Win Your Week the Agile Way

“Success is not in the doing, but in the being. Win your week by embodying the Agile mindset and watch your productivity soar.” — JD Meier

Are you ready to transform your productivity and unlock your full potential?

Introducing “Win Your Week the Agile Way” – a game-changing approach to reclaiming control over your time, energy, and focus.

I created Agile Results to change the game of productivity, and have battle tested it over 20+ years of experience at Microsoft, including roles as a project leader, director of innovation, and high-performance coach

This innovative approach to productivity is designed to help you operate at a higher level and achieve remarkable results.

Get ready to embrace the power of Agile methodology and revolutionize the way you approach your week.

It’s time to take charge, energize your productivity, and win your week like never before.

The Agile Way.

Each New Week is a Fresh Start

In Agile Results, each new week is viewed as a fresh start, which holds significance for sustainable personal energy, well-being, better results, and motivation for meaningful journeys and achievements.

Here’s how this perspective contributes to these aspects:

Renewed Energy and Well-being: Approaching each week as a fresh start allows you to let go of any previous setbacks, challenges, or disappointments. It offers an opportunity to recharge, renew energy levels, and restore a positive mindset. By starting the week with a clean slate, you can cultivate a sense of well-being and approach your tasks and activities with renewed enthusiasm and focus.
Enhanced Motivation: The notion of a fresh start brings a sense of possibility and excitement. It ignites motivation by allowing you to leave behind any past mistakes or missed opportunities. It provides a mental reset and a chance to set new goals, create plans, and take proactive steps towards meaningful outcomes. This fresh start mindset can inspire you to approach your work and personal endeavors with increased motivation and drive.
Better Results: By treating each week as a fresh start, you can learn from past experiences, identify areas for improvement, and adjust your approach accordingly. It encourages reflection and learning, enabling you to refine your strategies and enhance your performance. This iterative process fosters continuous improvement, leading to better results over time.
Meaningful Journeys and Achievements: Embracing the fresh start mentality in Agile Results supports the pursuit of meaningful journeys and achievements. It encourages you to set meaningful goals, align your actions with your values and aspirations, and embark on purposeful endeavors. The idea of a fresh start provides the opportunity to redefine priorities, reassess personal values, and ensure that the chosen path aligns with your aspirations for a more fulfilling journey.

By recognizing each new week as a fresh start, Agile Results gives you a psychological boost and a sense of optimism. It promotes sustainable personal energy and well-being by allowing you to release negativity, embrace growth, and approach your endeavors with a renewed sense of purpose and excitement.

This perspective contributes to achieving better results, maintaining motivation, and embarking on meaningful journeys with a fresh and fun factor

The Simplest Way to Win Your Week the Agile Way

Before I dive into the details, I want to give you a very simple way to remember and practice Agile Results for the week.

The simplest way to remember and practice Agile Results for the week is to simply ask yourself:

“What will be your 3 Wins for This Week?”

Yes, that really is it. If you simply do this, you prioritize what’s on your plate and focus on what matters.

This will help you direct your attention, channel your energy, and spend your time to accrue to meaningful outcomes and results.

This simple action will put you far ahead of people who get lost, scrambled and overwhelmed by their overwhelming list of things to do, pop ups and reminders that whip their attention around, and a calendar that’s too stuffed to live your life.

You will create clarity from the chaos, and this clarity will create confidence, and this confidence will help you win your week…the Agile Way.

Start Your Week with 3 Wins for This Week

This is a key success pattern to transform your productivity, so let’s step into this in more detail. This one simple pattern influenced and changed how a lot of people do their productivity.

You will notice many, many variations of The Rule of 3 and of 3 Wins in the productivity space. It started with Agile Results.

While I first taught people to focus on the Rule of 3 and 3 outcomes for the week, I found that it was much easier when I added a fun factor and ask them to simply identify their 3 Wins for This Week.

