Think about all the work you do in your business. Everything you do takes effort, and it can all yield positive results for your business. But my guess is that there are some tasks you’re energized to tackle, and some you’re likely to be stressed about or even postpone, knowing they’ll drain your energy.
Would you rather grow your business through engaging in work that energizes you, or work that drains you? When you recognize which challenges you can work on with ease, you can begin to shift your focus to spend more time on your best work.
Exploring ease in business
My interest in ease at work stems from my yoga practice. I began thinking a lot about this when my instructor asked the class if the posture we were in felt easeful. I had to think hard about this - it was a challenging posture, and I was working hard on it. But I also felt a sense of comfort and peace, the absence of anxiety. My mind wandered to the question “when I’m off my mat, what am I doing when I feel easeful?”
For me, it’s when I am spending time inspiring, creating, or connecting and I am more than likely surrounded by heart-led people. It’s connecting old ideas in new ways. It’s a friend who’s feeling stuck professionally calling for advice, and being able to help them move past the barriers in a way they hadn’t considered. It's being introduced to amazing people and not knowing in that moment where it will lead, only to be able to connect them weeks, months later and see them go on to do incredible work together.
How to spend more time doing easeful work
- Tune into yourself. Commit to figuring out what’s easeful for you. Being at ease does not mean you are still, and does not mean you aren’t working. It’s about the feeling or sense you get in a situation. You may think of it as being “in the zone.” I’ve also heard someone describe it as what feels light to you, as opposed to what feels heavy. Start to focus on identifying this feeling in your work. Your own intuition is the best guide there is, but many people also lean on an outside perspective like Glowe’s to help figure things out.
- Let others tune into themselves. Create conditions in your organization to encourage and support others to engage in their own discovery journeys. Share your experiences. Be vulnerable. Make a habit of paying attention to people’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions related to their work. Be observant of their body language, the words they use, and their behaviors. Everyone is at a different stage of ability to express themselves, and feeling safe enough to do so.
- Experiment (with clarity). Chances are, there are other people in your organization who are the yin to your yang. Once you know yourself well, and have learned enough about other people, try some reorganization of accountability. Make sure to communicate clearly to the organization about who’s accountable for what, and to plan for the time and energy you’ll put into training people and giving them ongoing access to the information they need to do their job. Different organizations have different appetites for change (and size definitely plays a role!), so the pace of experimentation may vary. Things will go wrong, and that’s ok. Learn from missteps, move forward, and don’t stop trying.
- Remember that just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD. You may have trouble imagining that others would enjoy the work you don’t, but I promise you that’s not the case. You also may have some entrenched beliefs that you have to be “grinding,” or “pay your dues” to claim the badge of business leadership. In fact, you do not. What you’re doing is a win for you and your people that also powers the growth of your business. And what’s more, you deserve a balanced life.
There’s a reason we didn’t name this article “4 Easy Steps to Doing Your Best Work!” This is a rewarding journey, but not an easy one. If you’re ready to become part of a movement to make work a healthy part of a balanced life for you and your people, you should reach out. We can’t wait to meet you!
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