Note. This workshop's cohort activity will be action-heavy. Please practice some self-care prior to the meeting. Get eight hours of sleep, eat well, and do whatever else you can to shore up your emotional energy.
One of the first workshops we ran was Quantified Self Assessment (also known as The Character Sheet in the Alpha). It uses a tool called the Character Sheet to provide a framework for self-improvement. The Character Sheet isn't necessarily the best possible tool, and it's not something everyone finds useful. However, it is better than most alternatives and it's definitely better than nothing. Most self-improvement frameworks are overly complex or lack a method for prioritizing issues in one's life.
Like the Guild, the Character Sheet is still in testing and we're iterating on it through feedback. This Level Up Session workshop is the third version of the Quantified Self Assessment course, with a renewed emphasis on active bug fixing.
Now that you have some workshops under your belt, it's time to see whether they've been helpful.
You may have seen our recent announcements for the Practitioner's Path 2.0. While the Path 2.0 is a major rework of the Path system, the elements in this workshop will still be useful post-launch.
- Your Feature list will help jumpstart your Path 2.0 Task list
- Acquired Features, in addition to improving your life, will also count towards several Pragmatist Skills
If you want to know more about the Practitioner's Path 2.0, please refer to the following articles:
- The Future of Structured Self Improvement
- Path 2.0: the Pragmatist Archetype
- Path 2.0: the Meditative Archetype
If you still have questions, please post in #the-winding-path. Instructors will not take questions about the Path 2.0.
Instructional Material
Session agenda
The first 45 minutes:
If you don't already have a Character Sheet, your assignment is to make one. During class, we will follow an abbreviated version of the steps in The Character Sheet: Version 3, performing only the 'Slice of Life' exercise, and assigning 'Impact' values. You are encouraged to work through the full experience outside of class. Your Cohort meetings are an excellent time to get assistance.
If you already have a Character Sheet, your assignment is to review and renew it.
- Spend 15 minutes reviewing your list of features.
- Are there any features that you've acquired since the last time you reviewed the list?
- Are there any features on the list that you don't care about? If so, delete them.
- Spend 15 minutes identifying new Features. Follow the steps in The Character Sheet: Version 3.
- Fill out the monthly check-in form and identify "next actions" for your top 3 priority Features. (note: the Guild Council is intended to be able to see this, so we can customize your Rank Advancement tests. If you don't feel comfortable sharing this info with us, just follow the form's prompts on your own)
The next 45 minutes:
Perform the Resolve Cycles activity on your highest impact (or highest priority) feature:
Spend 5 minutes with the intention of fixing this problem right now.
After 5 minutes, if the problem hasn't been solved, spend another 5 minutes generating a list of steps you could take to solve the problem. To maximize the chances of you actually doing the steps, each step should fit into a five-minute Resolve Cycle.
If you deem necessary, you can skip this step and just keep working.
To get yourself into the right headspace, you can ask yourself "What would I do if the fate of the world depended on this?" and follow that up with "How can I go about taking those shortcuts even if the fate of the world doesn't depend on it?"
- From the list generated in Step 2, choose the first or most promising item. Spend a Resolve Cycle to complete it. Update the 'solvability' metric of the feature if needed.
- Repeat the above, with the aim of resolving as many Bugs as possible.