Nexus guest blog: Dr Jon Finn – Boost your resilience in two minutes a day

In our guest blog, members of the Nexus community give an insight into what they’re working on.

In this piece, Dr Jon Finn from Tougher Minds, give us an insight into how you can boost your resilience in just two minutes. The following is an excerpt from his new book, ‘The Habit Mechanic – Fine-Tune Your Brain and Supercharge How You Live, Work, and Lead’.

Boost your resilience in two minutes a day

I think hybrid work is the biggest opportunity in the 21st century to boost your wellbeing and work-life balance. But through no fault of their own, many people are FAILING to take advantage of this unique moment in history. So, I have created a range of simple and practical tools people can use to help them do a little bit better every day. Here is one.

Create Your First “Daily TEA Plan”

This ‘Habit Mechanic Tool’ is called the “Daily TEA (Tiny Empowering Action) Plan.” It is based on cutting-edge science but is simple to use. It only takes two minutes to complete and will help you do a little bit better every day.

Step One—Rate Yourself

First, ask yourself this question:

How well did you do your best to be your best and achieve your goals yesterday (or so far today, if yesterday feels like too long ago to remember)?

You could say you did great, or you failed. But I’d like you to be a bit more accurate because this will be more helpful for you. So please rate yourself from 1 (you failed) to 10 (perfect). You are probably somewhere in between.

Figure 1: Don’t worry if you are not 100% sure about your score; just go with your best guess or gut feeling.

This is what I call an intelligent “Self-Watching” exercise.

When I think about how well I did my best to be my best, I consider things like how well I managed my sleep, diet, exercise, stress, and productivity, and how helpful I was to others. You might judge yourself against a different set of criteria.

Step Two—Create a Tiny Empowering Action

After you have given yourself a score, I want you to write down a Tiny Empowering Action (TEA) that will make your life easier over the next 24 hours. Here are some examples I use as my TEAs:

• Only check the news once today.
• Go for a five-minute walk at lunchtime.
• Eat a piece of fruit for breakfast.
• Write down a positive reflection at the end of the day.

Please write down your Tiny Empowering Action (just one thing):

Step Three—Explain Why

Finally, I want you to consider why doing this will help you be your best.

Here are some examples I use:

• Only check the news once today because it will be less distracting, I will get more done, and I will feel better about myself.
• Go for a five-minute walk at lunchtime because it will make it easier to have a productive afternoon.
• Eat a piece of fruit for breakfast because it is a healthy way to start the day and will trigger other healthy behaviours.
• Write down a positive reflection at the end of the day because it will help me finish the day well, switch off, and sleep better.

Finally, please write down why doing this (your TEA) will help you be your best.

Here is a complete example for the three steps:

1. Best doing score—7/10.
2. TEA—Only check the news once today.
3. Why?—It will be easier to focus and be productive.

CONGRATULATIONS! You just completed your first Daily TEA Plan!

This is a quick and practical way to take more control over your day and boost your resilience, wellbeing, and performance.

It is not a quick tip or trick—they don’t work!

It might look simple, but it is based on complex and cutting-edge insights from neuroscience, behavioural science, and psychology. It has been deliberately designed to give you the maximum positive impact on your day for the minimum amount of time taken to complete it. This is just one of over 30 simple, practical, and science-based Habit Mechanic Tools you will learn how to use in ‘The Habit Mechanic’ book.

Don’t worry if you didn’t find it very easy to do, because you will improve with practice.

Completing a Daily TEA Plan on a regular basis will literally change your brain via a process called neuroplasticity. These changes will strengthen your ability to think constructively about yourself and to successfully plan to be your best.

If you want to learn more about being your best, and helping others to be their best in the new hybrid workplace, please sign up to our free workshops below:

For leaders and those that want to help others thrive:

Boost Employee Wellbeing and Productivity in The Hybrid Workplace in Three Simple Science-Based Steps – May 4^th 4.30pm – 5.30pm – sign up here.

For individuals who want to be their best:

Build the One Habit That Will Supercharge How You Live, Work and Lead – May 31^st 4.30pm – 5.30pm – sign up here.