To start your week with 3 Wins for This Week, follow these steps:

1. Preparation:

- List out your non-negotiables: Identify the essential tasks or commitments that must be accomplished during the week.
- Take note of any time-sensitive items: Identify any deadlines, appointments, or time-bound activities that require your attention.
- Reflect on your long-term goals: Consider your broader objectives and aspirations to ensure your weekly priorities align with your bigger picture.

2. Best Questions to Ask Yourself:

- What are the three most important outcomes or goals I want to achieve this week?
- Which tasks or activities will have the most significant impact on my long-term goals?
- What are the top three things I need to accomplish to feel successful and fulfilled by the end of the week?
- Which tasks can I delegate or eliminate to free up time for higher-value activities?
- What adjustments or adaptations can I make based on any external factors or changes in circumstances?

3. Application of 3 Wins for This Week:

- Select the three most important tasks or objectives that will have the greatest impact on your week and long-term goals.
- Prioritize these three items and commit to giving them your full attention and effort.
- Ensure these tasks align with your values, aspirations, and areas where you want to excel.
- Break down these major tasks into smaller, actionable steps that can be executed throughout the week.

By starting your week with the Rule of 3, you set a clear focus on your most important objectives. It allows you to prioritize effectively, reduce overwhelm, and maintain a sense of direction and accomplishment.

Remember to review and adjust your priorities as needed throughout the week to stay aligned with your goals and respond to any emerging needs or opportunities.

Win Your Week with Monday Vision, Daily Wins, Friday Reflection

3 Wins for This Week gets you in the game, but let’s take your game to the next level. Let’s really step into the overarching approach to transform your productivity and win your week.

You can win your week the Agile Way by simply adopting the Monday Vision, Daily Wins, Friday Reflection habit.

The Monday Vision, Daily Wins, Friday Reflection habit is really the backbone behind the Agile Results productivity system.

A walkthrough is worth a 1,000 words:

1. Monday Vision:

Start your week by setting aside dedicated time on Monday morning to envision what you want to achieve for the week.
Clarify your goals, priorities, and outcomes that you want to accomplish by the end of the week.
Visualize your desired outcomes and align them with your long-term objectives and values.
Use this vision as your “North Star”, or a guiding compass to stay focused and motivated throughout the week.

2. Daily Wins:

Each day, identify the key outcomes or wins that you want to accomplish.
Prioritize your tasks and select the few most important actions that will contribute to your weekly goals.
Break down larger goals into smaller, actionable steps that you can tackle within the day.
Focus on completing these tasks and celebrate each win as you accomplish them.
Stay adaptable and open to adjusting your daily wins based on changing priorities or unexpected events.

3. Friday Reflection:

Wrap up your week by reflecting on your progress and learnings.
Take time on Friday to review your accomplishments, challenges, and areas for improvement.
Celebrate your successes and acknowledge the efforts you put into achieving your goals.
Assess your performance and identify lessons learned or insights gained.
Use these reflections to refine your approach, enhance your productivity, and set yourself up for success in the following week.

By following these steps, you establish a clear vision for the week, maintain focus on daily wins, and close the week with reflection and learning.

This iterative approach allows you to adapt to changing circumstances, maintain momentum, and continuously improve your productivity and results.

Why Did I Focus on Winning the Week with Agile Results?

Your days can get away from you, but the week is a great way to course correct and achieve your goals.

I chose to focus on a week because I learned that the easiest time frame for people to keep in mind beyond a day, is a week.

Not two weeks.

Not a month.

Just a handful of days, with a priority on Monday through Friday.

I really wanted to transform productivity not just for myself, but the teams I led. I realized if you could have a better day, you could have a better week. And if you could have a better week, you could have a better month.

You get the idea.

