You’ve Done Self Care. You’ve Languished. Now Try This.; The New York Times, February 13, 2022

Brad Stulberg, The New York Times; You’ve Done Self Care. You’ve Languished. Now Try This.

"If you don’t know where to begin, a good place to start is by reflecting on what matters to you most, what provides you with a sense of well-being and groundedness. Then ask yourself how to apply that activation energy strategically. What actions will give you the oomph you need? For example, if improving your fitness would make you feel better, you might start with 30 minutes of daily movement. If creativity is what you’re missing, writing for an hour three days per week could restart that engine. If you lack loving connection, try planning an adventure (that feels safe) with your family or friends, or even schedule time for physical intimacy with a partner. You may not feel like getting started, but get started anyway, then see what happens. Your doing influences your being.

This isn’t to suggest that you beat yourself up or give yourself a drill-sergeant lecture every morning. Indeed, a key step in the strategy is accepting its imperfections. Many of us are operating in less-than-ideal circumstances — dealing with illness, financial stress, work anxiety, a lack of child care. Overcoming the inertia of languishing requires fierce self-discipline — and a fierce compassion for oneself. You may think of these two qualities as opposites, but they are not. Research shows that being kind to yourself during hardships and challenges can increase resilience and strength.

A mantra I use in my own life is, “This is what’s happening right now. I’m doing the best that I can. Just get going, and see what happens.” I remind myself that sometimes the kindest thing I can do for myself is also the hardest thing to do — and that what seems hard today might just make tomorrow feel a bit easier."

Why John Deere Measures Employee Morale Every Two Weeks; Harvard Business Review, 5/24/16

Brad Power, Harvard Business Review; Why John Deere Measures Employee Morale Every Two Weeks:

"Here’s an example Tome shared with me: In one cycle, a high-performing employee scored his motivation lower than normal. There were no visible signs of problems: the employee was still highly productive, engaged, and a pleasure to work with. However, in the next cycle his motivational score dropped even more. Although there was still with no visible change in his performance, the survey raised a red flag and prompted a manager to understand the employee’s issue. It turned out the employee had concerns about his career development, which the manager was able to resolve. By paying attention to the motivation metric, the issue was caught quickly before there were any performance problems, and there was no need for any formal corrective actions.

Without regular, frequent updates on the state of morale, most managers become aware of issues only when they show up in employee performance – e.g., a missed deadline or botched effort – or when the employee quits. At that point it is often too late or too difficult to address the motivation problem because then there are actually two problems that must be solved: the performance issue and the motivation issue. The early warning provided by motivation data changes the conversation from, “We need to address your performance issue” to “Help me understand why you are feeling the way you are.”"

The Creative Benefits of Boredom; Harvard Business Review, 9/9/14

David Burkus, Harvard Business Review; The Creative Benefits of Boredom:

"“Gasper and Middlewood suggest that boredom boosts creativity because of how people prefer to alleviate it. Boredom, they suggest, motivates people to approach new and rewarding activities. In other words, an idle mind will seek a toy. (Anyone who has taken a long car ride with a young child has surely experienced some version of this phenomenon.)

Taken together, these studies suggest that the boredom so commonly felt at work could actually be leveraged to help us get our work done better…or at least get work that requires creativity done better. When we need to dream up new projects or programs (divergent thinking), perhaps we should start by spending some focused time on humdrum activities such as answering emails, making copies, or entering data. Afterward, as in the Mann and Cadman study, we may be better able to think up more (and more creative) possibilities to explore. Likewise, if we need to closely examine a problem and produce a concise, effective solution (convergent thinking), perhaps we should schedule that task after a particularly lifeless staff meeting. By engaging in uninteresting activities before problem-solving ones, we may be able to elicit the type of thinking we need to find creative solutions.""