The Danish Lunch Part 3: Your Secret Weapon
So here’s the real juice.
If you want to perform at your best, and have energy left in the tank for the really hard stuff, start getting really smart about your environment. It’s your secret weapon when it comes to setting you up for success at work, and honestly, it’s a big competitive advantage.
Here’s why: Maximum reward for minimum effort
Everybody else accepts the default
Tweaking your environment to help you perform at your best is a winning strategy. Our environment hugely influences our behaviour, yet most of the environments we’re in are accidental at best. We accept the default, therefore incredible gains can be made for those who make tiny, personalised changes to what’s pre-defined for the masses.
2. You’ll use less energy
As James Clear says.”Your willpower will never beat your environment.” By setting up your environment to make better decisions for you, you’ll make them unconsciously, freeing up your mental energy for complex decisions that really do need your brainpower.
3. We are what we repeatedly do
Most aspects of your environment are consistent, which makes it the most effective way for you to implement changes in the long-term.
Exercise: Identify your influences
Limit yourself to the top 5 (where you spend the most time)
STEP 1: List out your big environments
List out the physical spaces you spend most of your time in e.g. Home, Work, Kids’ School, Car, Transport, Gym, Library …
List out the people you spent most of your time with e.g. partner, family, friends, co-workers
STEP 2: Identify the behaviours and feelings they reinforce
If you were a new person walking into those environments or meeting those people, how would they make you feel?
What sorts of behaviour would they influence you to do?
STEP 3: Ask yourself
How closely do these match the behaviours and feelings that best represent who I am and what I value?
Now you’ve got this information, reflect on the default environments around you and how they might influence your mindset and your behaviour.
If you’re interested in learning how to curate your environment to improve your performance at work, then get in touch today.