Productivity enhancer…

…or creativity killer?

Over the years I’ve heard conflicting advice about rituals.  People who employ them, without exception, tell me that they achieve their goals more quickly.  That’s why people who:

• build time for exercise into their schedules, enjoy good health
• devote some time each day to personal reflection, enjoy greater self-awareness
• spend as little as 15 minutes a day reading, expand their knowledge

I’ve also been told to:

• take different routes to and from work
• mix up my daily routine
• do things for the sheer enjoyment of doing them

The latter advice is purported to help me avoid boredom, enhance my powers of observation and creativity.

So which is true?  Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book, The Power of Full Engagement, say that “Far from precluding spontaneity, rituals provide a level of comfort, continuity and security that frees us to improvise and to take risks.”

What Loehr and Schwartz are suggesting is that, once we’ve established a ritual, our subconscious minds take over allowing our conscious minds the freedom to deal with whatever we’re facing.  By freeing the conscious mind we are able to respond more quickly and creatively to any challenge we’re facing.

As I reflect on the wisdom of their words, I realize that rituals help us avoid wasting time and energy by limiting the number of choices we make each day.  If I’ve built time for exercise into my schedule each day and have made it a ritual, I don’t waste time or energy trying to decide whether I should be exercising, making a few more phone calls or writing next week’s blog.  The decision is already made.

It’s counter-intuitive, but rituals allow us more time and energy to devote to creative pursuits because they’ve taken the decision making out of things that should be daily routines

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to gain insights into how Loehr and Schwartz help world-class athletes and performers enjoy even greater success through rituals.

I also used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate that the common belief that rituals (routines) limit creativity is a myth.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.