Get Your Fix Of Rituals

Today is a day of rituals for me as my son, Jack, turns eighteen.

I'm sure all of us can remember the day we stepped from "before adulthood" and across into "adulthood". If you're anything like my son you tried to play it cool and pretend it's not a big deal ... but we know differently eh. It's a ritual as old as time itself.

This got me thinking about the change we're all experiencing, maybe that's organisational redesigns, new tools, new buildings, new everything really.

As the nature of work changes the routines we have grown accustomed to will definitely change, the ways we do the work, the processes we perform, and even the colleagues we work alongside.

This can be extremely unnerving and uncomfortable and I often take solace in the the rituals underlying our routines as they change much less often (if ever).

The routine of stopping for morning tea / smoko at 10am, someone gathering the troops around the daily quiz and reading out the questions is one I have heard many have replicated. Awesome. The ritual is what matters, it's not the winning the quiz (even if you think it is), it's the connection to the team, the side chats, the way people take joyful potshots at those getting the answers obviously wrong. The ritual is connecting, the routine is how it happens.

And so, as life changes / evolves for everyone, including my son, let's make sure we keep the rituals that make your place the place you want to work at.?

(more about my thinking about rituals, focused on our NZ-wide lockdown but applicable anytime: https://work.miramarmike.co.nz/2020/04/working-from-home-3-its-still-just-work.html)