Week #10- Understand, Plan, Execute

This week I learned another valuable lesson by watching a show called "The Next Great Baker." It is a baking show that Monika and I are streaming it on Hulu. We have watched about eight episodes, and in each episode it seems like the team who goes home failed to understand the assignment that was given to them. Their goal is to bake fancy cakes, and each episode has a new theme. In order to find success, contestants must follow three simple steps: Understand, Plan, and Execute

Step #1- Understand
On the episode we just watched, all of the teams were to build a cake for People Magazine. The one big rule of the week was to have some sort of moving part on the cake, which requires the use of a motor. The purple team decided to pass on the moving part, because they were uncomfortable and inexperienced with moving parts on a cake. As a result, they were eliminated. Their failure to understand the assignment that was given them got them kicked off of the show.

Step #2-Plan
After understanding the task at hand, you must come up with a good plan. One of the biggest mistakes we have seen on the show so far is teams who come up with a cake design that is too complicated. Bakers who design a cake that needs 12-16 hours to be completed will struggle when they are only given 8 hours to complete the challenge.

Step #3-Execute
After you understand the rules and come up with a plan, execution is the final step. Understanding what is required and coming up with a good plan is important, but if you can't execute your plan it was all for nothing. Execution in pressure situations is what sets apart those who are good from those who are great.

Whether you are a baker, an athlete, or a student in M Com 320, I encourage you to apply this simple three step process. Ever since my first writing 150 paper (which was a disaster) I have understood the importance of understanding the task at hand and making a plan before trying to execute. I will continue to implement these important steps in my life.

When in your life have you successfully completed this process? How did it go? Have you ever skipped one of these steps and faced the negative consequences?

Week #9

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

This week Monika and I took a very spontaneous adventure. I took my math test on Wednesday night and after the test I was feeling pretty good. Monika was looking at old pictures when she saw a picture of us at Disneyland last year, so I decided we should probably go ahead and go to Disneyland this weekend. She asked if I was serious (probably 8-9 times) and I told her I was. Naturally, we packed that night and left at 5:30 AM the next morning. We made it to her see her family by 2:30 on Thursday afternoon and our trip was off to a good start. Friday we went to Disneyland, and it was a blast.

We arrived at the park at 10 AM, and we were able to do all of the fun rides at California Adventure in a matter of 3 hours. We stopped for lunch around 2:30 PM, and by the time lunch was over we noticed that the crowds had really started to build. Once people got done with school and work for the day they headed straight to the park, and by 5:00 PM the park was packed.

Monika and I were both grateful for the experience that we had early that day when lines were minimal. With that experience, we learned that the early bird gets the worm. Being productive in the first few hours of the day sets the tone for a productive rest of the day.  We did more rides in the first three hours of the day than we were able to do in the last seven hours of the day. After waking up early twice this week, I hope to continue to wake up early and get a good jump on the day. I believe that doing so will help me have more time to do the things that I enjoy and live a healthier lifestyle.

Week #8 Clean Apartment = Major Key

Many of you may be familiar with the 2016 trend started by DJ Khaled on his snapchat where he gives life tips which he refers to as "major keys"- today I share with you all one major key of my own. Today's lesson is that a clean apartment is a major key. 

When I was young I learned an important lesson that has stuck with me throughout the years. I learned that often times our surrounding environment is a reflection of the current status of our life. For example, a messy room may indicate that other things in your life are out of order. I am generally a very organized person, but at times when I get really busy with school I find that I don't have time to keep up on laundry, do the dishes, take out the trash, etc. 

Whether or not there is truly a correlation between the cleanliness of your room and how well you are doing in life is debatable, but after cleaning the apartment today together with my sweet wife Monika I can feel a difference. I had a great day of studying and the apartment is now clean. I cooked dinner, washed the dishes, and finished some more homework after that. It is such a simple thing, but taking the time to clean the environment around you will help you feel productive and put you in a position to succeed for the rest of the day.

I hope to continue to find a balance in my life as I juggle homework, home life, family life, and church life. I hope to keep my apartment clean and my life in order. If you are feeling down, just remember that warm weather is coming, that winter is almost over, and that having a clean apartment is a major key! 

Week #7- Be Patient, Good Things Will Come

This week I had a powerful experience that re-enforced a lesson that I have learned over the last year or so. My message this week is to be patient, and wait for good things to come. In other words, sometimes our problems have a way of working themselves out if we are patient.

After a great weekend with my family and my wife's family, we got home last night and prepared for the week ahead. We had a couple of assignments due in M Com 320 including a WSB reading response as well as our audience analysis and outline. Since we didn't have school Monday for President's Day, we were scheduled to have class on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Last night and early this morning I did what I had to do in order to get prepared for class today, Tuesday February 21.

