Eat, sleep, work, repeat
‘Eat, sleep, work, repeat’ can easily become the loop in which we are doomed to repeat the same week over and over again. I am sure most of us wake up at some point in our lives to that ‘groundhog day’ feeling, which is the hallmark experience of a life lived this way.
I like to think of myself as somebody driven by curiosity and a desire to find new and better ways to live life and have better outcomes. But, if I am really honest with myself, it is all too easy to get distracted by the many things competing for my attention and instead of challenging how things could be better, faster, easier, more enjoyable, I find myself falling into routines which lead me in to ‘eat, sleep, work, repeat’ mode.
Stepping from comfort to discomfort
Sometimes it takes a sudden shock or the introduction of a new challenge to interrupt this pattern of living and cause us to stand back and really step boldly out of our comfort zone. That for me is where real lasting change comes from. Stepping from comfort to discomfort and staying there as we explore building new skills as well as new ways of working is where we become masters of our trade.
The interruption that I talk about here for me came when I was recommended by someone to read a book* that had made an impact on them. I love to read, but I don’t know about you, with the sheer volume of screen work I do, my eyes are usually tired. So, I took up the recommendation and chose to listen to the book on audible.
I am still part way through, but for me this has been a welcome reminder to step away from repeating my days and weeks and standing back and choosing other ways to get better outcomes. For me, better doesn’t come from working harder. It is about choosing what to work on, how to work on it and with what goal in mind.
Being choosy with our ‘to do’ list
Every day we wake up to a massive ‘to do’ list and a shortage of hours to get it all done. What if instead of working through the list I become more choosy about what I work on with the goal of being more successful? I know I would enjoy that more and most likely get through the list of ‘must dos’ faster anyway.
Many of our businesses are in the process of arranging half-year Kick Ons, which I am very much looking forward to participating in. I get to hear so many inspiring accounts of how people have done things differently and achieved so much.
As we prepare ourselves for the second half of the year in a work context, and in our wider lives, I encourage us all to jump away from the ‘eat, sleep, work, repeat’ routines and explore how we can do things differently. Being bold is a way of life.
*The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma