Do things differently

I’m currently on a quest to do things differently. By my ripe age I’ve got myself into some good and bad habits, and I’ve certainly established a lot of routines. Of course good habits can be a great time saver, but from time to time they need to be reviewed. What serves you well at one time may not be appropriate forever and ever.

So occasionally we all need to be given a jolt, and encouraged to try new things. It’s not easy. Habits, once formed, are difficult to break.

For example, not checking email regularly is a great time saver, but has now become a habit. Ignoring email for an hour or so hasn’t resulted in any catastrophes; not so far at least and it helps concentration enormously. It’s a “do differently” that may yield some big benefits.

I’m also attending different events, and meeting new people to challenge to my established ways of thinking.

Apart from being great fun, “do differently” has a very serious purpose. Performance improvement is all about doing things better. Better, by its very nature is different from the original. So it’s important to get used to thinking differently, challenging the status quo, and being prepared to change. Not always easy, but important.

And depending what you decide to do differently, it can also be fun.