(Lessons
from the Treadmill)

Half way through my hour on the treadmill, it
becomes very hard to keep going.

It’s exhausting and the goal seems so far
away.

I find it’s a lot like implementing change.

Do you think the strategies to manage “goal
fatigue” on the treadmill could be adapted to managing goals in an organization?

Know
Your Team and Manage Perspective

I start my workout with the treadmill display showing
Time Elapsed. Being full of energy at
the onset, watching my progress toward goal is invigorating.

When I start to get tired, I switch to the Time
Remaining view. As I watch the time
between me and my goal decrease, the probability I’ll abandon my workout also
decreases.

Set
the Pace and Enable Interim Celebrations

My playlist is ordered to inspire a fast start, followed
by a solid pace, a burst of energy in the middle, and then another solid pace carried
through until the end.

When I start to get tired midway, up-beat songs
come on to get me moving. They are both
rewarding and motivational.

When I’m exceptionally pessimistic about my
ability to continue, I set mini goals.

I might time how long it takes for me to go a quarter
mile, calculate at what time the next quarter mile should elapse, and then see
how close my prediction was to the actual time. Increasing my accuracy becomes
its own reward.

Keep
it Attainable and Make it Public

Ever since I decided to write about my treadmill
experience, it’s harder to quit before I’m done. It’s like you’re all watching.

How could I say: “Well I run into trouble about
halfway through my workout and quit when I’m three quarters of the way done.”

How helpful is that?

We could probably all agree that the best part of working out is when it’s over.

What a great feeling!

But remember this, the difficulty of the task is
one of the reasons it feels so good to complete it.