That. What? How? Do. The Keys to Progress

There’s a natural framework to achieving almost anything. This framework follows the pattern of “That. What? How? Do.” The items in this framework don’t necessarily fall in this order. You can think of it more as a puzzle. You may have some pieces in place, but still looking for other pieces. You may have have all of the pieces, but just haven’t put them together yet.

This simple framework recognizes that you…

• Need to see THAT something needs to be done.
• Need to understand WHAT you need to do to make it happen.
• Need to know HOW to do the things that need to be done.
• Need to DO the work.

That.

Typically, you begin with knowing “that” something needs to be done. You might discover that something needs to be done in a number of different ways. You might have been told that you need to do something. You may have found a problem that needs to be solved. You might have been inspired to do something new, to build something new, or to make something better. You may have a nagging feeling that something needs to be done. Something might have broken, and now you need to fix it. You might have a feeling that you should do something. However it happens, you discover that something needs to be done.

“That” might be only a vague idea at first, and may require a little more refining. That’s okay! You can refine and work on your idea by following this pattern. You can research, journal your findings, and plan your work as your refine your idea. Each new discovery, each new failure, each new step takes you one step closer to achieving the end result. You just have to put in the work, and enjoy the trip.

Or, “that” might be a fully understood idea, and you just need to organize yourself to get the work done. You can follow this pattern for organizing yourself and your project.

What?

In order to do something, you need to know “what” needs to be done. There are steps to completing something. For example, in order to drive your car, you need to get in, buckle your seatbelt, turn on the car, put the car into gear, etc. These are all “whats” to driving a car. You need to know these in order to do the things that you’re trying to do.

You may be doing something that you know less about, like starting a business, being the first person in your family to attend college, or being the first person in your family to attend a mission. In these cases, the “whats” are a little less known, and require some research and understanding. You can research, journal your findings, and plan your time to understand the whats.

You may not, or probably will not, know all of the “whats” up front, and that’s to be expected! Sometimes we only need to know “what’s next”, and the next step will reveal itself as we go forward. Elder David A. Bednar explains this well in his thoughts about understanding what we need to do.

Sometimes, we know exactly what to do, and we can see it all, like somebody switched on a light switch. Sometimes, we slowly see and understand what needs to be done, like the light from the rising sun. Sometimes, we only know the next step, like the light from a flashlight.

All of these are perfectly acceptable ways to know “what” to do.

Sometimes, bigger “whats” need to be broken down into smaller ones. Being able to break them down into achievable chunks and steps will allow you to have a better, fuller picture of what you want and need to do.

Of course, you may have your own hurdles. Some of your “whats” may seem insurmountable because of societal or organizational challenges. Some of these challenges may be personal to you, or they may be a result of your place in society. They may be because of your race, gender, orientation, or any number of other challenges. These challenges are real. Knowing how to break your challenges into smaller chunks, being willing to deeply understand them, and accepting (and appreciating) your dedication is an important step to understanding and appreciating your “whats.”

How?

Knowing “how” to do something will allow you to do the actual work. Your “hows” are your knowledge, skills, and abilities. You may absolutely want to play the guitar in a band, but all of the passion and love in the world won’t help you if you don’t know “how” to play the guitar. There is almost always a “skill gap” between where you are, and where you want to be. There are things that you will need to learn how to do in order to do the things that you want to do.

Look at your life now as an example. At some point you wanted to learn to communicate, walk, draw, make music, play a sport – whatever it is that you do in your life. In order to do those things, you needed to learn how to do something.

Some things in life are linear, this means that you know what you need to do, and then you learn how to do it. Some things in life are not linear. You may learn how to do something, simply because you enjoy it. Oftentimes that’s the best reason for learning something! But, sometimes only after you learn how to do something, do you find other “whats.”

To revisit our guitar example, you may have decided that you wanted to learn to play guitar. So, you learn it and can play it well. Now that you’ve learned guitar, you think you want to start a band. You didn’t start out wanting to start a band, but now that you’ve played your guitar in front of a few people, and they enjoy your music, you want to start a band. Now you need to figure out “what” needs to be done in order to start a band, then then learn the “hows.” This might include finding a practice space, learning how to contact venues to play, learning how to record your music, or any number of other things.

Sometimes, we get wrapped up in our “hows.” We become addicted to learning, so to speak. We gain skill after skill. We gain an education, but don’t have anywhere to apply it. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with learning, it is so important. Knowing how to learn is a skill in and of itself. But, remember that you should have a direction to apply all this knowledge, all these skills.

There is a pattern of discovery as you learn “how” to do the things you want or need to do, as well. Elder David Bednar’s thoughts on patterns of light are certainly applicable here as well.

Do.

You will always need to “do” the work! Sometimes this is the most fun, easiest part. Sometimes this can be the hardest part. This is showing up with consistency, and putting in the hours. This is a commitment to the practices that allow you to accomplish what you’re trying to do. This is doing the actual work that needs to be done in order to achieve your goal, finish your project, or see your idea come to life. You need to have a commitment to put in the time and “do” the work.