Overall Approach to Win Your Week the Agile Way

To win your week the agile way according to Agile Results, follow these key principles and practices:

Set Meaningful Outcomes: Start by clarifying your desired outcomes for the week. Focus on what truly matters and align your goals with your values and priorities.
Use Monday Vision, Daily Outcomes, Friday Reflection: Begin your week with a Monday Vision to set the tone and direction. Each day, identify the key outcomes you want to achieve and take small, actionable steps towards them. Finally, on Friday, reflect on your progress, celebrate wins, and identify areas for improvement.
Embrace Sprints and Iterations: Break down your goals into manageable sprints or iterations. This allows you to make progress incrementally and adapt your approach as needed. Maintain a sense of flexibility and adjust your plans based on feedback and changing circumstances.
Prioritize and Focus: Apply the 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) to identify the few activities that will deliver the most impact. Focus your time and energy on these high-value tasks, and delegate or eliminate low-value activities that do not contribute significantly to your desired outcomes.
Practice Timeboxing and Time Blocking: Allocate specific time blocks for your tasks and activities. Set clear start and end times to maintain discipline and avoid overcommitting. This helps you stay focused and prevents tasks from expanding beyond their allocated time. Time blocking is a productivity technique where you dedicate specific time intervals to specific tasks or activities to enhance your focus and efficiency.
Maintain Work-Life Rhythm: Balance your work and personal life by establishing a healthy rhythm. Prioritize self-care, relaxation, and spending quality time with loved ones. Integrate activities that bring you joy and recharge your energy to maintain overall well-being.
Learn and Improve: Continuously learn from your experiences and make adjustments to optimize your productivity. Regularly review your performance, identify areas for growth, and seek opportunities to enhance your skills and knowledge.

By applying these agile principles and practices, you can increase your productivity, adapt to changing circumstances, and make steady progress towards your goals.

Remember to stay flexible, embrace iteration, and focus on what truly matters to win your week in an agile and effective manner.

The Story Behind Monday Vision, Daily Wins, Friday Reflection

I needed something simple, sticky and that would actually work in extreme scenarios as well as not so serious ones.

I wanted to synthesize and leverage all proven practices I knew at the time for better productivity, from beginning with the end in mind, to driving with vision, and playing to strengths.

Agile Results achieves the following aspects:

Vision-Driven: Agile Results helps you clarify your vision and desired outcomes. By beginning with the end in mind, you set clear goals and aspirations that guide your actions and priorities throughout the productivity journey. The methodology encourages you to align your daily activities with your long-term vision, fostering a sense of purpose and direction.
Value-Driven: Agile Results emphasizes the importance of aligning actions and outcomes with your personal values and priorities. By identifying core values, you make intentional choices that resonate with what they consider important. This values-driven approach ensures that productivity efforts are in alignment with your personal beliefs and contribute to your sense of fulfillment and well-being.
Strengths-Driven: Agile Results recognizes and leverages individual strengths as a foundation for productivity and success. By identifying and utilizing personal strengths, individuals can excel in tasks and activities that come naturally to them. The methodology encourages individuals to focus on their strengths and prioritize tasks that allow them to shine, leading to increased engagement, motivation, and productivity.
Sustainable: Agile Results promotes sustainability by employing a flexible and adaptable system. It encourages individuals to learn and adapt, allowing for continuous improvement and adjustment based on evolving needs and circumstances. By setting boundaries and limits, individuals maintain a healthy balance and prevent burnout. The methodology emphasizes personal awareness, helping individuals recognize their limits and make intentional choices to preserve their well-being.
Wellness by Design: Agile Results incorporates elements of wellness by design. It encourages individuals and teams to prioritize self-care, relaxation, and overall well-being. By integrating activities that promote physical, mental, and emotional health, you enhance your overall wellness and resilience. The methodology supports a holistic approach to productivity that considers both personal and professional well-being.

By incorporating proven practices for productivity, aligning with personal values, leveraging strengths, maintaining sustainability, and prioritizing wellness, Agile Results offers a comprehensive framework that fosters productivity, fulfillment, and overall well-being.

These ideas are important and the better you learn them, the better you will be in work and life. They also hold the key to transforming your productivity from getting things done to flowing value, creating extraordinary experiences, and innovating in all aspects of your life.

Vision-Driven

Agile Results is vision-driven in the sense that it emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision of what you want to achieve. The Monday Vision step in Agile Results is designed to help you set a compelling and inspiring vision for your week. By envisioning your desired outcomes and aligning them with your longer-term goals, values, and priorities, you gain clarity and purpose in your actions.

