Take a minute.
And then ask yourself “How’s work?”
That’s it, that’s the practice. It’s that simple.
Some people do it in the morning before they walk in to work. Some at the end of a tough day. Some whenever they feel activated by something at work.
For many, “How’s work?”, is just small talk. But it’s the right question. This is what it looks like when you mean it:
Feelings have a bad reputation at work. They shouldn’t. Because they’re information, they’re how we navigate the world. And work, too.
Feeling drained after a meeting tells you something. Being energized by a project is a message worth receiving. Observing you’re feeling a social threat helps you navigate what happens next.
The practice is giving that information a minute of your attention.
That’s what the method is for. Notice. Explore. Try a Change.
Notice
Notice what’s happening—in yourself, in how your organization operates, in how people work together. The meeting that drains you. The project that lights you up. The dynamic that’s been bothering you for months.
Explore
Explore what you’ve noticed with curiosity. Why does that meeting drain you? What about this work feels pointless? What would make it better?
Try a Change
Small. Specific. Something in your control.
Sometimes you’ll move through all three. Just as often you’ll only notice, or only spend time exploring something from yesterday, or just skip straight to trying a change.
Sometimes a change works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes just noticing shifts how you experience something, even when the situation itself doesn’t change.
Over time, the changes, and the learning that arrives with them, shape your work life.