I wasn't sure that'd I would have adequate time to finish my paper and do a good job on it by Wednesday, but sure enough the paper due date was switched to next Monday, giving us five extra days to finish it.

With the experience I had today, I can see that stressing out about my Wednesday deadline would've been useless. By taking things one at a time and not going into a panic when we feel overwhelmed, we often find that our problems resolve themselves. I believe that everyone has these experiences. Once our problems are resolved, we look back and tend to wonder what we had been so worried about to begin with.

I know that as we are patient, good things will come. Over-stressing about something in the future rarely does any good. When you feel overwhelmed or stressed, just finish one task at a time and you will always make it through.


Reader Feedback: When have you over-stressed about an issue that was later harmlessly resolved?

Week #6- Customer Perception

This week I had a test in my Organizational Effectiveness class. The test was on the strategy section of our textbook. During my studies, I read a part in the book that talked about the idea that the determining factor of whether or not a product has value is decided by the customer. In other words, you may think that your product is great, but if the customer doesn't agree the sale won't be made.

I believe that there is a lesson to be learned here when it comes to relationships and life in general. For example, as a husband, I may think that I am doing everything I need to do in order to help my wife around the house. However, if she disagrees, can I really assume that I am doing enough?

Assuming that it is important to me that my wife feels like I am doing my part around the house, or that the product I am make really does provide value, I must receive approval from the customer.

I'm assuming by now you get the point, but I will illustrate this idea with one more example. A father gets home from work at 6:30 PM each night during the week. He comes home and gives his wife a kiss, and hugs his little kids. After that, he eats dinner, watches a bit of TV and then ties up a few more loose ends before he goes to bed. On the weekends, the father always makes time to play with his kids. In the eyes of the father, the time he makes for his kids on the weekend is enough.

Switching to the youngest sons point of view, he'd be happier if his Dad would play basketball just 15 minutes per night with him instead of spending hours together on the weekend. To the youngest son, his Dad isn't giving him enough attention during the week.

I hope I have done an adequate job expressing the lesson I learned this week, and to finish this post I present my key takeaways from this lesson:

1. Don't assume you're doing something right just because YOU think you are.
2. Love is spelled T-I-M-E

Make an effort to improve each day and spend time with those people you love. Go above and beyond and you will feel the happiness that comes from giving it your best effort. I have the goal to spend more time with my sweet wife outside of school and work, and to make better use of the time we get to spend with our families

Week #5- Hard Work

A good friend of mine once said "if hard work pays off the easy work is worthless." This idea about hard work is one that has stuck with me over many years, and is a quote that motivates me to work hard today.

Just this week I had an important math exam to take, and I was feeling a bit nervous. The test was our first of the semester, and I really wanted to do well. I started studying for the test late Monday night. I was able to review three small sections in chapter one before bed. The next day I went to my math class that ended at 10:45 AM, then went straight to the library. For the next seven hours after that I focused on taking practice exams, reviewing the new material, and doing practice problems in the book.

I was tempted to just give in and go take the test at several points during my studies. I spent all of last week preparing for tests and doing homework, and I was feeling a bit tired of studying. That being said, I knew that studying hard would bring me the result I was hoping for. I continued to study hard until it was time for me to go take the test.

After waiting in line for 45-55 minutes, (don't get me started on how I feel about testing center lines at BYU) I finally got my test. As I took my test I was grateful for each practice problem I studied, and felt the importance of preparing for the exam. I left the testing center feeling like I had done my best. To my surprise, I got 100% on my exam.

I know that the lesson I learned this week is one that is true in life; hard work pays off. We must be willing to put in the long hours necessary for success. With this experience I feel a renewed sense of dedication to my studies, and although I won't get test scores like that every time, I always want to do my best.

I encourage all of you who read this to give your best effort at everything you do. If you give your best effort, you can take comfort in knowing that you did your best and that there is nothing more that you could've done to prepare.

Week #4- Feedback is essential 

I am grateful for the assignment I was given to read the book Where's the Gift. The book discusses the importance of receiving feedback from others and doing your best to apply the feedback. Because I am human and have several weaknesses, I feel that I need to be more open to the criticism/feedback that people give me. 

Openly receiving criticism isn't an easy thing to do, and I believe that most people could improve in this category, but this week I focus on my own need and desire to improve. I believe that opening myself up to feedback and actually seeking it will allow to progress as a person. It will help me to stop making the same mistakes over and over again. Receiving feedback from others will also allow me to learn important lessons from others, without having to make the same mistakes that led other people to learn what they have. 

The next time I have an opportunity to receive feedback on an assignment, or at work, I will look to implement the things that I have learned in my reading. Each Sunday I will review the week that was, and see what I can do better in the week to come. I will strive to be more open to feedback from the people around me. In future posts, I will update you (the audience) on my progress.

What is the most helpful criticism/feedback that you have ever received? How did you feel when it was first given?