The secret ingredient to productivity is….
Sleep.
A couple of my clients introduced me to this book: Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams
It’s great for questioning “why we overvalue employees who undervalue sleep, and often glorify the high-powered executive who is on email until 1.30am and in the office by 5.45 the following morning?”
The research shows shorter amounts of sleep will make you generate fewer and less accurate solutions to problems.
Are you role modelling poor sleep patterns? Goodbye e-mails at 11pm….
The curse of nice
It’s good to be nice, right? Well turns out being too nice can play havoc with your straightforwardness. I’ve helped many a clients dial down their nice to get their message heard.
And (being a former really nice person) I’ve had to learn the lessons too.
So if you hold back because you don’t want to rock the boat, you need this book: Not Nice: Stop People Pleasing, Staying Silent, & Feeling Guilty… And Start Speaking Up, Saying No, Asking Boldly, And Unapologetically Being Yourself
Swearing is useful
Some of my clients love a bit of ‘robust’ language- and I’m fine with it but they never expect it from me. So I noticed that occasionally it’s just what’s needed to disrupt an unhelpful pattern (like excuse making or blaming). Obviously I need to have a very sound relationship with my client to tell them what they just said “sounds like BS”. But I’ve discovered it can really help.
OK, I’m not advising that you start effing and jeffing.
But how can you get the same impact without the swearing? How can you disrupt things? Do you find meetings are boring or you’re having the same repetitive conversations? How about having your quarterly reviews walking beside a lake or up a hill?
Listening better is more important than having better answers
Everyone knows this. So why are we so terrible at it? I live and breath this stuff and I occasionally slip into bad habits – so I know your pain.
Poor listening leads to assumptions and misunderstandings. These lead to errors, poor decisions, or costly mistakes. It can also lead to a loss of team trust.
Watch this video, it will change your life: 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation
Over to you
What lessons have you learned so far in 2021? And how are you making use of that learning?