This certainly doesn’t mean that “doing” has to be difficult, painful, or burdensome. In fact, it should be the opposite! Sometimes it does feel like dragging yourself along the ground and through the dirt and mud to get things done. That’s okay. Not every day is going to be the best. You should be prepared to just show up and do the reps sometimes.

But, there will be days when you experience breakthroughs, or when your work really shines! There are also days where you will need to perform in order to do your work at a higher level, and you’ll be able to because of the time that you’ve put in! There will be days where burdens seem lighter because of your commitment. Showing up every day makes showing up every day easier!

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that’s it’s not just about the end result, but it’s also about the time you put into getting there. Only focusing on the end result can cause you to feel frustrated, but doing the work for the sake of the work can help you to feel engaged, and will ultimately help you to do better!

Putting it all Together

Let’s put this simple puzzle all together now. Look in your life, and find the things that you need to do. Maybe you’ve been inspired or prompted to do something. Maybe you’ve been asked or directed to do something. Maybe you have an idea and want to see it through. Find those things in your life and choose one.

Now look at what you need to do in order to make this thing happen. What needs to be done to get this done? What steps do you need to take to get there? What do you need to do? Make a list of your “whats.”

Now look at how you’ll make these things happen. Look at the skills involved, the knowledge required, and the abilities needed in order to make it happen. Do you need to learn to do something? Do you need certain equipment? Make certain that the “hows” are covered, and you’ll be able to do the work.

Now it’s time to get to work. Break things down into actual tasks, and list them out. Make time for them in your day. Commit to doing the things that need to be done, and you’ll make progress. As you make progress, stay aware of what needs to be done next, and commit to doing them.

You may have only pieces and parts of this puzzle. You may be inspired to do something, know that you have the skills to do the work, but not know what to do. You may have acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities, but feel lost and not know where to put them to work. You may have an idea, but don’t even know where to start. All of these are perfectly acceptable, and should be expected! In cases like these (and so many like these), you should separate the pieces of the puzzle, and understand each piece individually, and how they relate to the puzzle as a whole.

Examples

Let’s look at a few examples, just to further illustrate this.

Getting Healthy

That. You want to get healthy. You may want to play a sport, or your doctor may have told you that you need to be healthy. Whatever the reason, you know that you want to be healthy.

What? In order to be healthy, you learn that you need to exercise and eat a healthy diet. Nothing complicated, just exercise and a healthy diet.

How? You decide that you’re going to cut processed foods from your diet, drink more water, eat more fruits and vegetables, and healthy proteins. You decide to take on an exercise program, exercising for 45 minutes each day. You might even get a gym membership.

Do. You eat healthy every day. Of course there are days that you enjoy something that might (or definitely!) will be unhealthy, but overall you’re committed and consistent with your healthy diet. You show up every day, even when you just don’t feel like it. Of course there are exceptions, you get sick, you need to travel, but you’re consistent and committed. Not every day is motivating, but you do the work.

The payoff? After some consistent time, you start to notice yourself getting in better shape. After more consistent time, you are able to get into fantastic shape!

Doing well in School

That. You know that in order to make it into college, you need to have a particular GPA.

What? You know that you need to study. You’re also struggling with science.

How? You make studying a priority. You also asked your science teacher and find a tutor.

Do. You study every day. You always complete your homework. You make appointments with your tutor and show up prepared to ask questions. This doesn’t mean that you’re only every studying, but you make time in your schedule for other things that are fun. You may start to find that even though you struggle with science, that you actually really enjoy it!

The payoff? You found out that you love science. You get great grades, and you’re accepted to a few different colleges, giving you a choice when you graduate.

Starting a Design Business

That. You know? There wasn’t really a that in this case. You didn’t start here.

What? You didn’t really start with a what here. You were more focused on living a life aligned with your passions to start with.

How? Even though you’re never really sure exactly what you want to do, you learn some skills and gain some knowledge in your life. You follow your passions, and even when it feels listless, you believe that you’re being led to something greater. You learn design, photography, and even play a few instruments.

Do. You’re committed to your practices of becoming a better designer, photographer, and musician. You make enough money through odd jobs, but your life never really feels connected to what you do. You remain committed though to learning new skills and becoming better at what you love.

As you post your work on social media, you start to gain the attention of people who ask you to do design and photography work for them. You commit to doing your work, and also sharing it.

The payoff? After some time, you realize that you have made enough contacts and have gained enough knowledge, skills, and abilities that you can start your own design business! Now you have a “that.” From here, you start to figure out “what” needs to be done. You have the design chops to do the work, but you need to learn more new skills and find partners to help. You commit to doing that, and the ultimate payoff is that you have a thriving, growing design business!

Wrap up

Knowing “that” you need to do something, “what” needs to be done in order to do it, “how” to do the work that you need to do to do what needs to be done, and actually “doing” the work are the keys to making progress. These may come to you in order, or completely out of order. You may gain insight slowly, or you may understand everything all at once.

Taking time to understand these pieces, journal, and plan are the keys to not only making progress, but finding purpose in the things that you do.