Get going or slow down

Do you need something to give you a push along ... to get you going?

Or do you need something to slow you down?

Being stuck ain’t fun. Frozen in possibility and uncertainty. There are plenty of reasons why it’s hard to get going with an idea or project.

But equally, running or flying too fast for too long can become a problem too.

There are subtle adjustments we can make and actions we can take to get going and get out of inertia. It’s a firing up, an ignition, the acceleration.

At other times we need some adjustment of speed, slowing down, a deceleration towards a speed that is more restful or ... simply sustainable.

More more more
faster faster faster
isn’t
better better better.

No matter what the world is pushing on you.

Getting started on something else might be better.
Going a little slower might be better.

Which do you need?

I’m currently slowing down. And you? Let me know...

Change your environment

You’re not broken. You don’t need fixing. You’re not hopeless. You’re awesome!

When we struggle to do something we may get frustrated with or blame ourselves ... or others.

But neither of us may be at fault.

Check your environment, your set up and location, the way you’ve arranged things or set them up.

You can tweak and change things. Even the tiniest change might make a big difference for you. And for them.

More light. Less space. A different angle. A tidy area. Some favourite items. Moving some books. A different chair. A different view. An earlier start. An earlier finish! A change in routine.

All of these things can help us get out of an environmental rut.

If it’s not quite working for you, don’t give up or give in: change something - a little thing - about the environment you’re in.

It could be one little shift towards a big new way.

Determined to make it work this time

There can be those days when we:
- Don’t get done what we hoped we would
- Don’t achieve what was on our list
or 
- Don’t get that breakthrough we were needing. 

We might hope to achieve more ‘next time’ by ‘sitting down and doing better’. 

But berating ourselves in the hope of better outcomes is perplexing. Because what have we really changed? 

If we are just expecting to do better even though we don’t have a new process for it, how could that actually work? 

Our habits and older ways of working kick in.

Unless we change the way we do things, we won’t change what we can do. This is where a safe space to try new ways of doing things can help. 

Join me at ‘the work hack club’. I'm gathering with people who need some of these new ways, plus some accountability and support. We’ll work alongside each other, online, and try some newer, better ways of working. 

It's 
- Focused
- Accountable
- Collaborative
- Supportive

And breakthroughs are guaranteed! Come for one session or make this your more productive habit. Check my website for more details.

Is there a better way of doing this

When we’re doing something in one way, do we wonder is there a better way? Rather than finding just any old way to do a task or activity, what would make it better... better for you and your situation?

And what is ‘better’ anyway? Better happens when something is more acceptable … to us or perhaps to our customers, clients, family, colleagues or community.

It might be better because:

It’s quicker

It’s less stressful

It’s easier

It’s smoother

It uses less energy

It’s more affordable

It takes less effort

It happens faster

It makes us happier

It protects us

It extends our life

It cares for others

It is kinder, more efficient… and on and on we can go.

It’s a personal thing to identify what would make something better for you. And when focus is directed towards better, we can make decisions, change things and choose ways that will work for us.

For the better. My next book is coming soon ... ‘Better ways of thinking and working: How changing the way you do things, changes what you can do’. 

Find some red tape and eliminate it

Working with a government agency recently, we spent time on a ‘Red Tape Reduction’ session.

Red tape: those needless, time consuming activities.

Ask your customers and they'll have likely been frustrated or annoyed with something about your systems or how they interact with your product, business or people.

'Red tape'? It's thought to be based on the old practice of binding government documents with... red tape.

Frustration with red tape also comes from within the organisation too, from complicated or broken systems, time wasting forms, clunky websites.

Agreeing to go through a Red Tape Reduction session is a great thing to do! For many organisations this isn’t easy:

1. To agree to do it

2. To commit to being there in the session, identifying red tape, and then

3. To actually change things to remove the problem points.

That's because it’s way more exciting (and more rewarded via KPIs & targets) to work on new things, make new stuff and create new services.

What if at your next team meeting you just identified something that’s riddled with red tape and decided to eliminate the messy complications? You’d make things better for your customers, your colleagues ... and you.