The (Critical) Need for a Sense of Progress
Does it feel like you’re treading water? Head bobbing under every so often, then you come up and seem fine again..for a while?
Adam Grant has used the term “languishing” recently (which is neither flourishing or depressed). “It feels like Groundhog Day” is a phrase I find myself saying regularly.
And I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
I find myself losing track of time. It seems to be going quickly and slowly all at once.
And as I reflect, I find it hard to determine when certain things occurred.
I don’t have the normal landmarks to help sort this out like I used to – ‘it was before that trip but after that other event’ was my usual barometer for time, pre-pandemic.
So, in an attempt to give myself some sort of rhythm during these pandemic times (because, we ARE still in a pandemic), I’ve set up routines to help myself in my reduced world in which I now live and operate. I do well with some routines but others need closer attention sometimes. The waves of various mixtures of emotions come and go, and I have to admit that there are times I know I need to heighten self-care. I’m learning how to recognise the signs.
Making progress
One of my routines has been a regular catch up call with a dear friend on Friday afternoons. It’s a regular feature in my diary and basically, we have no agenda. We just talk and cover a myriad of topics from the trivial to sort out the world (in our humble opinions), from the personal to the academic. From the mundane, to the issues of substance. These conversations I have found even more vital when usual socialising is limited or completely off limits.
In our last conversation, I found myself agreeing with her around a declaration she made. “I feel like I’ve found “my power”; I know now in what area I can offer my best for others and I’m very comfortable with it” – she exclaimed. It has been a journey for my friend, and indeed was something I had noticed about her and I could hear her sense of groundedness in what she had shared.
I found myself sharing in a similar vein around an issue on which I feel I’ve made progress. And I too had felt it and owned it. My friend also affirmed my progress this year.
It felt good … I noticed.
When the destination never appears
While reflecting on this conversation, my mind went back to a time when I was trekking in Nepal – a stunning beautiful country with wonderful people. On this particular trip, I was in a group led by a foreigner and supported by extraordinary local guides. One afternoon, I found myself really struggling. I was having to get over a very precarious rail-less, narrow “bridge” and I lost-the-plot. I was actually incredibly exhausted. My guides helped and I don’t know how they did it, but they got me over it. But at this point, I really wanted to know how far we had to go until we got to the planned destination.
I needed to know this, so I could put some strategies together, pace myself and work out if I needed to eat as well. It was becoming apparent that the afternoon trek was becoming way longer than I had expected and that I had not had enough to eat at lunch to support this part of the trek.
The long and short of it was – the leader of the trek had not briefed us well enough so we could plan re food, pace and rest. And yes, I had made assumptions based on previous days.
I was kept being told that it was ‘just over that hill top’ or ‘just around that corner’, but each time we got to those points, the destination was still out of sight and around yet another bend.
Going through this pandemic feels a bit similar in some ways. Just when you think you see a glimpse of the future and its possibilities, numbers rise, lockdowns happen and borders close tighter.
Sigh.
A Secret Key to Motivation
We have known for a while that the recognition of good work is one of the top factors that influences motivation at work. Amabile and Kramer (2011) researched this further and discovered what they called the “progress principle”. They had examined 12,000 diary entries kept by knowledge workers over a few years, and realised “Of all things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run.”
Of all the things that can boost inner work life, the most important is making progress in meaningful work.
This would be true for projects, hobbies or various activities in life too. So, no matter what you are working on, everyday progress – even a small win – can make all the difference in how you feel and keep you motivated to keep going.
It was true for that trek in Nepal. I had to keep looking back and then forward to gauge my progress. I would tell myself, I’ve made it around this last bit, so I can make it around the next bit. Small wins.
James Fox (2014) picks up this theme in his book “The Game Changer” noting that this is a key feature of games (including computer games). He suggests it should be a key feature of all work.
It is very surprising to me that leaders and managers aren’t taught about this as they struggle to engage and motivate their staff – but more about this in another blog.
So, given the pandemic time in which we live, and our varying sense of time (or not), I realise that it was this sense of progress that delighted me in my conversation with my friend. I have also realised that there are ways in which we can be more deliberate about monitoring and noticing the progress we are making on various fronts. So, I offer some tips around this and hope that others will contribute to this list.
