Q: Every year I sit in my office and wonder how I could think a little differently about the the upcoming year— so that I accomplish some big goals. How do I motivate myself to do better.
A: That’s a tall order, but let’s give it some thought.
Every year I like to make some changes. Because I am an executive coach, I, too, have an executive coach to help me accomplish some big things. Along with creative techniques that I customize for clients, I suggest something about their office that they may have never heard before.
Since I spend a lot of time in my office, I change up the room a bit and put furniture in a different place, re-organizating my filing system and even changing out some of the decor so that there is a new theme for the year.
You may ask why I do this, but the purpose is to do a few different things so that I think differently than the year before. It’s a kind of “bio hack” (read the book Game Changers to learn more about this) so that you practice new habits to get better results.
Since I do a lot of executive coaching and training video sessions from my office in Florida, I usually change the mural on the wall to give it a new look. It costs about $35 and it’s a great topic for the first session of the year. After they see the mural, I give them a virtual tour of the rest of the office and tell them how I’ve set it up to function for success.
You may see some of what I’m doing as just changes and wonder how minor or changes or differences accomplish anything, but I see it as the new environment that’s going to get me to a new level of thinking— and that new level is up!
ACTION STEPS FOR THIS IDEA
- Take a look at your office and see what could change.
- Get creative and look not only how the furniture is set up, but how the systems are presently set up.
- Do the walls need new paint? Paint is very inexpensive, and you can consider one of the “current” design colors that might help you think a little differently.
- Are your systems efficient? Do you need more file trays, file folders or to update some of the appliances there?
- While you’re at it, be sure to sanitize, clean and put something in your office that’s fragrant and makes you happy as you work.
