February already! Did January seem to go quicky for you? It seemed to go in a flash for me. The business world revved up into fourth gear quicker than usual after the Christmas break. There was so much murky weather that it made us feel miserable but we kept on putting one foot in front of another. There was that US election and all the shocking consequences of it for the Americans and the rest of us. There have been yet more scandals and resignations in the Church of England. So an eventful month but not always motivating.

So I am glad that my garden is waking up and the daffodils and tulips are in the shops. I have seen robins, wrens and even a green woodpecker. This week I looked up from my work desk expecting the movement I had seen out of the corner of eye to be a cat. It was not. Less than three metres from me looking me in the eye was a young, beautiful fox. We looked at each other for a while. Then he decided I was a threat and he shot off down the garden like Usain Bolt. It was a memorable day.

So what have I been thinking about?

Addiction.

I do not mean smoking, gambling, drugs, alcohol or food, though all of these might apply. I mean addiction to old habits.

Now there is a difference between useful routines that we adopt every day like what time we get up, the order in which we prepare ourselves for the day, when we have the first cup of coffee and stuff like that, and addiction. Routines are useful and save our processing power for later because we are not making decisions. Addictions are unhelpful at best and damaging at worst.
People come to me for all sorts of reasons but the common thread is usually that they are stuck. Something is getting in the way of how they want to be and consequently how their business is. They know they need an intervention.

I always ask what a new client wants me to do as we work together. They might say any one or some combination of these:

Redefining their aims and a plan to bring them to fruition.
A personal sense of ownership and commitment to that plan and its priorities.
A timetable to get to a significant event in a state of readiness like a child going off to university, a business sale, or a retirement.
Achievement of the results they want this quarter, this year, in three years or whatever.
Improved turnover and especially profitability.
An effective way of working.
A good understanding of how to use their strengths effectively.
How to cover those things they hate doing or are not good at.
Increased self confidence.
An accountability partner.
An impartial supportive ally.
Finding their mojo again.

In the last months or so I have had several people answer the question what do you want from me by saying something like “please help me be the person I know I can be”. When we unpick it they are not working effectively. They probably have good interpersonal skills so they can create and run good teams. However they are not managing themselves well.

We probably look at the very basics like where do you work? What time do you get to your desk? What kickstarts you into work each day? What does a productive working day look like? Often there are incredibly simple answers like:

end the day by preparing your To Do list for tomorrow – don’t waste the first half hour in the morning obsessing over out what the plan should be.
Start the day by eating the frog – you know this. Do the thing first on your list that is going to be staring at you, frightening you or which you dread and which you will do anything to avoid, Do it first and be pleased with yourself from early in the day.
Plan ahead so that every day you put in hand the things you need other people to do for tomorrow, next week, or next month so that other people have time to do them and get them to you. Take the stress out of your and their lives.

I could go on and on. None of this is anything clever it is all about analysis, time, desk or diary management. However the important thing is to do it and keep doing it.

People make commitments to me that are really commitments to themselves. However in the last couple of months I have had several people who come for their regular sessions and tell me that they have not met these commitments. It is really sad because this is not for me, they are cheating themselves. And what is at the bottom of it? They are addicted to the way in which they have always done things. It is comfortable and undemanding. Change however obvious can be hard. Now it starts to be difficult to generalise for you but here is an example. A man who now works for himself, who is great with people but not very computer literate. We agreed it was time he started to keep all the clients’ papers in one place on his computer system. Somehow he cannot face it. When we tried to work out why, it was really simple. He likes his paper files. Filing a visit report gives him a pleasurable sense of having completed the work. Now he knows it holds everyone else in the office back from doing their bit in a timely way. He knows there are lots of great ways of doing it digitally but he does not do it. I am not going to go on about how we are managing to change this addictive habit but we are.

So I ask you is there anything you are addicted to? A work habit you like? Something you have always done that you repeat even though it is no longer useful? Something you do because it is comforting? Is it stopping you moving forward? Is it affecting your team members? Is it affecting customer care? If so, it is a redundant and harmful addiction. It is damaging you. You need to find a better way.

Remember the story of the sugar dragon? If you have a sweet tooth and every day you eat something sugary then the sugar dragon has got you in her claws and you cannot escape. However if you have a couple of days without sugar and eat fruit or something else instead you regulate your system. You escape from her claws.

It is the same with redundant working habits. So why not have a go. Honestly analyse how you work. What are your unwanted, unhealthy addictions? How can you do your own rehab exercise? No need for The Priory you can do this yourself.

If you want some help then please reach out to me. Let me be your buddy. Please talk to me. We can talk about your business, where you are with it, what you want from it and your life. We can find a way of dealing with your addiction; of using that amazing asset you have: an employee with huge talents and skills that we need to develop. I love speaking with people, off the meter, to help them explore possibilities and whether/how to take them forward. I hope you will be one of them.

And please do not beat yourself up for the way in which you are managing yourself. Some of those addictions have been helpful up to now but they just need breaking for you to move forward and be all you have potential to be.