Change: start small start slow
This is my mantra, start small (few in quantity) start slow (low frequency – more time and space), when working with leadership teams in effecting change.
I had to practice this myself last week! The end of January and February have been busy. I wanted to get this article out last week, but change happened instead.
I have had a technology adventure (read challenge) for the last 2 weeks. Details below.
But first, let’s address a key fact. Change can be hard. The brain does not like change, it creates a threat response in the brain!
I had been meaning to buy a new phone since November last year when one of my banking applications (apps) was no longer supported by my phone’s operating system. In fact, in December I had to use my husband’s phone to house a banking app. 😉
I made a mental note to buy a new phone and kept searching for any offers on the Xiaomi brand. I have been a Xiaomi user since 2018, and I like its features and usability and decided to stay with the brand.
There was a Christmas offer for the older model, but my instinct told me to wait till the new year. I knew a new model was being released in January this year. And there was and the offers were varying. But I procrastinated in January.
In hindsight, I procrastinated because I did not want to go through the process of setting up my new phone. Resistance to change! I procrastinated until January 31 and got an offer that was supposedly ending that day. I later found out that the offer was extended to February!
I bought the phone online; it was delivered within 2 days, and I WAITED another week before I switched over to the new phone. I procrastinated again!
The irony was that the week I chose to work on migrating my phone, my Outlook 365 on my laptop stopped synching with the email server. Talk about technology double whammy.
I contacted my email server provider, and they told me nothing had changed on their side. I went through various troubleshooting steps and finally after eliminating all potential error sources, it came down to my Internet service provider (ISP). They had to change a crucial setting on our wifi router that enables a different range of internet protocol (IP) addresses. A bizarre experience that took nearly 5 days. (Until this problem my Outlook 365 was working perfectly for 4.5 years!).
Attempting to solve both problems in parallel was overwhelming my brain on top of my work commitments.
Start small start slow is where the magic lies. Doing a few (1-3) things, winning, pausing before attempting to solve the next few things.
Thankfully, I am now on my new phone (still requires some updating) and my Outlook 365 has been fixed.
But here is another confession – I spent the best part of a week disliking my new phone! It just did not meet my expectations (old phone)! 😉
Change!
What could I have done differently?
1. Prioritise – to maximise cognitive capacity
There was no real urgency for me to move to my new phone. My husband was keener, than me, to use my phone. Work was quite hectic and (I realise now) my Outlook 365 problem was taking up precious cognitive capacity. I should have migrated my phone after solving my Outlook 365 problem.
2. Work with manageable pieces
I should have work on a collection of apps at a time: apps that I used regularly, banking apps, etc. Instead of trying to migrate and update all the apps at once. The phone has a feature that allows the replication of my old phone to my new phone; however, some transfers were not complete (requiring further intervention). Most apps require new login and banking apps require the bank’s intervention. This requires time too!
3. Adapt
Though I bought the same brand and a better version, there are some features that my old phone had that my new phone does not have (e.g a blinking light showing that I have new messages/email/etc). I MISS this feature. The operating system (OS) also seems more sophisticated, making me feel less in control (for now). I will learn more as I go and get used to the new norm! It may not be the same again but that’s ok and I know some things are better - the cameras, a more powerful OS.
I should have listened to my own advice - start small start slow. It would have helped me be less resistant and more adaptable to change. 😉
As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com