost his productivity

This article needs a productivity warning label lest it be used for an excuse to ditch time blocking completely (but Jeff Bezos said…!). First, Bezos has worked himself into a position such that his time is largely spent on two things: generating ideas and making decisions. Many of us as business owners need to spend our time doing many other things in ADDITION to those things — and for that, time blocking IS useful.

With that said, this is great advice for getting your brain to do those two things much better (generate ideas and make decisions). Moreover, the article even states itself that he “carves out time” for mind wandering (what does carving out time sound like? Maybe…time blocking?). Alright, let’s get to our excerpt!

Note: We did a study breakdown here on the importance, value and strategies on mind wandering backed by science.

Bezos’ approach to mind wandering

Bezos lets his mind wander to consider the pros and cons of his own ideas. Once they’ve survived his own “first level of scrutiny,” he presents them to others for a productive group brainstorm to help the idea take shape.

For Bezos, that initial “intuition” is a jumping-off point that can lead to more exploration with other people. The results can be both “fun” and productive, as you work together to take a potential creative solution and figure out how to make it work in reality, he said.

“I will often say, ‘Look, it is going to be really easy for you to find objections to this idea, but work with me...’” Bezos told Fridman. “Because it’s really easy to kill new ideas in the beginning. So, you need to forewarn people and say, ‘I know it’s going to take a lot of work to get this to a fully formed idea. Let’s get started on that. It’ll be fun.’”

💻 Tools & Technology

TikTok ban: What happens next after US Senate passed the bill?

Are you using TikTok for your business (especially in the US)? This situation is a great lesson in the importance of not relying on 1 (or even entirely on any) platform for your business. Even if you’re on all the platforms, this is a reminder to all of us that that audience is not OUR audience…it’s owned by TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. So it’s important to always be building our own platforms (i.e., email list). Alright, time to “/EndRant” and get to the info. Excerpt below but if TikTok is part of your business, do yourself a favor and be sure to read this in full.

Here is what will likely happen next for TikTok.

TIKTOK CLOCK STARTS

Once Biden signs the bill, a 270-day clock starts during which ByteDance must sell TikTok. If it looks like ByteDance is close to divestment near the end of the nine-month period, the president can authorize an additional 90 days for any deal to be finalized. If the bill is signed into law this week, as expected, the 270-day period will end around the inauguration of the next president of the United States, on Jan. 20, 2025, leaving the decision on an extra three months either to Biden, a Democrat, who is seeking reelection, or Republican front runner Donald Trump.

👀 Read, Watch, Listen

This week’s awesome books, YouTube videos, newsletters, etc. to add to your list!

The Confident Mind (Book)

Dr. Nate Zinsser, head of West Point's Performance Psychology Program, believes confidence is the key to peak performance in any field. Drawing from his experience training cadets and coaching world-class athletes, Dr. Zinsser argues that confidence is a skill that can be taught and applied to enhance nearly every aspect of life. In his book, The Confident Mind, he offers a step-by-step program based on his research to help readers understand, build, protect, and rely upon confidence when performance matters most, providing a complete guide to mastering this essential trait.

🎉 Celebration Corner

Every week Doers Inner Circle members do a weekly review & get help when they need it — check out the progress they made this week!

• My relationship with SM [went right this week].

• Almost done with the Bash.

• Joined Mastermind and discussed Bash goal.

• Posted 1x on LI, a bit of writing/brainstorming for LI.

• Went to the Gym 1x so far.

• Took some time on Sunday for the Bash and to reflect.

• Finished marking up the videos for the course.

• Did a lot of banking stuff.

• Did nearly all the stuff that I wanted to this week.

• Stuck to my morning routine every day.

• I managed my MVP for each day. The trick is really to break it down to small manageable pieces.

What did you do this week? We feature non-member successes too. Just post them here!

🔒Inner Circle: Events & Announcements

• Monday: {EU Time} Work ON Business. Theme: 4️⃣ Client Fulfillment RSVP here

• Tuesday: Work ON Business. Theme: 4️⃣ Client Fulfillment RSVP here

• Monday/Friday: Goal Setting + Plan Your Week Party

• Accelerators: May 3 is your Office Hours RSVP here

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I hope you found this valuable!

Wishing you much productivity!

- Jenae :)