What was breakfast today? Coffee. What did you have for breakfast yesterday? Coffee. What about tomorrow? Probably coffee.
There are a million little automatic processes that run our days. We arrive at work, stow lunch, log on to our computer, and process email. Day, after week, after year each one of these little processes gets solidified until we do them without thinking. Each process seems like it is the right thing to do because it is what we do.
But is coffee for breakfast good for you? Does starting the day by processing emails make us productive? How many inches does that afternoon cookie break add to my waist in a year? We usually do not ask these questions because we have adopted automatic processes that we unthinkingly carry out.
Association processes become automatic too. What we do becomes so routine we do not notice the flaws, or question the experience, or link it to our goals.
So we need to take advantage of each little disruption.
During the afternoon cookie break time, a co-worker held a meeting and brought apples. Maybe this prompts us to think, “hmmm, maybe I should try fruit during my mid-afternoon break instead?”
When a member calls with questions about registration take that as a cue to review the registration form. When a member has a question about the certification process review the instructions. When someone raises a good point about an email in the email series, change it up.
When the process gets disrupted, intentionally use the disturbance as a trigger to investigate.
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