In with the New: Why Novelty Boosts Agility and Wellbeing

Hi there,

On Monday I was all set to retire.

In my mind’s eye I was chucking to-do lists out the window. I was setting OOO responses. I was even asking Chat GPT for escape plans (with some heavy ‘cruise around the Balearics’ prompt-engineering).

And this little routine. This dalliance with an alternate life. The one where the discomfort of work is nothing more than an unsavoury memory. It happens…oh let’s see…once a week?

It wasn’t long before I got to the nub of this particular mini-crisis: Novelty Overload.

New projects to create, new technology to master, new content to dream up. There was nothing in my week that would follow a nice cosy framework.

But by Tuesday I was ready to let go of my Ibiza dream. Why?

I remembered 3 important things about novelty:

1) Novelty is good for the brain.

Unpredictability helps us learn to stay flexible. In pushing past the default of routine and predictability, we are teaching the brain to stay agile.

2) Novelty is good for wellbeing. ?

Unpredictable doesn't always mean bad. In fact, it's just as likely that something unexpectedly good will happen amidst disruption (you spot a heron on your re-routed walk, you stumble across a great coffee shop when a meeting is cancelled, you bump into an old friend when lost in a new town). And when it does, the reward centres in the brain release dopamine - the neurotransmitter associated with motivation and drive. In other words you get a little buzz of feeling good.?Neuroscientists call this a Positive Prediction Error.

3) Novelty Overload is normal.

Novelty Overload is in the undercurrent of the whole world of work right now. And the discomfort that comes with it is no fun for any of us. But it's exactly what is supposed to happen - an evolutionary adaptation to spur us on to find our way back to predictability.

So how should we cope with the discomfort of new stuff?

There's only one thing for it: practice.

Fight novelty with novelty and serve new experiences to your brain every day. It won't take the discomfort away, but it helps us learn how to accept it and move forward...

Here are a few things to try:

1) Chat more.

In the brilliant ‘Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain’ neuroscientist, David Eagleman, emphasises the importance of unpredictable experiences in keeping our neurons firing and re-wiring. Conversation is inherently unpredictable (you never know what the other person will say next and you have to respond right away). It is one of the best ways to practice the unpredictable in everyday life.

So, forget brain training. All you need to boost your mental agility is a good chin-wag.

?? Pro-tip: Plan 5 minutes of unstructured conversation in your team meetings. Or when you're working from home, make time for a quick chat with someone in your locality (the barista, a delivery driver or a neighbour).

2) Take the road less travelled.

Eagleman also suggests deviating from our tried and tested routes. This takes us out of autopilot and sets us up to notice interesting stimuli in our environment.

?? Pro-tip: Take a detour on the way home from work. Take a different route to the gym. When you go out for a walk around the block, do it counter-clockwise.?

3) Set yourself a novelty challenge each week.

Identify a small, manageable challenge to tackle each week. This could be learning a new skill, experimenting with a different work process, or exploring a new digital tool. Not only does this keep you engaged and always learning, it builds your tolerance for that inevitable discomfort.

?? Pro-tip: Struggling to think of new challenges? I’ve written a prompt for Chat GPT so you don’t have to:

Change is constant and I'm always trying to get my head around new stuff at work. It's hard, but I know that embracing novel experiences is a great way to improve mental agility and overall well-being. Can you set me a ten-week novelty challenge to help me practice? One small new challenge each week. Thank you.

As you might have noticed above, my novelty challenge of the week was getting to grips with Flow Charts on Canva ??. Let me know how you get on with yours!

Bye for now,

Erin

This newsletter is part of a series to help you find ways to change your experience of?work?for the?better. Subscribe and you'll find it in your inbox every month.

And if you'd like to check out more ideas about how to make work better, take a look at my courses on LinkedIn Learning here .