There are certain phrases and quotes that just stick out to me and vibe with me. I used to think quotes are things that are used at graduation speeches. Someone you don’t know is quoting a famous person that did a lot. This is supposed to fill you with joy and reverence for the life you have ahead. In reality, you are texting your friends where you are going to meet up for drinks later.
Diagrams with quotes really resonate with me. Once I see the quote it suddenly hooks into me the application for the day-to-day. A solution I have seen come up with is problem reframing. This falls into the broader term of cognitive reframing and the psychology of framing in your mind. The problem framing I want to first layout is in the diagram below around elevators.
In this two-pronged approach to the “problem”, you either improve the current solution, the elevator, or you automate the process and let it seem shorter. I have had this up in my office for years. It really helped as I would view and address things that frustrated me at work. Not being able to control processes, I would automate them or do them in a different way that made the task feel like it went by faster for me. Eventually the tasks/systems I was able to show my team we could do them much faster in an easier way for everyone. Thus improving the elevator.
Recently reading Effortless by Greg McKewon, I came across his principle of Starting from Step Zero. A great many examples about how sometimes as humans we will continue to operate in a system that assumes that we have to use all the steps of what we are used to. I would like to amend the elevator solution reframing to three prongs. The easiest goal and way to handle anything in the elevator problem is that there was never a need for the elevator in the first place. If you move the solutions to the “first floor” of the solution then you have no need to change the elevator or make it go by faster.
How do you model your efficiency? What process do you use to help you overcome a rut? Did I nail it in this article? Would love to hear your thoughts. Until next time. DA
Download the above and an explanation here.
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