Two types of knowledge
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“I recently read about the scientific distinction between two types of knowledge: declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge.”
“What is the difference between them?”
“We might think of
declarative knowledge as knowledge of, and of
procedural knowledge as knowledge how.
They correspond to what I’ve identified as two important aspects of the learning process: Understanding and Implementation.
The efficient output of declarative knowledge is the formation (and refinement) of mental models (model-making). You’re forming a schematic mental map of what you’re learning by connecting it with other information nodes [network model].
The efficient output of procedural knowledge is the formation of habits and skills. You’re forming optimal neural patterns through strategic mindful repetition (deliberate practice).
Visually, it looks something like this:
“
“So this is an example of declarative knowledge.”
“Indeed.
Efficient learning requires striking a balance between these two types of knowledge. I call it the declarative/procedural ratio.”
Specificity
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“How can I implement x?”
“Before you start looking for answers, get clear on what the question means, and optimize it.
What does it mean to implement something?”
“To turn it into a habit.”
“Then the question becomes:
How can I turn this into a habit?
This already suggests a course of action.
The principle here is specificity.
Get clear on what you’re trying to accomplish, and how.
What does the habit look like? When do you want to engage in it, how often, for how long?
Then follow up with:
How can I make it actionable? What specific action-steps can I take to get started?”
The Essence of Implementation
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“What is the essence of Implementation?”
“I like to express it as two directives:
Think something different.
Do something different.
“
“What does it mean?”
“The first directive expresses two ideas (so far):
Thought is the blueprint for action.
It all starts in the mind. First as an idea-seed, which grows into a plan, which blossoms into action.
Thought is the fundamental means by which we access our resources. It’s a tool-making tool – a meta-tool.
Implementation is a creative process.
You can get inspired by the ideas of others, but you must adapt them to your own circumstances. It’s a beautiful opportunity to express yourself creatively and innovate.
The second directive expresses three ideas (so far):
Implementation means changing your behavior.
If you do what you’ve always done you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. (Tony Robbins)
To change something about your life, you must change your behavior.
Eben Pagan took it one step further:
Learning is behavior change.
Implementation is a design process.
This is an extension of the point about implementation being a creative process. What this one emphasizes is that implementation is essentially problem-solving, hence focused on the practical.
Design is a structured creative process. It’s a beautiful opportunity to embrace your Designer identity.
Implementation is experimentation.
Implementation is an iterative process. You generate ideas, you evaluate and narrow them down, you test them, get feedback, then repeat the process, optimizing with each iteration.”
On Beauty and Implementation
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“One of the many facets of my Life-Art [<link; medium read] is trying to put an aesthetic touch on everything I do.”
“Does it serve a practical purpose?”
“Every instance of Beauty can serve a practical purpose if you’re receptive to it.
But what I had in mind is something more particular.
Remember James Clear’s second rule of habit creation?”
“Make it attractive.”
“That one. The important question is,
How can you make it attractive?
One way is through the power of Beauty.
Make it beautiful.
Making something beautiful makes you more likely to engage in it.”
“Can you give an example?”
“Let’s take Deep Work, since we’ve talked about recently [<link; medium read].
In the context of Deep Work, my objective is
productivity maximization, and
perfect energy conservation.
To achieve this, how you optimize the work/rest oscillation is key.
We’ve talked before [<link; medium read] about the micro-oscillation and the macro-oscillation.
Micro-Oscillation unit: pomodoro – 25 minutes of deep-focus, 5-minute break
Macro-Oscillation unit: deep-work-block – 3 pomodoros, longer break
It looks great on paper, but I’d been struggling for a while with implementation.”
“What was the failure-point?“
“The Macro-Oscillation.
Micro-Oscillation: I strictly respected the pomodoro.
Macro-Oscillation: I often yielded to the temptation to do too many pomodoros in a row, which sapped my energy, which triggered a downward spiral of inefficiency and poor decision-making.”
“How did you solve this problem?”
“When you struggle, it’s time to evolve a system.
I asked myself a macro-question:
What do you want the structure of your work-day to look like?
Then I sat down to answer it, in writing, with Simplicity and Beauty as guides.
The outcome is a pattern that looks like this:
30 30 30 15
30 30 30 30
“
“What am I looking at?”
“The bolded numbers represent pomodoros.
The un-bolded numbers represent breaks.
I do a deep-work-block, and take a 15 minute break.”
“Why 15 and not, say, 10?”
“It’s a littler aesthetic touch. 15 is 5 multiplied by 3.
Then I do another deep-work-block, and take a 30 minute break.
These form a cycle.
So if I were to extend it in time, it would look like this:
30 30 30 15
30 30 30 30
30 30 30 15
30 30 30 30
…
Or, more exactly, like this:
(25 + 5) (25 + 5) (25 + 5) 15
(25 + 5) (25 + 5) (25 + 5) 30
(25 + 5) (25 + 5) (25 + 5) 15
(25 + 5) (25 + 5) (25 + 5) 30
…
Four deep-work-blocks is 5 hours of deep-focused work, and 2.30 hours of rest in a beautifully balanced distribution.
Having this detailed aesthetic view has made implementing it a joy.”
Beautiful Systems: Implementation 2
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“We’ve talked before [<link; medium read] about Habits being one essential component of the Implementation system. What other components does the system have?”
“It’s a work in progress. Here’s a general overview of what it looks like at this stage. I like to think of it as the design-blueprint.
Key related system: Presence
Key value: Simplicity
I have these written at the top of the document, as two very important reference points. Working on Implementation goes hand in hand with working on Presence, and Simplicity is an essential guideline for my design philosophy.
As a practical approach, I’m using the Design/Development model.”
“What is that?”
“It means that, together, Design and Development form an iterative cycle.”
“So like implementation cycles?”
“Yes. I start with design, then follow it with development. I identify failure-points, and based on this feedback, I start a new cycle.
Design and Development form the two areas of the document.
Design
Questioning
Deconstructing
Modelling
Systematizing
These are my macro-tools of trade.
Development
Anchoring
Priming
(Implementation Intentions, Contextual Priming, Deliberate Practice)Experimenting
(Feedback Loop, Problem/Diagnosis/Design, Tracking)Habits
Algorithms
Checklists
Specificity
These are the bread and butter of Implementation, which we’ll be talking about in the future.
I conceptualize all components of the system as models.”
“A models-deck [<link; medium read]?”
“Yes. I’m reading it before every implementation session to selectively activate key resources. This is what I mean by contextual-priming.”
Turning obstacles upside down
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“I woke up in an unresourceful state which messed up my entire morning ritual.”
“What do you think triggered it?”
“I think it was a combination of factors. I didn’t sleep very well, woke up with an intense lower-back pain, and felt cold. Normally I’m resistant to cold, so when I am feeling cold, it’s a sign that something is wrong.
It made me realize that changing state is the most important thing, because only in the resourceful / beautiful state you are able to effectively / efficiently access your resources and find solutions.”
“But didn’t you already know that?”
“I did, but this time it was different. It made me really engage with the questions:
How can I access the beautiful state under any conditions?
How can I make the beautiful state my center, my baseline?
Changing state became my implementation focus, my ONE Thing for this month, and I mobilized all my resources towards solving this puzzle.”
“Would you have mobilized your resources in this direction had you not encountered this obstacle?”
“No, I wouldn’t have.
I guess I’d started taking the beautiful state for granted. Every morning I’d do my activation ritual, charge up, and get down to work.
Only when my state impaired my capacity to get my soul work done – combined with an implementation mindset – that it finally became my work.”
Dani Trusca 
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