Tips
- Journaling
Journaling is wonderful for many reasons. It helps us clear our minds, it’s an outlet for creativity, “thinking” and expression, and is a way of keeping ourselves honest and perhaps venturing into new places of self discovery. It is a place where no judgment exists (unless you hedge yourself), and it is a way to get our thoughts organised. It brings us to the “now” plus much more. And importantly, it is a place where you can see progress you are making in areas that are important to you. Looking back over your entries can provide much needed evidence around this progress and this is often much-needed encouragement.
2. Regular conversations with dear friends and family
As I started this article, it was in a conversation with a dear friend when I realised the progress I’d made in a certain area. Since coming to Singapore, I’ve had a year end call with another dear friend in Australia where we specifically review the year that was, and speak about our aspirations for the next. It is amazing the patterns and progress that get identified in those special calls. And while it is good to keep in touch – regularly – with selected dear ones especially at this time, space does need to be given to review, reflect and provide feedback around what is noticed in one another especially around progress made (in areas that will be shared and noted as important for the other, given your relationship).
3. Some Visual Representation
This is something I am playing with as I realise also that I’m losing track of time and how things have happened as they do around significant events (birthdays, trips etc.). So I’m creating a space on the wall in my home office where I can create a timeline and progress representation of some form. It’s a way of visually marking progress made in various areas that matter to me (projects, capability, learning etc.).
4. Be clear what your goal is and reframe, if necessary
We have become very goal oriented and often our resolutions fall in around specific goals that focus on a target. Job-related KPIs do this all the time. To examine this, let’s talk about fitness as an example. Normally, we set ourselves goals – like – I would like to run in this particular race next year. That becomes the goal (and this does work for some). However, is that really the goal or is the goal to have fitness that makes you feel better and more energised? And from this, in what ways can you nudge your habits to help you become more fit? And then how can you monitor your progress? A few years back, I signed up for a core strengthening class because I knew that was my way. One day, when running a workshop, I realised I was less tired at the end of the week after being on my feet all the time. This was an important milestone.
5. Remember, that learning is progress
And I’m not talking about doing courses here – though that also can be important. For all of us, there has been much learning in these COVID times. What are you noticing? Are your conversations with people changing, and if so, what are you learning? Look for progress in non-obvious places and you never know, it may surprise you. We are always learning something. Find those “somethings”!
6. Pick up a new hobby and learn something new
Create a new opportunity for learning and progress-making, if necessary. Daniel Pink, in his RSA video “The surprising truth about what motivates us” talks about “mastery” being one of the critical factors along with “purpose” and “autonomy”. Find something to master whether it be some critical work-related capability, or something around a new hobby – like writing, photography, cooking, gardening, painting or whatever takes your fancy. Yet another dear friend of mine recently commented that my iPhone photography had improved over the years we have been walking together. Another small win.
7. Set up accountabilities and support
I really wanted to develop myself around writing and for this year, writing blogs. So I have this wonderful support, who has diligently encouraged, chased and enabled me to get material out. I’ve made progress! I’ve also signed up for a program where I enter with a bold project in mind, and the aim is to learn better ways of approaching the challenge, getting support and feedback, having accountabilities and constant nudges. I am sure I will write about this in the future and let you know how it goes. The important thing is to put in place the support and conditions that are right for you specifically (and it will be different for others).
Reflection Questions
While this article has been more focused on us as individuals, equally it can be around us in the workplace, as a team member, as a team leader or company leader. Personally, we need a sense of progress and so do the people around us and who may report to us. So, what questions emerge for you on this topic? In what ways could you help yourself notice the progress you have made? What new habits may you need to put in place to help? And in what way could you actively help those around you and those who report to you gain a richer sense of their progress, both professionally and personally (if they want to share)?
We need all the encouragement we can get these days, and we can all help each other find motivation.
I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this and see the contributing ideas around how we can monitor our progress better.
Take care everyone!
References
Ambile, T. and Kramer, S. (2011), “The Power of Small Wins, Harvard Business Review, May 2011
Ambile, T. and Kramer, S. (2011), “The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement and Creativity at Work”, Harvard Business Review Press, 2011
Fox, J (2014), “The Game Changer: How to use the science of motivation with the power of game design to shift behaviour, shape culture and make clever happen”, Wiley, Brisbane.
Pink, D. (2010), “The surprising truth about what motivates us”, https://youtu.be/u6XAPnuFjJc
Dr Robyn Wilson focuses on helping leaders tackle the change and challenges they face and journeys with them as they, their teams and organizations navigate these with the aim of becoming stronger, gaining more clarity and with strengthened relationships and personal capability. She is the founder of Praxis Management Consulting.
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