More Answers... (08/11/26): Leveling-Up and Re-Using Past Work
Hi Everyone,
Here are More Answers... to help you head into the work week. Remember, you can see previous newsletters at askchrista.com/MoreAnswers.
Today's Topic: Leveling-Up and Re-Using Past Work
There are two things that can immediately help us when we're feeling a bit worn down, worn out, and unmotivated: 1) dusting off a former work product, and 2) adjusting it to meet the need of a current work product.
We do this type of re-use/re-cycle for so many things in life, and yes-- many of you do it for work products, but I want to underscore just how useful this can be in a pinch if you're just not feeling it. I've heard people tell me that they think of that as "cheating," but this makes zero sense to me. "Cheating" is falsifying your work in order to score ahead of what you would have otherwise scored. Re-using past work and adjusting it for the current need is honoring past work in order to provide the best possible outcome to meet or exceed a work goal.
Time to change some minds...
First, Is it a You Problem? Or Simply Just a Mystery?
(mysteries are OK in life...)
We all have days when we're firing on all cylinders, and days (or sometimes weeks) when we're not. Many times we aren't "on" because other things are getting the full charge of our cylinders, or maybe our engines are taxed too much because we haven't been able to let off the gas. Or maybe... (you can put any other automobile metaphor here-- go ahead, it'll work!!) (btw, my breaking the 4th wall sidebars is how I promise you all I'm not AI ;] ).
Sometimes we know exactly why we aren't "on." Here are the basics we all consider: we're tired, distracted, dealing with something at home, coming off a particularly demanding stretch of work, or we're just chronically carrying more than usual.
But there are also times when there there is no obvious reason. It's a mystery to us. It's time that we're OK with that. Despite decades of psychological dogma, when it comes to work-related things, the block-and-tackle things, the "why" is often less important than the "then what?"
Focus on the "Then What?"
(and embrace the mysteries of life!)
Ok, sure, ask yourself the "why" question when you aren't firing on all cylinders-- I would never diminish the value of curiosity. But immediately go to "then what?" so you can silence any potential inner criticism and judgment you may have and get to work. We would all do better to embrace the mysteries of life. Sometimes there is no easy answer, it just is how it is. But that shouldn't keep us from accommodating our low-energy / low-creative needs. We must be resourceful and think of ways to be efficient with and conservative of our energy when we're having "a day."
And I say this sternly because one of the great benefits of experience is that we don't actually have to start over every time.
In fact, as an expert in turning around and resetting companies, I'll say this: starting over every time is wasteful and a profound dishonor of who you are as a mixed creative/logical person that all good humans are. Here's why: over the course of a career, we accumulate approaches, frameworks, presentations, analyses, templates, models, after action reviews (on and on...). Heck, even two months in a job-- EVEN AS AN INTERN!!!!-- if you're savvy, you will generate at least half of that big long list I just typed.
Some of those things may have been used once and forgotten, and good riddance if they should be forgotten. We've all create work like that (cringe).
But other work products may have been used, or maybe SHOULD HAVE been used, dozens of times. Together, they form your professional portfolio.
An important note: I'm not talking about material that includes IP from a company or trade secrets or protected information, nor am I talking about how you might re-use someone else's work without asking when appropriate (THAT would be cheating). But I AM talking about material that represents the essence of how you bring your best to any workplace. Ethical writing and professional practice require us to distinguish between what we create, what we have permission to use, and what remains protected or proprietary (American Psychological Association, 2020). (and there's such a think as self-plagiarizing, so just be aware!)
So here's the first deal: throw out the trained response to the work-blahs by suspending any urge to know WHY you feel that way, and instead focus on the "then what?"-- focus on how you'll find resources to deliver even when you're delivery energy isn't where you want it to be.
Not Every New Work Thing Needs a New Thing...
Y'all know I love me some organizational research (and this is actually when I *do* rely on AI: I ask for specific research to narrow the field, then I go in deep and pick the ones that are easy to read, in case you want to read them, too!, and relevant. I also go for recent, and the two papers I found for this post both support how organizational knowledge management has long recognized that people and organizations become more effective when they can draw upon patterns of action and knowledge that already exist rather than treating every new problem as entirely new (Hansson et al., 2023; Pugh & Dixon, 2008).
