On Wayfinding

Wayfinding is a concept that my executive coach recently explained to me and that clicked instantly with me. Read below for more.

 

⛵️ On Wayfinding

While Navigation is much more about optimizing the fastest or most efficient path to where you need to go, Wayfinding is more exploratory and directional. Wayfinding is a process of orienting, knowing the direction you want to go in and knowing where you are. But the actual path is more exploratory because of things you may not be able to control or account for.

 

With wayfinding, you want to embrace the unknown but identify waypoints that can be guiding posts for near-term progress in the right direction. In essence, it’s an analogy that reminds us that we should focus on what we can control and turn our long-term aspirations into tangible practice and goals.

 

The reason this resonated with me and probably some of you is that we are wayfinding around this period of time together. Languishing hasn’t gone away. World news has not gotten easier to wake up to. Some of our plans got cancelled, delayed, or disrupted by the prolonged COVID virus. The workplace feels different. The future, unclear.

 

And that’s what I want to leave you with today. That we’re wayfinding together. That the best we can do, any of us, is figure out some short-term waypoints to try to steer towards. Maybe it’s a more eloquent way of saying, let’s focus on what we can control and surrender to the rest of it.–

 

Hoping this is a reminder you all needed as much as I needed it… 9 months into 2021.

 

👉🏼 My challenge to you this week: Take a giant step back and embrace the wayfinding journey. Re-assess your long-term direction and identify short-term goals you can work towards in the meantime.Start your day with your goals and priorities, and write down the 3 things you need to get done that day. Dare to say “No” to non-critical things that pop up. While the importance of de-prioritizing and owning your productivity may not be new to you, most of us are really bad at actually practicing this. I would classify this as a “small step with huge payoff” that’s worth focusing on for you and your teams. 

 

💆🏻‍♀️  My Self-Care checklist score this week: 70%. On vacation and not adhering to all my self-care like bedtime and exercise. 😬 Please prioritize your self-care with me this week.

 

Wayfinding away,

Nancy

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