Pivoting into more efficient routines
It’s a Tuesday morning and I’ve placed my glass of water and cup of coffee on my desk. I’ve already done my morning, “I love my life” ritual, I’ve nourished my body, I’ve made sure to experience gratitude and I’ve set my intentions for how I will experience the day. And, as I settle in, I cannot help but think about how different life was a year ago.
My rituals, my routine are the same, but the world in which I perform them is unrecognizable some days. Now, I’m a firm believer that we have a choice to feel sad, anxious, disappointed (you name it) about what has changed. OR – to feel joy, creativity, even intrigue …for the potential ahead of us. From the beginning, I decided that I will choose joy. And in doing so, my perspective on this entire crisis is not one I usually hear from others.
Example One: Productivity
During the shutdown, when remote work became the absolute norm, and people had plenty more freedom in their schedules, did you ever feel you were getting more done? Microsoft hosted what they called their “Work-Life Choice Challenge”, a summer project aimed at examining work-life balance and giving employees more flexibility in their work schedule. Part of this experiment included reducing their employees’ work week by one day – and what they saw across the board was a 40% increase in productivity. Yes, you read that correctly – an INCREASE in productivity.
Are We Capable of Change? In a culture where we pride ourselves on working to death, sometimes literally, are we capable of using this information (proven around the globe, not just by Microsoft) to pivot into more efficient routines? Are we ready to give up the “working day” structure built by our great grandparents (and massive enterprises) and instead place our focus on quality of life, making that the driving force behind our productivity? And if we make these changes, what do we stand to gain?
Thriving Over Barely Surviving
Time, talent and energy have all been impacted by COVID-19… the question is this: has the impact been more positive or negative?
- Harvard Business Review estimates that the “best” organizations have seen productive time increase by 5% or more.
- HBR also estimates that “the rest” have experienced reduced productive time by 2% to 3%.
This reality of loss within most organizations shows us, based on the improvement within other organizations, the potential for progress, if businesses are willing to focus on building up their resilience strategies. These strategies focus on processes, products, services, people, culture, and technology.
When I am booked as a resilience keynote speaker and start talking about strategies like these, I start to see ears perk up. For so many, this is the missing piece. Resilience is the X-factor of productivity and success, whether we’re talking about you as an individual – or about entire organizations.
The reality is that people and organizations that were already focused on resilience strategies, already collaborating, already managing stress with daily rituals, and focusing on productivity in a healthy way – these are the people and organizations that are shredding the waves of change!
In both the good times, and the not-so-good times, your ROI – return on investment – relies on your resilience.
Ready to learn more about how resilient you are right now? This simple assessment will show you. Looking for a resilience keynote speaker? Inquire about Adam Markel here.