We don’t think much
We spend most of our time reacting to situations without thinking about them. It’s the way our brains work. Over time we pick up habits and learn routines. They allow our subconscious to take control and we function on autopilot.
Most of the time we don’t think about what we are doing.
A little extreme?
It might sound it, but consider this…
Have you ever driven a car across the country at 70 mph whilst holding a conversation with your passenger? Your subconscious was driving the car for you. Your rational brain was holding down the conversation. It would have only paid attention to the driving if something untoward had happened and you needed to concentrate.
If a ball bounced into the road your conversation would have stopped. And your passenger, if they had any sense would have shut up as well. All your concentration would have switched to the ball, looking for the child that kicked it. Then, when the danger had passed, you would have switched back to auto pilot.
Habits help us
Remember how much you had to concentrate when you were learning to drive? If every journey was like that few of us would keep it up. It would be too much like hard work.
Imagine if you had to stop and think about everything?
- What is the best way to brush your teeth?
- Where should you put the clean laundry?
- Which shoe should you put on first?
It would be exhausting, even debilitating.
Thinking about things is tough, it takes energy which we would all rather not use if we didn’t have to.
The problem with habits…
Is that they provide a short-term fix to a problem. Not a thought through, long-term solution.
Most of our habits are only small things, but they add up to some significant outcomes over the years. Is your instinctive routine when stressed to go for a walk, or light up a cigarette? On any given day that choice won’t make a damn of difference to your health, but over 20 years your habit could be lethal.
Working habits
Our brains use exactly the same shortcuts in our professional lives. Habits are as prevalent at work as they are at home.
So what are your work habits? In your organisation do people habitually:
- Deflect attention away from the real issues
- Hold 4 hour meetings
- Triple check every expense claim
- Kowtow to superiors
- Create twenty pages of PowerPoint for every discussion
- Seek out the reasons why something can’t be done
Just like your personal habits, on any given day these behaviours won’t make a damn of difference, but over 20 years…
What are your organisation’s bad habits?
The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken
~ Samuel Johnson
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