THINK SMALL

It’s not only the big changes that can transform our careers, says Red columnist Alice Olins

Little changes go a long way, says Alice Olins

Often, when we think about the changes we want to make to our careers, we think big. The New Job. The Pay Rise. The Jack-it-all-inand-move-to-australia kind of shake-up. But tiny alterations can also have a huge impact on how we function and feel. Improve your habits and you will exponentially improve your life. Fact. Before the British cycling team rose to glory, it was out in the tundra. That changed when performance director Dave Brailsford entered the building. He made hundreds of tiny, seemingly irrelevant improvements to how the team trained and lived. New mattresses for better sleep, higher-quality massage gels to aid quicker recovery, lessons on hand-washing so riders were less likely to catch a cold. Brailsford has said that it was the collective power of these tiny changes that delivered the team to greatness. The moral? Don’t underestimate the power of incremental improvements.

Let’s start with your working environment. Where you work shapes how you work, so start by removing temptations and creating positive cues for new habits you want to instil. That might mean keeping your phone in your bag to avoid distractions, or having your water bottle within bent-arm reach to increase the chances of you drinking your eight daily glasses. If you’re struggling to manage your diary, how about a wall calendar? Being able to see the whole year allows you to manage the pace of your days and weeks.

We make bad choices when we see associated cues. So, if you work from home, remove anything that isn’t strictly work from your desk or eyeline. Next, think about how you spend your time. If emails are keeping you from doing more important jobs, minimise your email screen. Even better, close it completely and have designated email time slots that you can communicate to others via an out-of-office note. And try not to make emails your first task of the day. As Mark Twain said, ‘If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.’ Eating the frog means doing things you usually avoid first; the big presentation, your new client meeting prep. Then the ‘frog’ guilt won’t eat away at you.

Planning and committing to how and when you work is another proven way of creating better habits: researchers refer to this as ‘implementation intentions’. Some intentions might come up on a daily basis (‘I will always do my sales calls before lunch’). Others could be reactionary (‘When my line manager is in the office, I will always give her some positive feedback about my work that week’).

There are many ways to supercharge your working life that will be personal to you. The point is to raise your awareness about how you go about things. So until you’re ready to move to Australia, focus on those small habits that are easier to upgrade.