Can you draw a line?
How about a circle?
And a triangle?
If you answered Yes to all three, then you can draw this:
And in 3 minutes you can draw this:
Now you only need to learn one more thing …
… and in 5 minutes a day I can show you how to turn the above sketch into this:
Hi! My name is Matej (rhymes with play) and I am a Master’s student at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. My goal is to help people learn how to draw.
At Stanford I designed a course called #Sketch5:
I designed it for adults that:
- don’t have a lot of time,
- want to learn a hard skill the easy way,
- would love to spend more time outside,
- and it’s all free.
I made it specifically to have an excuse to enjoy relaxing around our beautiful university campus while doing something productive.
Would you like to give it a try? Awesome!
However, like Yoda said: “Do or do not, there is no try.”
And I’m here to help with that, using what I’ve learned at Stanford.
You will fail unless …
In my work with adult learners I found a big difference between:
what people want to do
and
what they actually do.
To bring these two together, I will ask you to do just one thing. It’s really important that you do it, otherwise it doesn’t really matter if you take this course.
Going from wanting to do something to actually doing it is a change from an aspiration to a behavior.
At the Graduate School of Education I’ve studied Behavior Design with Dr. BJ Fogg and this is my favorite thing I learned:
The best way to create a new behavior is to take an existing behavior — something you already do — and connect it to a small step that might (or might not) lead to your goal.
What do I mean by that?
Let me show you how it works in practice for drawing.
Here’s the one thing I’m asking you to do.
I want you to, right now, do the following:
1.Think of the nicest place outside that you pass at least a couple of times per week during your existing routine! This is important.
Update: In fact, after running this course for a couple of weeks, this is the most important thing that will determine whether you will succeed or fail with this technique. If you choose a location that is part of your everyday, busy life, you will succeed. If you choose a location you have to go out of your way to reach, even if it’s a park just a block away from your house—but you don’t pass it on a normal day—you will most probably fail. So choose wisely.
2. Set an alarm for when you’ll be there next. (Location reminder is best; now is your chance to try this fancy feature on your phone.) You only need one reminder.
3. When the alarm goes off and you’re at the location, pick a favorite spot and sit down.
As you sit down, do something to celebrate. Say Yeah! in your head (or out loud :)). Or take a deep breath and smile as you exhale.
Celebrating prompts your brain to store a positive memory (like in Inside Out) of sitting down in this beautiful location. This is the very start of a new habit you’ll be building (relaxing in this spot).
4. This is it! There is no step 4! In fact, you can simply get up and go about your day.
OK, but how will sitting outside teach me how to draw?
I will answer that in detail below.
The important part is that from now on, every time you pass your favorite spot, you sit down, celebrate (very important!) and enjoy it for 30 seconds.
30 seconds, that’s all I’m asking for.
If you’re busy that day, get up and go do your thing.
But when you’re not, take out your sketchbook and pencil and do the daily five 5 minute lesson.
You do have a pencil and something to draw on, right?
If you’re home, right now put something to draw in your backpack, purse, tote bag. Idealy one in each. I always carry at least one pencil with me.
If you’re not home, right now set a to-do reminder for it.
You’ve just created a starter step. Together with another powerful tool, Tiny Habits, they’re one of the most effective ways that lead to long-lasting change.
I’ve used this technique to finally get myself to read books before sleep, keep my table clean for a productive environment (another key factor for long-term improvement), and of course, spend time drawing outside.
How it works
(bonus content)
Hint: you can skip this to the sign-up below.
The trick to making this work is in limiting the target behavior to under 30 seconds.
I don’t set out to read a book before bed; my starter step is to turn on the reading light and celebrate. Half the time I’m so dead from work that I immediately turn it off and fall asleep. But the other half I’m finally reading through my book collection that I’ve amassed over the years, but never got through because it’s easier to just watch YouTube or Netflix (sounds familiar?).
I also don’t clean my whole table at once. I only set my goal to put one item away after I sit down. Still, magically, my table is now free of clutter 90% of the time.
In your case, with drawing, notice that we didn’t set the goal to draw for 5 minutes when you get to your location. You only have to sit down and celebrate.
I’ve found this to dramatically change people’s perspective. It’s disarming. I don’t hear excuses any more. No procrastinating, no putting it off. 30 seconds. It’s quick and fun, you take a deep breath and then you move on. There’s no more feeling bad because you had to miss a day. That’s why New Year’s resolutions fail. You feel bad instead of good when you can’t make that 1 hour gym trip. Your goal here is only those 30 seconds, only when you’re already at the location during your normal routine. You can do your starter step no matter what. Nothing else is required. And you get to celebrate that.
Celebration creates positive reinforcement that strengthens the behavior into a habit over time. Habits — even bad ones — can only form when there is some sort of pleasurable activity behind them (even if it’s unhealthy).
Important for reaching your goal, the tiny habit you’re creating is the necessary prerequisite step for your ultimate behavior, drawing. Basically you are ensuring the opportunity for your bigger goal to happen. It’s a small thing that leads to big change.
Even more bonus content, an extension to how the method works, a video about how I designed the course. You can also just watch the first minute to see how drawing with Sketch5 technique looks like in practice.
You are ready to take the course
Thank you for spending your valuable time to do an important step towards realizing your wishes. It really makes me happy when I see people take action and go after their desires.
To receive your Day 1 instructions for #Sketch5, send an email with the subject “sign up” to:
I hope to hear from you soon. After your first day, I will email you new instructions every time you complete the daily task.
You will be able to ask for feedback or advice if you choose to. Emails will come directly from me.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. It’s all free. I do it because I love drawing and sharing what I learned. I wish you to succeed, and I’m realizing that wish by running this micro-course.
Simple. :)
Cheers!
— Matej
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Matej Jan is an artist and game developer, advocating that you can learn anything you want, and helping people do that. He has a degree in Computer Science, taught himself to draw and paint, learned gymnastics at 30 years old, and now studies Education. He is currently working on an adventure game called Pixel Art Academy where you become an art student and learn how draw.
