Pencils need sharpening.

I haven't gotten past my newfound love of pencils and use them daily. Sharpening my pencil is now part of my routine. I really like the moments it takes to turn the pencil a few times and refocus on the next task. And I don’t just sharpen for fun as a starting routine, I’ve learned that pencils lose their point really fast!

Good news is that I have a sharpener in my top left desk drawer. And that got me thinking…

Pencil sharpening is parallel to Covey’s Habit 7 Sharpening the Saw. It’s about investing in yourself and your learning and your growth so you stay at the top of your game.

A few weeks ago I was getting comfortable with the new routine of sharpen, work, sharpen work, etc. Then something started to happen. I'd sharpen my pencil and it wasn't getting sharp.

So, what did I do? I kept trying, of course. Trying harder is my go-to answer when things are not working. I’d sharpen and then use the pencil and the lead would fall out and I'd repeat the process.

Ya know the definition of insanity? That’s where I was but didn’t see it. Then I inspected my pencil sharpener. It had shavings built up in it so I carefully removed them. