The beauty of the blank canvas
So many possibilities. So much space.
What you will get from this post:
A business concept that can be applied to life.
A way to help keep you on top of your game, whatever that game is.
A reminder to always seek constant and never ending improvement.
I’m going to kick off by talking about an accounting concept I learned - and how it can be applied to life, hobbies, relationships, sport, work, and business. As you can guess, it also works for finances!
I’ve made a living not by being excellent at accounting. Far from it. Where I like to think I’ve stood out is the ability to translate what can seem to be complex things into plain English. So here goes…
The concept is called Zero Based Budgeting.
It means “don’t copy last years homework”.
This concept is intended to help those who make financial decisions to approach the new month / quarter / year with fresh eyes. Instead of looking at what you earned or spent the year before and using that as an ‘anchor’, you have a blank sheet of paper and work out what it should be.
A blank canvas, if you like.
Personally, I think it’s an amazing approach to use. It helps remove all preconceived ideas of what should happen, and provokes fresh thinking every time it is used. In the accounting world, it may be that you start questioning “why are we paying that?” or even “what is that actually for”.
Wouldn’t it be obvious to use this in our own lives?
It’s not about numbers. It’s about thinking.
Thinking without bias, thinking without limits, thinking without a crib sheet.
Yes it might be far tougher than copying last years homework. But, I can guarantee you that thinking rather than copying will lead to a more educated approach. Even if the end result is the same!
(Correct. Even if it is the same. You’ll know that it actually has been thought about).
You’re probably thinking something along the lines of “what is this bloke going on about? I don’t do budgeting for my hobby.”
Let me use an example of a hobby I’ve taken up recently - chess.
For those who know the game, you will know that it is deceptively difficult. Mastering the basic moves and concepts is easy, but as you delve deeper into it, you open a whole new world.
Firstly tactics such as ‘forks’ and ‘pins’. Then strategies and proven opening systems which can be used by both sides. Endgame positions and middle game tactics. Understanding imbalances, probabilities, visualisation and calculation. And on top of all that, the psychology of different players and playing styles.
It’s a minefield, and the depths to which one can sink are perhaps best summed up by the quote from Paul Morphy:
“The ability to play chess is the sign of a gentleman. The ability to play chess well is the sign of a wasted life.”
So. How do you get good at chess? Learning.
How do you learn today? Probably the same way you did yesterday.
If you spend your time playing, you probably continue to play.
If you spend Mondays working on openings and Tuesdays working on endgames, you’ll probably do the same next week.
Is that consistent? Absolutely.
Is that productive? Who knows 🤷♂️.
Hopefully you might now see where the art of the blank canvas can come in here.
The original ‘learning plan’ came from somewhere, even if it wasn’t thought of as a plan. In fact most plans aren’t thought of as plans. They develop as routines through the art of repetition. I’m going to presume for this example that at least some planning was involved - whether from a book, a YouTube video, or a conversation with someone. But I’m fully aware that it might actually just be a developed routine.
The plan was likely well intentioned, but uneducated.
Just like a gym routine. You see someone doing push / pull / legs; and you mirror their routine. Their exercises, their rest periods, and so on.
Or a relationship. You see someone buying a takeaway every Friday and a bunch of flowers every Valentines Day, and you mirror that routine.
There’s no thought as to whether the plan works. In fact, there was probably little thought in designing or implementing the plan.
The blank canvas helps us review, reset and restart.
Back to chess.
Rather than blindly doing what you’ve done yesterday, here’s one way that you could use this concept.
Allocate some time to learn more about learning. What do other people do to learn? How much time do they devote? Do they use any external resources such as books, courses or coaches? How do they feel about their plan?
Allocate some time to learn about your own learning. Are there any metrics you can use to identify what has worked and what hasn’t? This is often difficult, but you can find ways to measure progress. Chess players can use their ELO, those in the gym can use the volume of weight and changes in their body metrics, those in relationships can use the rather less scientific measure of whether their partner is moaning more or less.
Take some independent advice, if you need to. A chess coach, a PT, a relationship expert can help you understand your blind spots. It’s rare that we see our own weaknesses if we don’t know that we need to look out for them.
Create an outline of your new plan. What will you devote to this activity, financially, mentally and in terms of our most limited resource - hours? When will you do it? When will be the right time to do it? Scheduling is critical - I know I certainly have a big difference in my performance at chess and in the gym based on the time I do it, regardless of the time spent.
Work out what activities the plan will involve. You’ve established the ‘resource’ of money and time, now design what activities will lead to the best result. You’ll use another accounting concept here - ROI (Return on Investment) - to make sure that you are getting the very best results from whatever you put in. The research performed in 1, 2 and 3 will help steer this.
Now, you might find that your new routine - which is planned, so we absolutely can call it a plan now - is identical to your last.
Well, congratulations! You were either extremely intuitive or lucky.
But, here’s the thing. You can continue with confidence. Now, you know that you’ve planned intentionally with a blank canvas.
Just don’t leave it too long before revisiting!
Carl Reader is a WH Smith Bestselling Author and international keynote speaker with a real passion for helping people do better. There are two ways to learn more about Carl! You can either follow him on Social Media if you’re just curious (@carlreader on most platforms), or if you’d like to learn a little more about what he does on stage, through content and in the media from a commercial perspective, you can visit his website.
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