[Note from Mitch: This post is the second in a multi-part series about personal energy. It can be read alone, or consumed in order. If you'd like to start from the beginning, the first post can be found here.]
I believe that deep-down, humans have a natural tendency towards laziness. I don't think this is true because we are bad people, but because throughout our evolution we developed a biological need to conserve energy in an environment where food was scarce. Today most of us live, work and play in a land of plenty. Think about how difficult it is to choose the option where you know you will need to expend more energy.
- park your car at the far end of the parking lot instead of parking near the entrance
- walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator
- purchasing groceries and preparing a meal instead of ordering take-out
Often times, especially if a task is not fun, we rely on our willpower to force ourselves to perform. And if you're like me, your willpower is often not up to the task.
Increasing our driving ability is not something to be done once. Driving organizations and projects towards success is a continuous activity. Here are three techniques that I use to create more energy, which are more effective than relying only on willpower and good intentions.
1. Set ambitious goals, and give yourself (public) deadlines
As an adult, we are very rarely held to deadlines with immediate consequences. In school, yes. But in the real world as an adult things are much looser. How many times in the past have you expected a colleague or a service provider to do something by a certain date, and instead of the promised result you received only excuses and delays? It happens a lot. In those situations, how often were there immediate consequences? More likely there was only frustration and a loss of credibility with the colleague or service provider. In most cases, people don't even give feedback when they're disappointed.
If you work in a culture of little or no feedback, it's easy to make this kind of unreliablity a habit. So what can you do to increase your willpower and build a reputation for delivering results and not excuses?
There is a technique that I use in my daily work, that is commonly used in weight loss groups. Setting ambitious and public deadlines for yourself. Peer pressure is a powerful tool with all sorts of uses. One way to use this is to give yourself extra incentive to produce, especially when things get difficult.
There is an easy way to build a reputation for delivering results and not excuses. Do what you say you'll do, every time. It's that simple. For people that value their credibility, publicly setting a deadline creates an extremely strong incentive to execute on what you say.
When you do this, ensure that you choose the correct medium to set your deadline or goal. Not everything you do needs to go out to the world as a tweet or a post on Facebook! (Imagine notifying all your family and friends that yes, you promise to fill out your time sheet before the deadline this week!) Tell a friend, make an announcement to your management team that you will do X, by date Y, or simply verbally promise your spouse or partner that you will do something often creates the necessary motivation to get it done.
Setting public deadlines for yourself is probably not good for your cortisol level, but it's very good for your output.
2. Fake enthusiasm
Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower, and draws all good things toward you. — Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same. — Carlos Castañeda
Do you want to know what the difference is between someone who is excited and someone who acts like they're excited?
Nothing.
The simple act of pretending to be enthusiastic about your job often makes you enthusiastic. Try it.
- Going into a tough meeting? Act excited.
- Heading into a difficult customer conversation when you cannot meet their needs? Act excited.
- Just received bad news about a major project delay? (take a breath, calm down, and then) Act excited (about fixing it).
I'm not suggesting that you run around your office acting like you received news that you won the lottery. By excited I mean geniuinely enthusiastic about doing your job.
“How often do you show people that you are genuinely enthusiastic about your job?”
As leaders, one of our key responsiblities is to energize our organizations, even when the going gets tough. It's easy to be excited at the beginning of a project. It's equally easy to be excited when the project is nearing it's completion and you can see the end. It's very difficult to stay excited in the middle of the project, when problems are surrounding you and your team, delays and failure seem inevitable, and no one is looking to make sure you are doing the right thing. That is when true leadership is tested. That is when you earn your salary.
To increase your driving ability, you need to create energy. An easy trick to do that is to fake enthusiasm.
3. It's your choice
The final technique is so simple, we often forget it.
With every interaction, you have a choice to push things forward to success, or to let events carry you along. Before you walk into an encounter or a meeting, take 15-30 seconds to set your mind straight. Make a promise to yourself that for the duration of this encounter, you will strive to make it as professional and productive as you can.
Question yourself:
- Am I going to let important points dissolve into endless discussion, unclear resolution, and no follow-up or action points?
- Am I simply going to answer the questions that are asked of me, or am I going to involve myself actively in the conversation and drive toward a solution?
- Am I going to be fully present and engaged in the meeting and/or topic or succumb to the allure of my computer or smartphone?
- What is one thing that I want to accomplish with this meeting or encounter?
All of us have a choice. Many of people make that choice subconsciously by wandering into a meeting and reacting to things as they come. When they become bored they check their phone or flip open their laptop to see if there's anything interesting in their inbox.
In contrast, push hard to get every ounce of value out of every single meeting. Either way, you're paying with your time, so you might as well get the most you can out of your time investment.
Just try one
I challenge you to try one of these techniques today. Just once. Fake enthusiasm and making a choice to have productive encounters are by far the simplest, but setting public deadlines is not very complicated either. Make a promise to yourself to try one technique today and see what happens! I'd love to hear if it worked for you and if it didn't.
Do you use other techniques for improving your everyday driving ability? Post them in the comment section so others can benefit.
Take care, and I'll talk to you next time.
Image credit: Phil Riley used under CC0 Public Domain