The Circles in Time Blueprint
An emerging vision for the future of Circles in Time. Any feedback would be most appreciated.
Hey everyone,
So I have progressed with my thinking around the next stage of Circles in Time.
As with my previous post, any feedback would be appreciated. I’m desperate to understand what I may be missing. Where are my blind spots? What would you add, edit or remove from the current proposition?
THE CIRCLES IN TIME MISSION:
The mission is to help independent creators, developers and researchers set up personal systems that expand their surface area of freedom to realise, and engage in, what they are deeply passionate about.
The surface area of freedom refers to the amount of time in a typical day that an individual has that is completely free from the outcome, from constraint, from obligation, and eventually from involuntary thought. The second axis is the number of potential days that the individual has to access this capacity to freely explore and express themselves.
THIS MISSION IS NOT FOR EVERYONE
In gathering feedback and examining the boundaries of the Circles in Time’s mission, I have realised that an appetite for freedom isn’t something that everyone is hungry for.
Some aspire to the concept of freedom but aren’t yet familiar with what it really is. Others who are more familiar with freedom acknowledge and prefer to avoid the discomfort that comes with its initial stages. Some prefer the feeling of busyness, or having a defined role in society, a need to feel relied on, or objects to work towards.
It is not my intention or the intention of Circles in Time to convince anyone to reorientate themselves in the direction of freedom—either it is something you are receptive to, or you are not. Perhaps that orientation may change in the future. Perhaps it won’t. It isn’t wrong or right. Good or bad. It just is an aspiration that I know some individuals are receptive to, and I feel compelled to support them.
THE ROLE OF CIRCLES IN TIME
So what is the role of Circles in Time here? How can we expand an individual’s capacity to explore and express themselves freely?
What is obvious is that individual freedom, first and foremost, requires space that is free from the functions that are necessary for living in modern society.
I am not suggesting that these functions be removed. To the contrary, actually. You don’t have to become like Thoreau’s Walden or retreat to caves like the Ascetics (Of course, if that is appealing to you, go for it).
What Circles in Time aim to do is help its members build support systems (what I’m calling personal utilities) that perform the necessary functions for maintaining life within society rather than outside of it.
Complex & Adaptive Personal Support Systems
The intention here is to move towards systems that are essential, efficient, effective endless and enough.
These systems are essential in that they hold real utility—all superfluous systems are ruthlessly removed. These systems are efficient in that they set up not to use more of an individual’s capacity and resources than is necessary. They are effective in that these systems are crafted to achieve the necessary functions that they intend to, with as much leverage as possible. These systems are endless in that they are systems to be robust and resilient to change over the long run. Finally, these systems are enough in that they are constrained from growing in ways that produce gains beyond that which is necessary.
Four General Activity Areas
From running six programmes since the beginning of 2020, and helping Circles in Time community members collectively create over 100 different personal systems, I have noticed some patterns. One observation was that all the activities selected by participants could fit into one of four broad buckets.
Again the point here isn’t to pursue these activities for any reason other than their utility - they simply create the conditions necessary for you to be free within society.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & METABOLIC FLEXIBILITY
Sleep | Eat | Drink | Move | Clean | BreatheEFFECTIVENESS AT WORK
Plan | Focus | Leverage | Build | Ship | CoordinateFINANCIAL FLOWS & CAPABILITY
Earn | Invest | Save | Insure | Repay | SpendMENTAL WELLBEING
Relate | Nurture | Accept | Meditate | Create
Community-Driven Courses
Perhaps my biggest realisation from running the Circles in Time programmes is this:
Knowledge is not the product.
Digitally native creators, developers, and researchers know how to use the internet. They know how to find answers to their own questions—to find solutions to the unknowns. And it is all out there, easily accessible through the medium of their choosing.
We are all quickly becoming very sophisticated experts in consuming knowledge.
So if knowledge isn’t the product, what is?