The vision-driven approach of Agile Results helps you stay focused on what truly matters and provides a sense of direction and motivation. It acts as a guiding compass throughout the week, helping you make decisions and prioritize your activities based on your overarching vision. By connecting your daily actions to the bigger picture, you can ensure that your efforts are aligned with your goals and values, leading to a greater sense of fulfillment and achievement.

Moreover, Agile Results encourages you to review and reflect on your progress at the end of the week through the Friday Reflection step. This reflection process helps you assess whether your actions and outcomes align with your vision, allowing for course correction and adjustment if needed. It provides an opportunity to learn from the week’s experiences and continuously refine the vision and approach for future weeks.

By incorporating a vision-driven approach, Agile Results ensures that you have a clear sense of purpose, direction, and alignment as you navigate your productivity journey. It enables you to make intentional choices, maintain focus on meaningful outcomes, and achieve a sense of fulfillment by progressing towards your vision of success.

Value-Driven

Agile Results is value-driven as it emphasizes the importance of aligning actions and outcomes with your personal values and priorities.

The methodology encourages you to identify and define your core values and use them as a guiding principle for decision-making and goal-setting.

Here’s how Agile Results incorporates a value-driven approach:

Identifying Values: Agile Results prompts you to reflect on your core values and understand what truly matters to you. By clarifying personal values, you gain a deeper understanding of your motivations and aspirations.
Goal Alignment: The methodology encourages your to align their goals and outcomes with your values. This ensures that the actions and results are in harmony with what you consider important and meaningful in your lives.
Prioritization: Agile Results emphasizes prioritization based on value. It encourages you to focus their time, energy, and attention on activities that align with your values and have the greatest impact. This helps you avoid getting caught up in low-value tasks that do not contribute to your overall sense of fulfillment.
Flexibility: Agile Results recognizes that values and priorities can evolve over time. It encourages you to regularly review and reassess your values and adjust your goals and actions accordingly. This flexibility ensures that individuals stay true to your evolving values and make conscious choices that reflect your current priorities.

By integrating a value-driven approach, Agile Results empowers you to make decisions and take actions that align with your personal values and contribute to a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

It helps you live in accordance with what you consider important, leading to a more meaningful and satisfying life.

Link Activities, Tasks, and Outcomes to Your Values

This is the key to creating meaningful weeks by reframing your moments. Once you know your short-list of your primary values, you can change your WHY for any activity you do.

Sounds great, but how do you actually link what you do to your values?

Here are some simple examples of linking activities, tasks, or outcomes to the values of adventure, excellence, and empowerment:

1. Adventure:

Instead of simply going for a walk, explore a new hiking trail or embark on a spontaneous outdoor adventure to satisfy your sense of adventure.
Rather than sticking to your usual exercise routine, try a new physical activity or sport that challenges you and provides a sense of thrill and adventure.
Plan a weekend getaway to a destination you’ve never been before, immersing yourself in new experiences and embracing the spirit of adventure.

2. Excellence:

When completing a work project, strive to exceed expectations and deliver exceptional quality that showcases your commitment to excellence.
Instead of just cooking a regular meal, challenge yourself to try a new recipe or cooking technique to hone your culinary skills and achieve culinary excellence.
Take on additional responsibilities or projects at work that allow you to showcase your expertise and pursue excellence in your field.

3. Empowerment:

Transform routine household chores into opportunities for personal growth and empowerment. Approach each task with a mindset of self-improvement and view them as chances to cultivate a well-organized and harmonious living environment.
Mentor or support someone in your community, sharing your knowledge and empowering them to achieve their goals or overcome challenges.
Take part in personal development activities such as attending workshops or reading books that empower you with new skills, knowledge, and perspectives to enhance your personal growth and self-confidence.

By consciously linking activities, tasks, or outcomes to your values, you infuse meaning and purpose into your daily life. This practice helps create a deeper sense of fulfillment as you align your actions with what truly matters to you.

