Commuting, reading, transitioning, new routines

My daily commute used to be an opportunity for me to read.  It was my transition time from home to work and work to home.  It helped me to draw a distinction between home and work and it felt like a good use of time.

I no longer commute

So, I have lost my dedicated reading time.  And I have lost that transition into and out of work time.

I wonder whether you might have noticed your reading dwindling if you have been working from home during lock-down?  And what does that do to your transitions into and out of work?  Switching on and switching off.

At the start of lock-down, I had a bucket-list of the things I would do to pass the time. One of those items was to read all the unread books on my book-shelf.

That didn’t happen.  Life became inordinately busy, even when I wasn’t going out and about anymore.  I did have more time at weekends, so I did some reading, but nowhere near as much as I had planned.

I get ideas from reading.  I join dots, make connections.  So, I need to find a new routine for reading.

I did get into the habit of going to bed earlier so that I could read.  But then we got a puppy.  You may be wondering what that has to do with reading.  Well, I take the early morning shift, getting up at 5.30 or 6am to take her out.  And that means I need to go to sleep earlier to be sure I am getting good rest.

It’s amazing how change upsets our routines and our rhythms.  This is just one of many that I’m needing to consciously figure out, so that I don’t let my book pile get bigger rather than smaller.

How have your days changed?

Which of those changes have you drifted into without even thinking?  How are they serving you and your wellbeing?  What might be some conscious choices that you want to make now – especially as we start to transition into a different normality?

In the meantime, if you are interested, here are my favourite (work) books of all time:

• Mentor Coaching: A Practical Guide – by me.  Number one because I am so proud of the achievement!  This is for you if you are a coach, no matter what your level of experience or the coaching body you are aligned with.  The central message: “mentor coaching is for life, not just credentialing”. Read more here.
• Wilful Blindness – by Margaret Heffernan.  This booked shocked me for the amount of “turning a blind eye” that happens in organisations.  Not out of malicious intent, but due to a sheep mentality (no-one else has mentioned it, so it must just be me) and fatigue.
• Make It Stick – by Chip & Dan Heath. This is all about how to design great learning experiences where the learning sticks.  For anyone in the business of learning.  And it translates into the virtual world of learning too, with a little bit of creativity.
• Switch – by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. How to make change happen.  Some fascinating insights into nudging people to make changes, for example the milk story.
• Transitions – by William Bridges.  If you are going through any transition (we all are right now!) this is a must read to help you to make good endings so that you can make even better new beginnings.
• The Art of Possibility – Benjamin Zander.  I love the positivity in this book, and I often draw on the starfish story (too long to repeat here) and the letter A exercise.
• First Break All the Rules – Marcus Buckingham. This is for leaders who want to do the best by their people.  It comes from the Strengths stable, that is focus on strengths not weaknesses and you’ll get much better results from your team members.
• Leadership and Self-Deception – by the Arbinger Institute.  A fable about how we should look to ourselves first before we criticize others.
• The Progress Principle – Teresa Amabile & Steven Kramer. Any progress is good progress and we need to give ourselves a pat on the back for even the small things we achieve each day, so that we can keep our motivation going.
• Mindset – by Carol Dweck.  There are two ways of learning – the growth mindset and the fixed mindset.  The growth mindset sets us up for much more success in life as we are not held back by the limitations of exams and assessments etc.
• Time to Think – by Nancy Duarte.  As its name suggests, we all need time to think.  This is the most non-directive form of coaching that you will ever come across.  “What would you like to think about today, and what are your thoughts”….”What more do you think or feel or want to say?”…”What more do you think or feel or want to say?”…..
• The Gifts of Imperfection – by Brene Brown, shame researcher.  Shame plays a bit part as does vulnerability.
• The Path – by Laurie-Beth Jones.  Lots of exercises to help you to think through the purpose of your life.
• The Checklist Manifesto – by Atul Gawande.  How to use checklist to improve our efficiency and effectiveness.  Much more interesting than that description gives it credit, for example the story about members of a surgical team having a check-list to ask the surgeon before he/she starts surgery to ensure that no infections ensue.
• And a bonus one that overlaps between personal and professional – Dr Seuss’ Oh The Places You’ll Go.  Short, sweet, pictorial and with a beautiful message for adults and children alike.