Habit Scorecards, Hanlen Skills, and Lessons from Julia

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." - Will Durant

To be better, we must do better. That requires better habits. 

James Clear, in Atomic Habits, advises a habit scorecard. Examine habits and score them. Take inventory of what we do and categorize each habit as positive, negative, or neutral. 

Brush teeth. Positive by promoting better dental health. 

Drink coffee. Neutral. Exhausting time justifying illusory health benefits is monkeyhammering. 

Read the sports page. Neutral. Yes, sports have been a part of life for as long as I remember. Don't confuse get to with have to. 

Writing. Positive. If defining vision is learning and sharing, writing is a part. Writing better with better content, grammar, and style would be more positive. 

Playing online games. Negative. Are we investing our time or spending it? 

Studying MasterClass. Positive. Learning about various aspects of the world, cooking, history, leadership, and so forth is part of a growth mindset. 

Cooking. "A man's gotta eat." If we're going to fuel the machine, why not use higher octane? Secret sauce? 2 parts ketchup and mayo, 1 part Dijon mustard, and 1/2 part Old Bay seasoning. 

For players, define productive habits and track their application with specifics. Remember that "free shooting" isn't as productive as 'deliberate practice'. 

As a young player, choose among elements that advance your skill and value. 

Lagniappe. Player development moment. Focus on the first four minutes of the video where Coach Hanlen breaks down separating actions off the dribble - hesitation, float, shifting. 

Lagniappe 2. During the spectacular series Julia profiling Julia Child, her skeptical producer's wife says, "she taught me how to cook...and you." The beauty of coaching is teaching others the game, helping them to believe in themselves.

A quote from Julia's husband Paul during the series above, "If every critic could silence every artist, how dull would the world be then?"