a few useful tools to get started
1. adapting to change
Adapting to change starts with perspective. Your perspective can be a prison or a passport...it can lock you in, or it can open a whole world of opportunities.
Here's an easy way to take any situation and apply a new filter to it.
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Have you seen the film 'Dead Poets Society'? There is a great scene where Robin Williams' character (teacher John Keating) stands on a desk to demonstrate to the class that things look different from up there. The lesson is so simple, but relevant. No matter how silly it may seem, you should always try to see things from a different angle.
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So, here's the tip - stand on a desk (either literally or figuratively, depending on the situation!)
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For example. Someone didn't brief us properly? Maybe they have something going on at home and their head is elsewhere. Or, now we have an opportunity to teach them how to create better briefs. These are just two new ways to look at the situation (there are plenty more!). Either way, we've taken a shitty situation and have reframed it into an opportunity for us both.
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So I'm going to go and stand on a desk, or walk a different route home, or order something I never order for lunch. It's a chance to try something different and see how it opens up the mind to new possibilities.
2. gratitude
Research indicates that a simple, mindful act of gratitude can instantly boost happiness by 10% and decrease symptoms of depression by 35%.
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Basically, we just feel better when we are grateful.
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Taking a second to appreciate what we have actually creates physiological changes in our body that get the parasympathetic nervous system going. This is the part that helps our body rest and digest...so gratitude helps bring down our blood pressure, heart rate and breathing, reducing stress and anxiety.
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Here are two tips to help us practice gratitude.
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The first is to keep a gratitude journal. It takes 5 mins a day (0.34% of our day). We can write down 3-5 things we are grateful for and why we're grateful. "I'm grateful for my coffee this morning because it helps me wake up and prepare for the day ahead." Do that every day for just 30 days (150 minutes in total!) and we'll notice a huge difference. Just do a few days to get started - we'll actually feel more positive and energized after just a few days.
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Secondly, we can try to find something so simple and basic that we use every day and probably take for granted. For example: running water, our iPhone, the mug we are using, or the road we are driving on. And think about all of the people it took to bring us that simple thing. No matter what the thing is, I guarantee it exists thanks to a lot of different people. Let's take a moment to thank them for what they have helped provide us. This creates a natural moment of gratitude that will 'fill our cups'. Again, we can try to do this just once a day for a month. Trust me when I say that it feels good!
3. empathy
This is a good one. I saw a video of bus drivers in Asia who were being trained to understand what it's like for cyclists who have to share the road with cars and buses. The drivers were instructed to take a seat on a stationary exercise bike while a colleague drove a huge bus right beside them, missing them by inches, thus creating a similar experience to what they tend to provide to several cyclists when they are behind the wheel.
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This powerful moment ensured the drivers could experience the world of others, and so were now in a place to pay more attention the next time they saw a cyclist on the road. This is empathy with a purpose.
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The goal of empathy is to try to see (and understand) a situation from another person's perspective. Pretty simple, right? We do it all the time in marketing - we simply can't afford not to imagine the world of our potential customers. Now let's think about it the same way for when we're working with colleagues or senior leaders and how we want to make sure communication is strong.
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If you don't have access to exercise bikes and large buses, you can still practice purposeful empathy with an open-mind and curiosity. Try to come from a place of zero-judgement and be genuinely interested in their perspective. How do you understand what they're thinking or going through? Ask plenty of open-ended questions.
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"What is most important to you on this project?"
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"Why is that outcome important to you?"
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"What would amazing look like to you?"
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Seriously, the list of open-ended questions available to use is endless.
4. mindfulness
The easiest way to describe mindfulness includes a lesson from nature. Imagine you are looking at a beautiful lake. It's a peaceful morning and the sun is still low on the horizon. There is no wind and the lake is so still that it offers a mirrored reflection of the mountains in the background. The scene is beautiful.
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Now imagine the wind suddenly picks up and it starts to rain. The same lake quickly transforms into a mildly raging sea and perhaps even a few branches from nearby trees fall into the water. The reflection is gone and the scene is chaotic. This is a metaphor for our minds. When we sit in silence and can avoid external distractions that tend to influence us, we can maintain a clear, still lake. But when we inadvertently let so much in, it's hard to get to that perfect lake. However, it is possible!
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Mindfulness is our ability to find a moment of peace in amongst the swirling chaos around us. Despite the rain and wind, we can still find the stillness of the lake. One quick mindfulness exercise you can practice is box breathing. Close your eyes and focus on counting your breath. Breathe in through your nose while you slowly count to four. Hold for four seconds. Breathe out through your nose as you again count to four. Hold for four more seconds...and then repeat. Do that for minimum five rounds (about a minute and a half). You will notice that the counting forces you to focus on that and nothing else. As your breath becomes the focus, everything else around you shifts out of focus and you're temporarily committed to the present. This is mindfulness.
5. prioritization
If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. I'm a big believer in the power of language, which is why I like to research the history of certain words. The word 'priority' has been around since the 14th century, but the word 'priorities' was only introduced in the 1900s....when we suddenly had long lists of things to get done!
One of the best hacks is to remember that the real meaning of the word priority means 'one thing...the prior thing'. So when someone asks you to take on an extra priority, you can remind yourself (or them if you feel so bold) that it's not truly a priority unless something else falls off the list.
This is a powerful question to help you: "What would you like me to deprioritize so that I can get this to you by deadline and nail the brief?"
Ok, easier said than done, right?
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However, it's worth getting into the habit of asking this. It's a critical question that can make a huge difference to deadlines and also the quality of output. As a leader of our internal creative team, I've seen first-hand too many times what happens when jobs get piled on...output gets rushed, and mistakes are made.
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So find a variation of the above question that works for you.
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"I want to make sure that I give this my full attention, but I have 3 other things that are also urgent. Can you please help me identify which one is the real priority?"
Let's advocate for a world in which prioritization is real and not just a modern way of making lists. Don't be afraid to seek clarity. It'll set you up for success, and your peers will notice.
like these tools?
These are 5 simple tools to use, but we're just scratching the surface here.
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And if you're ready to get going now, let's set up a chat.