How Tiny Changes Shifted My Work and Energy

System Update 1.1

UPDATE DOWNLOADED…

Making myself the main subject of my experiments turned out to be a true roller coaster ride and I’m not always sure it’s been a great idea to get on. Yet every new challenge has turned out to be a great learning experience so far.

Here are some experiments I’ve “run” the past few weeks:

• carry a small notebook for when ideas strike but their timing is terrible

  • the past four weeks have been intense. Imagine that you’re buzzing with passion and motivation and ideas… except you’re stuck at work where you’re constantly surrounded with prying eyes and the workload is big enough to entertain another team of the same size as yours.

  • not to mention I don’t remember half the ideas that pop-up during the day by the time I get home. So to prevent any more memory leaks and memory malfunctions, I started to carry a little notebook with me.

  • 5/5 - solid, practical, I love going back on older logs.

• notice energy levels

  • even when I have all my ideas together in my notebook, I run into a slightly more serious problem. I have plenty of time to work on things after work except I severely lack the energy or opportunity to do so.

  • when I’m finally home, ready to create, my body hits the emergency stop. “NO!” it screams and makes me pass out on the couch. It feels like I’m being pulled in two directions at the same time; I know I need to honour my body and rest, but at the same time the urge to create and work on something that actually brings me joy is just too strong to ignore.

  • so when do I actually have the energy?

    • Is it when I work in the morning, or in the evening?

    • Is it better if I wait until the weekend, or to grab any random moment that lets me create.

  • 3/5 - the idea is great, but I need more data to draw any conclusions.

• treating day job friction as research material - even if it’s not ideal, I can use it as practice ground

  • I started to treat every small confrontation or problem I encountered as a learning opportunity. Not just the practical problems, but interpersonal ones too. Team dynamics, how members react to each other, how they react to me or how I react to them

  • I asked for feedback and I take (constructive) criticism with an open heart. Not everyone is skilled at giving feedback but it doesn’t mean I can’t practice finding the seeds of truth behind harsh words and discard the rest.

  • it’s been only a few weeks but I think I have a better understanding of team relationships, how dynamics are evolving and what environmental factors influence us all the most (e.g. sudden heat spikes make us all go crazy but ice cream from HR is a life saver.

  • 6/5 - it’s bloody hard, but so worth it.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
— Marcel Proust

• offering support before knowing the ‘how’

  • ever since I clarified my vision and general direction - i.e. I want to work with people, and systems, I’ve been noticing micro opportunities everywhere.

  • I noticed that my manager was frustrated with how slowly his warehouse optimisation project is going. I approached him and simply mentioned that I’d be happy to help if there’s anything I can do.

  • he lit up like a Christmas tree when I offered my help, and what I thought would be a 10-min talk turned into an hour long conversation about what the project entails and what I can participate in.

  • 5/5 - I hope to have many more “Christmas tree” moments in the future

• treat breathing like a mini system reset

  • meditation is not for everyone. I get that. But I do know that my scattered practice of mindfulness meditation in the past ten years or so is coming in handy now. The system broke down? Deep breath. A colleague has a weird remark? Inhale, exhale. Repeat. At some point I started to keep a lavender sachet in my locker.

  • jokes aside, deep breathing does work. It helps me break the cycle of unhelpful rumination, and practice means I realise the rumination is happening in the first place. Sometimes it takes a minute or two, other times I stop halfway through the first thought.

  • rating: 1000000/5 - if I’d have to highlight one experiment, this would be it.

Originally, I started to run these experiments to protect myself and find ways to get through the days. What I didn’t quite expect is that these also made me a better employee altogether. I am better at managing conflict on the work floor and I am noticing ways to find meaning within my current job, not just out of it. And that’s why I’m starting to treat this phase not as a detour but as part of the path.

Curious to see what the next update will bring.

…UPDATE INSTALLED

P.s.: Let me know what experiments you have been running lately.