Value is in the Eye of the Beholder, and Stakeholder

In Agile Results, the concept of value is deeply connected to understanding the perspectives and needs of various stakeholders, including yourself, your team, your stakeholders, and your customers.

Here’s how Agile Results approaches clarifying who value is for and achieving better results:

You (Individual Value): Agile Results recognizes that personal satisfaction and fulfillment are crucial components of value. It encourages individuals to clarify their personal values, aspirations, and goals, ensuring that their actions align with what they consider important. By understanding and pursuing value from an individual standpoint, you can enhance your own sense of purpose and well-being.
Your Team (Team Value): Agile Results promotes a collaborative approach by considering the value perspective of your team. It encourages effective communication, shared goals, and alignment of efforts to maximize team value. By understanding and addressing the needs and perspectives of your team members, you can foster a culture of collaboration, engagement, and high-performance.
Your Stakeholders (Stakeholder Value): Agile Results emphasizes the importance of considering the value perspective of your stakeholders. This includes those who have a vested interest in your work, such as managers, executives, clients, or partners. By understanding their expectations, goals, and requirements, you can deliver value that meets their specific needs and builds strong relationships.
Your Customers (Customer Value): Agile Results recognizes the significance of delivering value to your customers or end-users. By deeply understanding their needs, desires, and pain points, you can create products, services, or solutions that solve their problems, provide utility, and meet their expectations. By focusing on customer value, you can drive satisfaction, loyalty, and business success.

To achieve better results, Agile Results suggests continuously seeking feedback and engaging in frequent communication with the relevant stakeholders. This enables you to gather insights, refine your approach, and make adjustments based on the evolving understanding of value from their perspectives.

By aligning your efforts with the desired outcomes and value expectations of each stakeholder group, you increase the likelihood of achieving meaningful and impactful results.

Strengths-Driven

Agile Results incorporates a strengths-driven approach by emphasizing the identification and utilization of your strengths to simplify, maximize, and energize your productivity and overall well-being.

Here’s how Agile Results integrates a strengths-focused perspective:

Recognizing Individual Strengths: Agile Results acknowledges that everyone possesses unique strengths, talents, and capabilities. It encourages you to identify and leverage these strengths as a foundation for your productivity and success.
Aligning Tasks with Strengths: The methodology suggests aligning tasks and activities with your strengths whenever possible. By focusing on tasks that utilize personal strengths, you can experience higher levels of engagement, satisfaction, and effectiveness.
Maximizing Productivity through Strengths: Agile Results promotes leveraging strengths to enhance productivity. It encourages you to identify tasks where your strengths shine and prioritize those tasks to optimize your performance and output.
Developing Strengths: Agile Results acknowledges the potential for growth and development of strengths. It encourages you to cultivate and refine their existing strengths while also exploring new areas of growth that align with your values and aspirations.
Celebrating Strength-Based Achievements: Agile Results promotes a positive and empowering mindset by celebrating achievements and progress made by utilizing personal strengths. This recognition reinforces a sense of accomplishment and motivates you to continue leveraging your strengths for future success.

By adopting a strengths-driven approach, Agile Results empowers you to tap into your unique abilities and talents to drive your productivity and achieve meaningful outcomes. It emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, continuous development, and aligning tasks with your personal strengths to enhance overall effectiveness and fulfillment.

Sustainable

Agile Results is sustainable in multiple ways, offering a long-term approach to productivity and well-being.

Here’s how it achieves sustainability:

