ProFlow
The 6-Week Training
Six weeks, a small cohort, two facilitators. We start with Actions and build the whole practice together — philosophy first, then the games, then the tools that hold it up.
Internal draft — for Mihai & Sophie.
The earlier "go at your own pace / build your own adventure" cohort didn't hold people. This version is a guided weekly cohort: one live session a week, a small practice between sessions, and the two of us walking alongside. The week order below is a proposed draft, grounded in the ProFlow material — adjust freely.
How the cohort runs
- One live session a week — taught together by Mihai and Sophie, with time for questions.
- A small practice between sessions — a few Actions a day, tracked, so the next session has something real to work with.
- Build from the ground up — Weeks 1–3 are the must-haves (philosophy + the Action Game). Weeks 4–6 add the games and tools that make it stick.
- Graduation — you leave with a weekly rhythm you can run without us.
Actions — "What should I be doing right now?"
Anchor video: Mihai & Sophie on Actions
Pending link — this recent recording is the spine of Week 1. Once it's in, its specifics replace this placeholder.
The core loop of the Action Game, and the one habit everything else hangs off.
- Commit — declare a verb / focus within the first two minutes, then hold it for 23+2 minutes.
- Focus — stay with that one thing.
- Review — the last couple of minutes, look at what happened.
- Relax — a real, joyful break before you commit and after you review.
- The 5-year-old deal — an Action is a deal with the kid running you: 25 minutes of work, then playtime. Break the deal and they stop cooperating.
Practice: play 1–3 Actions a day, and track every one.
The Philosophy & the art of the break
Why any of this works — and why the break is not optional.
- The five ideas: being human matters more than being productive; playfulness requires choice; useful structure can be loved; start with small commitments; measure input, not only output.
- How to relax: a joyful / restful five-minute break before committing and after reviewing.
- Tend the basic human needs first — water, restroom, posture — so they don't become escape hatches mid-Action.
- Favourite breaks: step outside and touch a tree, move your body to a song, hug someone, send an appreciation.
Practice: take real breaks all week; notice every "random" urge to leave the work.
Facilitator note: over-achievers skip the break. This week exists to stop that early.
Focus & tracking
Holding a focus, and keeping an honest record of your Actions.
- How to focus: recover from a distraction within 10 seconds; deflect an interruption within 10–20.
- Sealing off the exits — when there's no easy way out, you stay long enough to get past what had you stuck.
- Prevention beats handling: phone off, non-relevant tabs closed, and let people know your :25–:30 windows.
- How to track: use the Actions Calendar on the site (or your own), and share it with your coach.
Practice: a full week of tracked Actions, held with real focus integrity.
The Email Game & your inboxes
Inbox Zero as balance: every email counts with you, none too much.
- Oldest first: reply if a reply is warranted, capture the task elsewhere if it makes one, then archive.
- Time-protecting replies — "No, I'm sorry" and "Yes, how about in two weeks?" are both fine answers.
- Getting caught up: label the old pile "OldInbox", archive it, and start from a clean inbox.
- What else is an inbox? Other accounts, your desktop and Downloads, your physical mailbox, voicemail, your trusted system.
Practice: get one inbox to zero; schedule a daily Inboxes Action.
A trusted system & your work environment
One place you trust for everything, and a space that lets you focus.
- TSOPANA — a Trusted System Of Projects And Next Actions. One system you actually commit to, so your brain can finally relax.
- Choosing yours — Apple Reminders, Mindmeister, OmniFocus, Asana, and others. Must-haves: a list of lists, hide / show, simple and visually calm.
- Work environment — five or fewer items in view, facing a wall or nature, water and pens within reach.
- Cut the noise — Chrome profiles instead of thirty tabs; calendars as a shield (Commitments, Possibilities, shared work, Actions, background).
Practice: pick and set up your trusted system; clear your desk; build your calendars.
Planning, ritual, and a practice that lasts
Tying it together into a rhythm you can keep on your own.
- The Planning Game — schedule 1–3 planning Actions a week to update your trusted system and decide what's next.
- Morning Ritual — one or two Actions to start the day, with inboxes folded in.
- Daily UIA — a standing Urgent / Important Action on the calendar.
- Where to go next — Meeting Actions, the Formal Promise Game, Action Parties, and Cycles & Maintenance, once the core is steady.
Practice: design the weekly rhythm you'll keep after the cohort ends.
Facilitator note: success is a practice they can run without us — not dependence on the cohort.
Drawn from the ProFlow training material. Possibilities beyond the six weeks (Meeting Actions, the Formal Promise Game, the Sixteen-Action Work Day, the 4-1-1 Kickstarter) are intentionally left out of the core arc.