3 OBSTACLES IN MY WORK STYLE + HOW I ACCOUNT FOR THEM
This week on instagram I outed a couple of my work style obtacles 🙋🏻 💁🏻
If you didn’t catch that post, the most important takeaways are
Some aspects of your work style work for you, and some can work against you
Neither is good or bad
If you don’t like the outcome of something working against you, try to account for it with a helpful tool
What do I mean by ‘tool’
*Note to self: this needs it’s own post 🙂because I explain this pretty often.
What I mean when I say tool is, any method used or action taken to help you achieve an end.
The long and short of it is that at any given moment we have finite access to any of our tools — an app, a planner, your motivation, energy levels, etc. — and we’ll need them for different situations. It’s important to have tools for many occasions, so first you have to know what types of occasions you’ll need tools for, and then which tools suit the occasion.
Here is a closer look at the tools I’ve built around my 3 obstacles, and the outcomes they help me avoid.
1. Energy fluctuates throughout the month
I have often woken up, looked at my calendar and realized I just do not have the energy for the number of meetings I put on it.
If you have a menstrual cycle you probably experience this too. Even if you don’t, the woo woo in me believes that the moon impacts all of us 🔮But even if that doesn’t sit with you, there’s no denying that some days you just don’t have it.
My energy levels, particularly my ability to engage in meetings, drive a conversation, collaborate, and generate ideas on the spot are very different at different moments in my cycle.
Bad Outcomes: It doesn’t feel good to know you’re entering a meeting without your best self in your pocket, wishing you could cancel that meeting. I woke up a few too many times in the wrong phase of my cycle, and therefore the wrong frame of mind, for 4 back-to-back meetings.
Tool Added to my Toolkit: Schedule my phases on my calendar, and try to only book collaborative meetings at the optimal times
2. Motivation and creativity are finicky
This can be my biggest saboteur. I have a bad tendency of aligning my amount of motivation with how good or bad I am at my job, and falling into the “If I had just…” trap.
Bad Outcomes: Lack of motivation or creativity blocks can lead to procrastination, that’s compounded by feeling bummed on myself for procrastinating and then having to scramble a bit, which tends to push something else into the procrastination zone. Vicious cycle.
Tool(s) Added to my Toolkit:
Tell that sabotaging gremlin to mind its own business. Motivation + creativity go up and down all on their own, completely independently of worthiness or effectiveness.
I built a journaling practice in Notion to help tap a little creative energy every day. I try to never let it go totally dormant, so it’s easier to pick up again when I need it.
I reference the Tiny Habits motivation curve and remind myself that motivation is our most fickle of friends and it needs to be balanced with ability and realistic expectations of myself.
3. Atypical experience of time
I wish this was more of a Dr. Strange, Time Infinity Stone situation but it’s really just some mild adult ADHD and a tendency to overcommit.
I have a long runway for the amount of time that can pass before I start to feel discomfort with how long it’s been since checking in with someone. I also have a tendency to read something > forget immediately to respond.
This is the hardest one to share because the bad outcomes make me the most bummed. But I’m a real person on a real life adventure trying to do better all the time 🙂
Bad Outcomes: Friends, family, and (eesh) even sometimes clients can feel a little neglected and in the dark. It also triggers my old pal “If I had just…” gremlin, which can stall forward, positive progress.
Tool Added to my Toolkit: I put together a formula in Notion that tells me how long its actually been (in non-Dr. Strange days) since I connected with someone. This helps me bridge the gap between the time between check-ins that I know others are comfortable with (usually shorter), and the time I’m comfortable with (longer if left unchecked). I’ve also made a habit of marking things back to ‘unread’ so I know to circle back.
If you want to stock your own toolkit
That’s exactly what we do in a Custom Setup, and a baby amount of it in a Quick Setup. Let’s get you some tools!
