When I talk to people about making sure that their habits, system, routines, or processes are strategic, everyone nods. When I ask them which of their systems or habits need to be tweaked, people go quiet. And when I ask how they’ll tweak their systems or their habits, people get cranky.
Since our systems, our habits, our routines are so familiar, whether they’re personal or organization-wide, it can be difficult to identity how they need to be adjusted. It’s not always intuitive. So let me give you an example of a system I’ve identified and tweaked, a process that works for me, and offer it up for you to use as a model.
I’m a classic introvert, and happily so. I’m also shy, and that is more problematic. Given the choice between public speaking in front of hundreds of people or going to lunch with ten strangers, I’m picking the speech every single time. In addition, I was told as a child that I wasn’t particularly athletic and maybe even a little clumsy. I can tell you from experience that it’s possible to trip on a treadmill, so there may be some truth to that. Further, my hobbies include things like reading, playing piano, knitting, writing, all things that involve looking down at something. Put all these together, and it’s easy to see how I developed a lifelong habit of looking down at what is about three feet in front of me. Almost always.
I don’t like this habit of mine. It took me until my late thirties to acknowledge that it may not be normal to be able to perfectly describe the pattern in the carpet at my workplace but not the picture I hung on my office wall. Looking down while walking means I don’t have to interact with strangers that I inadvertently make eye contact with, but I also don’t get to see the interesting cloud formations. Or watch the squirrels race each other up the tree. Or notice other people’s odd outfit combinations. If I want to see more of the world around me, if I want to make eye contact with the people I’m talking to, if I want to avoid curving my spine into a permanent tech neck knot, I need to change my routines.
So I decided to leverage an existing habit, and to tweak it, in order to establish a new pattern.
At the Rec Center where I work out, there’s a walking track. (And by walking track, I mean a thick stripe painted on the floor of the gym that indicates the walking lane encircling the basketball courts.) A couple of weeks ago I walked the track. Nothing earth-shattering there, but it was a challenge for me.
Why? I knew that I didn’t have to watch my feet at all because that track is perfectly smooth and level. That meant I could try to concentrate on keeping my shoulders back and my chin up without worrying about what might be in front of my feet.
But it turns out that, even when you’re walking with the specific motive of correcting your posture, it can be difficult to keep that goal top of mind if you’ve walked for decades without much concern for posture.
Luckily the gym has a built-in feature to assist me. The gym walls are lined with metal panels, which means there are rows of rivets holding the metal sheets onto the wall. Most of those rivets are above eye level. So every time I turned a corner on the track, I looked at the far wall and locked my gaze on those rivets.
That meant that instead of walking with my eyes turned down, I walked with my eyes up. The closer I got to the wall, the farther up I had to look, and even had to tilt my chin up just before turning the corner of the track. I knew what results I was looking for, and so I could check for them along the way. Are my shoulders back? Yep. Is my chin level or tilted slightly up? Indeed. Can I see my feet? Nope. Smooth walking, chin up, shoulders back, without thought…. Great practice for what I want to accomplish.
There was just one problem. I mentioned that the walking track in the gym surrounds the basketball courts. And while I walked, a bunch of people were playing pickup games on those courts. I could hardly ask them to clear out of the gym while I walked.
While I was walking, an occasional basketball (or basketball player) crossed my path. I couldn’t know when I’d need to pull up short to avoid an errant pass, or toss a ball back to a waiting player, or avoid a near collision with a player who kept the ball but not himself in-bounds. The interruptions took my focus and my gaze off the rivets on the wall.
The disruptions were simultaneously unpredictable and unavoidable. But the interruptions didn’t derail everything I was trying to do. I just had to keep walking and refocus on the rivets.
So let’s break down this system, this habit, this process, this routine that I developed.
The Goals
First there are goals. I have an overarching goal to physically embody and project the same level of confidence that I feel intellectually, and hopefully protect the health of my spine at the same time.
But the goal of my track-walking process is simpler and more specific than that. The goal of this process is to straighten my posture and get my gaze up off the ground.
Maybe your overarching goal is to expand your sales team, but the process goal is to hire candidates that share your company’s values. Or maybe your overarching goal is to write a book, but the process goal is to increase the number of words you write in an hour. So think about what you want to do and what small things are currently holding you back from accomplishing what you want.
The System, Habit, or Process
Next, think about a habit or a process that you already do without thinking about it. This isn’t the time to add something entirely new, but to leverage an existing routine that’s already in place.
For me, the routine was going to the gym. For you, the routine process might be invoicing clients, holding a regular team meeting, paying your bills, sitting down to write, brushing your teeth, or anything else you automatically.
The Smooth Track
Then identify your smooth track. In my case it’s a literal smooth and level track, but you’ll have to work with the metaphor.
Often the best way to create a smooth track is to automate or outsource a task. At the very least, look at reducing the number of decisions you need to make as you work through the process. It’s easier to floss each night before brushing your teeth if you don’t have to choose between three kinds of floss. Or figure out where you stashed the floss. So pick a brand of floss and a place to store it. Smooth out the track.
The Tweak
Choose your adjustment. My tweak was focusing on the rivets on the wall. It’s simple, it’s easy to do, and I didn’t have to decide every time I turned the corner what I was going to try on this lap.
Your tweak might be trying a different software, eliminating a meeting you suspect may be unnecessary, or paying with cash instead of credit cards when you go out with friends. The key is to pick only one thing to change, one tweak to make, or you will have trouble understanding what is creating different results for you.
The Indicators
If you’re making a change, how will you know if it’s working or not? Identify your indicators of change, which should be related to your goal. What are you monitoring? I was monitoring different body parts— where are my eyes focused, what do my shoulders feel like, is my hip locking up as it’s prone to do?
What are you monitoring? Have you reduced your turnover rate among employees? Is the amount of debt you have lower or higher? Is your novel’s word count going up faster than it has before?
If you’re not seeing any changes in the indicators you’ve chosen, or if the changes you’re seeing are the opposite of what you wanted, know that nothing has gone wrong. Change your tweak and try again.
The Disruptions
Finally, identify your obstacles, and what you’ll do to get back on track after you're interrupted. My disruptions were basketballs. Yours could be an employee resignation, illness in your family, a disruption in the supply chain— anything you can reasonably expect to happen but cannot avoid. Know what the obstacles are and they lose most of their power to derail you.
One last note: Anyone watching me do this workout would assume that it was a rest day for me. I like to lift weights and do mobility work. I begrudgingly do cardio on the treadmill or the bikes. Walking the track looks like nothing. But I knew what I was doing and why, I knew it was working, and that’s what matters.
What your competitors see, what your family sees, what your neighbors see doesn’t matter. You worry about your process, and let the results speak for themselves.
What process, routine, system, or habit will you tweak next?
Written by Amie Pilla, without the use of AI
Copyright Amie Pilla, 2024, All Rights Reserved
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