When a Change of Scenery Changes Everything
I love my community for many reasons, but one benefit is client-and-friend inspired article and episode topic suggestions!
For example, my recent article and episode about Naming Conventions was inspired and offered by a friend and client who asked good questions and then said, “Oh you should make that into a podcast episode topic!”
Last week, I received a text from a friend, and after she told me what she wanted to tell me about a breakthrough she had around getting her important work done, she said, “Feel free to use that as a blog topic if you haven’t already!”
Know what? I’m going to quote her fully here, since she gave me permission:
“I had to update you on the [problem around daily sales numbers she was trying to figure out at a recent productivity session]. IDK, something clicked. It’s crazy how a different setting or taking a break can make you see things you couldn’t see before.”
Yes, this! Another great topic idea!
Truly, you all are brilliant!
This person recently attended an admin night, so this is a plug for Admin Night, too! Our next Admin night is April 13th at 6:30 at Spoke and Vine.
This friend was working through a bookkeeping question and was tackling it logically and competently, of course. She had ruled out all the things that weren’t the problem. And when she looked at it while in a different context, like an admin night, she was able to see the problem from a different perspective and solve the mystery.
Now, don’t get me wrong. You know me. I talk endlessly about the importance of habits and routines, and I am not about to change that theme here! Habits and Routines are the essential foundation for a healthy and productive life!
We have what we have. We like what we like, we know what we know. And that's great.
And yet, once the habits and routines are completed, we can also benefit from changing things up sometimes! There are times when, either on purpose or by a fortuitous coincidence (I don’t believe in luck), we find ourselves in a new environment or location, and we’re able to look at a familiar situation through new eyes.
Let’s think more about this.
I’ve been working with my most recent cohort of students with the Highway Construction Careers Training Program, and we’re currently working through the Professional Communications content. When we start on the Communication content, we discuss the 8 components of communication: Message, Sender, Channel, Receiver, Feedback, Context, Environment and Noise.
We’re used to thinking about the senders and receivers and the message, of course, but the environment and noise can make or break our efforts for communication. “Noise” is actual noise that we hear but also anything else that interferes with the communication process, anything that gets in the way of our sending and receiving messages.
For example, I work from home, and there is often actual noise like family members or neighborhood noise in my office, and then there is the “noise” of my own thoughts or household tasks that might distract me or keep me from getting my work done. You and your environments have noise and interference as well. And we get used to our usual “noise”.
When we’re in a different environment, the regular noise changes or is eliminated. Other noises may come in, of course, but our brains are activated in different ways with this new input. We’re able to focus in new ways. Like my friend shared, “something clicked. It’s crazy how a different setting or taking a break can make you see things you couldn’t see before.”
Here’s another example: At the beginning of Lent, which just ended with Easter of course, I read a reflection where we were all invited to “Go into the Desert”, to step outside of our “usual”, our “typical”, our “day to day” for Lent, because there are things that we can learn only when we step outside of our usual day to day life.
We know this is the case, so what do we do about it?
How To:
If you feel you might be in a rut or could benefit from a perspective shift, or you just want to see what can happen with new inputs, here are some ideas!
When I was teaching my HCCTP students about learning styles and study strategies, I mentioned that my college senior son has a handful of favorite study spaces on campus. When he feels his focus waning while studying, he moves on to the next study space. The same idea works for us in the workplace. When you need new energy and inspiration, consider working in a different space. Take yourself to a different place in your home (if you work from home), or a different work space in the office.
Or, take yourself out to breakfast (or lunch or coffee), or to your local library: When I have the opportunity on the calendar and also the need to think about things differently like goal setting or strategic planning for my company, I take myself to my local breakfast place or my local library. When I am seeking that external stimulation, that burst of new, I will go there and spread out my notes and laptop on a table for a few hours.
Opposite day: for some reason I have the Opposite Day episode from Seinfeld in my head as I suggest this one - try something new for lunch, sit in a different chair, talk to different people.
To a lesser extreme, shake things up in your regular environment. Try music or no music, bright lights or not, open door or closed, or a morning work block or afternoon, whatever is outside your typical operation!
Try performing routine tasks differently. For example, brushing our teeth with our non-dominant hand takes us off autopilot, re-engages our brains and increases brain health. Other suggestions are to write, doodle or use a mouse with your non-dominant hand.
Recognize the environments and situations in your life that often lead to bursts of inspiration. For example, I have a waterproof note pad in my shower because as my brain is relaxing and taking care of shower tasks, I often receive ideas and insights and I like to write those down before I forget. I have a note pad in the car, too, for similar reasons, and I audio record on my cell phone ideas like episode and podcast topics that come to me while I drive.
Also, talking through a problem with someone else, someone trusted but from a different perspective, and opening up to a new view point can have similar benefits.
Drive to a usual place by an unusual route. Turn down a road you’ve never been on, or revisit roads you haven’t driven down in a while. Notice how things have changed, or how you have changed since seeing them.
Try new foods, or a new restaurant. I tried sushi a long time ago and didn’t like it. I’m grateful, though - my sons are all fans of it now and have reintroduced me to it, and now I like it!
If you can… Go Into the Desert! Ok, maybe not the desert, but sign up for or go on a retreat, and be intentional about why you’re there - or not! Maybe you need the unstructured time!
Travel, if you can. I get a lot of really great ideas when I am traveling. I love the idea of lessons in productivity and life from the road, from something that I see in a different state, or people that I talk to and they find out what I do and they ask me interesting questions and then I want to make that into a podcast episode topic!
Routines and habits and “normal” are good. “Typical” is just fine. I’m a fan of all of those things! And yet sometimes we benefit, either on purpose or coincidentally, from being immersed in different locations and situations.
Routines are awesome. I'm not suggesting that we abandon our routines. But there's something to learn about looking at something differently, trying something different. If you don't have the opportunity to go out into the desert, because who does?, there are still ways that we can break out of our typical perspectives and routines, our typical environments, and try something new.
And in that intentional trying something new, there might be ideas or imagination or motivation or sparks of insight that we wouldn't experience otherwise.
Knowing what we now know, we can be open to those perspective shifts when they come our way, and even invite them in by shaking up our usual environments once in a while!
