Photo courtesy of Mihai Vlasceanu on Pexels
Have you ever felt like this? Like you are just going around … around … and around the same circle. I certainly have.
Already this year, I’ve had 6 different people tell me they feel this way. They start back at work after the holidays refreshed and rearing to tackle new projects. Or make some changes in the workplace. Only to find after a few days it feels as though nothing has changed. The diary is full of regular meetings, the same daily/weekly/monthly/6-monthly/annual deadlines and routine. One client told me how they expect to blink, and it will be Christmas again. We all nod in agreement because it feels true.
As I dug deeper in these conversations, it became apparent that this is an interesting paradox. Even if the type of work changes; or despite being involved with different clients, or different projects; and although every work day throws up new challenges or problems to solve, the cadence of work makes it feel monotonous. It stops us from doing things differently. The must dos and the should dos often fill our working days. Leaving little room for the could we dos; can we dos or what if we dos.
Surely a merry go round ride is one of life’s most enjoyable could we do; can we do or what if we do moments. Yet if it turns into a never-ending must do or should do, it’s not surprising if you’re already feeling like you want to jump off the moving merry go round. So, what can you do?
Firstly, it’s important to consider what underpins this workplace reality. There are 3 workplace truths that I hear people speak about over and over again.
#1: there is more to do than time available to do it
The must dos take up most of our working hours. The rest weighs heavily on people’s shoulders. Piled up to do ‘when we get some time’. That time never comes.
#2: too few people ask why
There are many reasons why this becomes a workplace truth. It could be cultural or team dynamics. It could be a lack of confidence or engagement from individuals. It could be simply a consequence of workplace truth #1.
#3: people are disengaged
Recent studies in Australia and the US show similar results, that only about 25-30% of people are engaged in the workplace. Now this is a topic in its own right, but it is important to the topic at hand. Disengaged workers perpetuate the “merry go round” aspect of work.
Most people have happy memories of a merry go round ride. For those few minutes, we enjoy the rhythmic, melodic circling. Exciting and relaxing, safe yet adventurous. So, how do we change things up in our workplaces, so we can all, once again, enjoy the merry go round ride and avoid the monotony?
Keep your goal front of mind
That change you want to make, or that new project, that thing you know is important. Protect it like it’s your first-born child. Don’t allow it to get lost amongst the everyday must dos at work. Get others engaged with your goal: share it, work it up as a proposal to your boss, write it down and display it in your workspace. Whatever it takes to keep it front of mind. When you find yourself on the merry go round of must dos and should dos, you can enjoy the ride, knowing that the bigger goals are not lost.
Focus on the process
Analyse all aspects of your role – the stated requirements and the unstated expectations; the things you must, should, could and would like to do; the time requirements of each part of your role; the meetings, collaboration and team activities; the known roadblocks you encounter. Consider each of these elements in light of their priority and impact. Use this audit to help you focus on the process of change you want to make. Build the process (and then trust the process) to make inroads on your goal.
Start with the smallest viable change
If you go too big, too quickly, you will scare people. That fear will become a roadblock to any change. Especially if you are working with disengaged employees. Your desire to do something differently will be seen as a threat to their comfortable, just earning a pay check, work life. If you look for the smallest viable change, then the next, and the next [see my blog post on smallest viable change] you set yourself up for making real, lasting change and implementing it in even the most resistant of cultures.
Start asking why
The only way something is going to change is when we speak up, or we act in a different way. If you are spending 2 hours a week in pointless meetings, speak up. Ask why you have that meeting, who is it for, what is it for? I remember doing this once, many years ago, and watching as every person in the meeting struggled to answer, only to realise that this meeting had been set up by a previous manager and had just become a habit of the team, not a necessity.
Make some time for reflection
Revisit your goal daily/weekly/monthly. Is it still relevant? What progress are you making? What is working with your change? What needs to be adapted to give you a greater chance of success? Who else needs to be involved? What’s next? Reflection is vital, yet so often missing in a busy workplace. Even if it is a 10-minute exercise, take some time to stop and think.
These things all seem fairly straightforward, yet it is easy to let them slip in a workplace where there is so much to do, and the cadence is well established. It takes conscious effort and focus to disrupt the way work is usually done and focus on your goals and the process of change. It’s not easy but it is possible.
We may well blink and it will be the end of another year. If we stay on the merry go round too long, it will be a ride filled with the must dos and should dos, the joy of work will disappear, and we won’t go anywhere. Just imagine the different rhythm and joy when we start filling our merry go round rides with more of the could we dos; can we dos or what if we dos.
Can this be your year of making change happen?