The problem with the abundant access to information that the internet provides is that it results in overwhelm. We’re so overloaded with choice and content that it becomes difficult to know what to apply and where to start.
The problem is not access to knowledge. Knowledge creates problems of direction, intention, motivation and action.
The problem is applying knowledge effectively in ways that produce recurring action.
This action emerges as a function of a space where you as the participant can engage deeply with people dealing with similar behavioural systems challenges.
The Right Conditions for Personal System Change
What we are working towards here is understanding the individual conditions necessary from creating support systems (personal utilities) that last. I am in no way convinced that the current iteration of Circles in Time has all the right conditions in place, but there the successes of existing members suggest we’re on the right path here.
Some of these conditions include:
Space to understand the stage and causes of your current systems
Behavioural frameworks, tools and templates for building personal systems
An online community space for shared learning, discussion and feedback
Norms that encourage honest inquiry, independent thinking and implementation
Concretely, what does this look like?
There will be four layers to Circles in Time:
Content Layer (Email, Video, Podcast)
Part-public, part-private, access to content relating to personal capacity creation, systems, blueprint building, learnings and case studies.Community Layer (Online Forum, Live Conversation)
Ongoing conversations around personal systems, the four activity areas, tools, implementation lessons and supporting one another.Course Layer (Online Community-based Courses, Expert Sessions)
Four community-based courses a year, happening every quarter. Each course will focus on one of the four activity areas (physical and metabolic flexibility, work and productivity, financial capability and mental wellbeing).Coaching Layer (Remote One-on-Ones, Sync & Async)
Access to one-on-one advisory to support members with system change, capacity creation and growing into freedom.
Making Circles in Time Sustainable
Emerging social, content and payment platforms have made it easier than ever to start a business online. But yet, it still isn’t obvious what the most sustainable business models are, especially models where there isn’t an inherent misalignment of the incentives between the business and its members.
What seems increasingly obvious to me is that some sort of hybrid model will be necessary for me to make Circles in Time sustainable. Where subscription services, digital products, courses, coaching and partnerships are all active at the same time.
Monthly Subscription:
A subscription offering that allows subscribers access to member-only newsletters, selected evergreen content, and Circles in Time community space. A basic version of this offering is in place, but there is a lot I can do to improve.Once-Off Payments:
Access to quarterly community-based courses (live group sessions, expert workshops, templates), digital products and online coaching. I have run 6-course cohorts now and have a growing number of digital assets. Personal systems coaching is still something I’ve in the early stages of piloting. Still, it makes a lot of sense given my current arc and as another area to learn about the complexities of integrating new system components.Partnerships
In order to make this sustainable over the long run, I am going to need to partner with organisations that closely align with the Circles in Time mission, principles and core themes. I’m looking for partners in:Behavioural Change - Teams who are working closely with behavioural change challenges.
Health - Teams that are looking at how to leverage technological solutions in supporting individuals with their personal health.
Productivity - Teams that are helping individuals focus, engage, avoid distraction, reduce procrastination and create leverage.
Finance - Teams that are using technology to improve individuals understanding of their financial situation and move them towards financial independence.
Mental Wellbeing - Teams that are working to improve individuals mental health and relationships via digital tools that can be accessed at scale.
Where I need your help:
The above plan is the latest iteration in a growing and evolving process that has been ongoing for over a year. In saying that, I still think there is a lot of room for adjustment and improvement.
If you have any feedback, I would really appreciate it. I’m trying very hard to break my current assumptions and surface any blind spots, especially while the ideas are still crystalising. Different perspectives and left of field ideas are the only way to do this.
At root, I am trying to understand whether you, as a Circles in Time member, would be willing to pay an ongoing subscription for access to community and selected content. At the same time pay for quarterly community courses, digital products and one-on-one personal systems coaching. All done with a very sincere and serious intention to increase your personal capacity to explore, understand and engage in what you are truly and deeply passionate about. Freedom from everything except that which you lose yourself in.
Take care,
David