This isn't about a "not invented here" (or Fixed, as Dr. Carol Dweck would say!), mindset, nor does it mean that old work products or getting into the historical vault of an organization will automatically fit.
But 100% of the time, reaching into said vault gives us a place to start and something to work with. Having the opportunity to respond to something that is already created is a wonderful way of jump-starting our engines or injecting some nitro to make it work a bit better and faster. Even if it doesn't work AT ALL, starting with something vs nothing get's us moving. It gets us off the "Where do I start?" question and helps us ask a better one, "What can I start with?"
(bonus points when former work products enable lessons learned nd an avoidance of what didn't work back then, either)
Also Important: Re-Use Does Not Mean Duplicate
My phrase "Leveling-Up and Re-Using Past Work" is, at first blush, out of sequence. Most times you'll start by selecting what you'll re-use, and in the process of re-using it, you have a chance to level-it-up (or shine it up or improve, etc).
I switched them out of sequence on purpose: it's the mindset I'm focused on. This is about getting off the "why?" of your slow-down and quickly moving into the "then what?" toward action. It's not to select something and simply duplicate or replicate it.
So start with a mindset of Leveling-Up instead: you are seeking the right foundational work product as a place to start, leveraging what already exists ("re-use"), but the real magic is how you adjust it to match the current need.
My habit of working is that I *always* seek what's been done in the past as a starting place so I can ramp up my learning, avoid repeating what didn't work, examine whether it could work today if it didn't before, and get some historical fingerprints on the work product of whoever I'm working with. Most of my work is done in a clutch or as an advisor or as a contract employee involved in doing quick work to reset. I believe in and fully trust that the organization has historical evidence of what has worked and not worked-- why would I want to start from scratch?
But back when I was a full time employee leading Strategy and Execution functions, I often started the same way. Some might say it's the researchers mind seeking what already exists and focusing on filling the gaps (or extending theory if we want to get super geeky!), but I say it's an efficient use of time and energy so that I can spend my time and energy on what will be adjusted, changed, and new: leveled-up.
These kinds of routines not only provide stability, but also a foundation for change. People see the essence of history as part of the foundation, then how that history enabled an evolution forward. The past isn't completely abandoned just to create something new. Rather, the new thing emerges by leveraging patterns and work products people already know and understand (Wenzel et al., 2021).
That's what the "leveling up" does."
What's in Your Portfolio?
We all have work history, no matter how long or far or short or near. If any of this resonates, then here's your action list:
- List four areas of a business you have impacted
- Consider what you have that supports those areas
- List the purpose (why did you create it? "we needed to figure out how to...") and objective (what did it do for others? "it introduced a new way of working...") of each one
- Keep it where you can add/retreive easily
The goal of this list is to build an inventory of what you can level-up and re-use. It does not need to be exhaustive, and in fact, the shorter and more distinct the list is, the better because you're narrowing down (that helps with efficiency).
But there's a wonderful byproduct of doing this, too: I guarantee you will feel satisfied, proud of, stronger, etc, when you take a look at that list. And even if it's just one work product on your list, be proud. It's something you would level-up and re-use. That's not nothing.
Booster for the Week!
OK, this isn't about leveling-up or re-using your work, but it IS about being more efficient at work (which is an underlying theme to this post!), and they aren't the usual tips: How to Be More Efficient at Work, by Liane Davey.
Enjoy!!
With kindness,
Christa
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References
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Hansson, M., Hærem, T., & Pentland, B. T. (2023). The effect of repertoire, routinization and enacted complexity: Explaining task performance through patterns of action. Organization Studies, 44(3), 457–480. https://doi.org/10.1177/01708406211069438
Pugh, K., & Dixon, N. M. (2008). Don't just capture knowledge—Put it to work. Harvard Business Review, 86(5), 101–108.
Wenzel, M., Danner-Schröder, A., & Spee, A. P. (2021). Dynamic capabilities? Unleashing their dynamics through a practice perspective on organizational routines. Journal of Management Inquiry, 30(4), 395–405. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492620916549
(remember: most public libraries in the USA offer access to academic papers; however, if yours does not, then Google these papers or chapters to see where they are listed, how you can learn more about them, and how you can find similar papers to learn more about this topic)