Proven Practices: Agile Results incorporates proven practices and insights from various sources, including Navy SEALs, Olympic athletes, and more. By leveraging these time-tested strategies, individuals can sustain their productivity and performance over the long term. These practices provide a solid foundation for achieving sustainable results.
Simple System: Agile Results stands out as a sustainable approach because it is designed as a simple system rather than a complex collection of practices. Its simplicity makes it easy to adopt, understand, and implement, reducing the risk of overwhelm and increasing the likelihood of sustained usage and effectiveness.
Embracing Agility: Agile Results is built upon the principle of embracing agility by design. It recognizes that individuals and the world around them are subject to constant change. By grounding in a set of principles and practices rather than rigid rules, Agile Results allows for adaptability and flexibility. It enables individuals to adjust their approach, priorities, and goals as they evolve, ensuring sustainability even in the face of shifting circumstances.
Battle-Tested: Agile Results has a strong track record of over 20 years at Microsoft and has been adopted by individuals and organizations across various industries. Its success and widespread use demonstrate its sustainability and effectiveness in different contexts. The methodology’s battle-tested nature offers confidence that it can withstand the test of time and continue to deliver sustainable results.

By combining proven practices, a simple system, agility by design, and a track record of success, Agile Results offers a sustainable approach to productivity. It enables individuals to adapt, grow, and thrive in an ever-changing world while maintaining productivity, well-being, and a sense of fulfillment over the long term.

Wellness By Design

Agile Results encompasses wellness by design, integrating insights from Positive Psychology, sports psychologists, mindfulness practices, and stress management techniques.

Here’s how Agile Results promotes well-being and provides a holistic approach:

Positive Psychology: Agile Results incorporates principles from Positive Psychology, emphasizing the cultivation of positive emotions, strengths, resilience, and well-being. By focusing on gratitude, optimism, and strengths utilization, individuals can enhance their overall wellness and satisfaction.
Sports Psychology Insights: Agile Results draws upon the knowledge and techniques used by sports psychologists to optimize performance and mental resilience. It includes strategies for goal-setting, visualization, self-motivation, and self-regulation, helping individuals manage their mindset and performance effectively.
Mindfulness and Meaning: Agile Results encourages individuals to be more mindful in their activities, promoting present-moment awareness, attention, and focus. It also guides individuals in finding meaning in their work and actions, enabling a deeper sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Stress Management: Agile Results provides tools and practices for managing stress effectively. It helps individuals identify stressors, develop healthy coping mechanisms, and create boundaries to prevent burnout. By incorporating stress management techniques, individuals can maintain well-being and prevent excessive strain.
Intentions and Vision: Agile Results encourages individuals to set intentions and clarify their vision to guide their actions and decision-making. By aligning daily activities with personal values and long-term aspirations, individuals can enhance their sense of purpose and direction.
Strengths-Based Approach: Agile Results emphasizes the importance of leveraging individual strengths and talents. By identifying and utilizing strengths, individuals can enhance engagement, motivation, and overall well-being.
Energy Management: Agile Results recognizes the significance of energy in productivity and well-being. It provides strategies for managing energy levels, promoting practices such as regular breaks, physical activity, and self-care to maintain optimal performance.
Boundaries, Limits, and Renewal: Agile Results encourages the establishment of boundaries and limits to ensure a healthy work-life balance. It emphasizes the need for renewal, including rest, relaxation, and activities that replenish energy and promote overall well-being.
Fresh Start Mentality: Agile Results encourages individuals to view each day and week as a fresh start, enabling them to learn from past experiences and approach new opportunities with renewed enthusiasm and focus.

By integrating these wellness-oriented principles and practices, Agile Results fosters a holistic approach to productivity, performance, and well-being. It supports individuals in achieving sustainable success while maintaining a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.

Transform Your Productivity and Operate at a Higher Level

Embracing Agile Results as a framework to win your week offers a powerful approach to productivity, well-being, and meaningful achievements.

By starting each week with a clear vision, aligning actions with values, leveraging strengths, and maintaining a fresh start mentality, you can unlock your full potential and sustain high levels of energy and motivation.

Agile Results empowers you to prioritize what truly matters, adapt to changes, and achieve better results while nurturing your personal well-being.

So, seize the opportunity to win your week the Agile way, and unlock a world of productivity, fulfillment, and success.

Win Your Day the Agile Way
Agile Results: Envision, Energize. Evolve.
How Agile Results Change the Game of Productivity
The Monday Vision Habit
The Daily Wins Habit
The Friday Reflection Habit
Fix Time, Flex Scope: Transform Your Time Management