How you can pivot to thoughtfulness at work
There's no shortage of new things to do at work. Before you get going, read this.
New Things: A newsletter exploring the onslaught of newness in our lives.
A few days ago, I gave a talk at the Online News Association conference in Atlanta about how to thoughtfully introduce new initiatives in newsrooms. Along with Kwame Opam, a deputy managing editor at the Chicago Sun-Times, we shared some ideas on how to, as we put it, pivot to thoughtfulness.
Here’s the presentation if you’re interested.
Our talk was tailored for leaders in the news industry, which must keep pace with the explosion of new technology. But the concepts aren’t limited to journalists. We can all find ways to be more thoughtful about how we deal with new things at work.
With that in mind, I’ve adapted the presentation into some tips that anyone can use. So if you feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of change at work—new tools, initiatives, meetings, information—then these ideas are for you.
Check new things against your purpose.
At work, we tend to jump from one new thing to the next. We take on a new assignment, use a new tool, add a new meeting, implement a new process. In the midst of it all, it can be easy to forget why you do what you do—your purpose at work; your goals, mission, and core values. It always helps to take a second to think about the why. In our session, we suggested rooting changes in the journalistic mission and craft.
Ask questions about new things.
I’ve written before about the power of questions. Questions are a great way to force yourself to make more intentional decisions about your time and attention. When you’re at the start of something new at work, here are a few prompts to consider:
What are you doing? (Articulate exactly what you’re trying to accomplish.)
Why are you doing it? (See the previous section.)
How are you doing it? (This is your plan to make it happen.)
Who else is doing it? (Your teammates working on it with you.)
Who else needs to know? (Other important coworkers who should be aware.)
When are you doing it? (A timeline to make sure it doesn’t go on forever and ever.)
You don’t need to ask all of these questions every time. The point is to make question-asking a habit whenever you’re embarking on something new at work.
Start small.
Let’s say you’re launching a new project. Or considering new technology to use in your day-to-day work. Before you go all in, go small. Try it for a few days. Or run a pilot or experiment with an end-date. This will allow you to learn from it, make any adjustments, and then decide if it’s worth leaning into.
Use scale to decide speed.
Mark Zuckerberg once said “move fast and break things.” I propose a more thoughtful approach. When you’re experimenting with something new, move quickly. Keep it contained, give it an end date, then learn from it and move on. When you’re making a big change, slow things down. Take the time needed to learn how it works, ask questions, identify bugs, and habituate to the new process or technology. This can help you avoid innovation burnout, something I’ve written about before.
Here’s a matrix we included in our presentation:
Subtract.
When we think about how to improve something, we have a cognitive bias for adding—adding meetings, workflows, rules, and tools. Sometimes adding is good. But when you’re looking to make an improvement, consider subtraction as an option. And when you do add something new, find something old to remove from your plate. This will help you balance your workload and give you back a little time to think.
Thanks for reading.
Eric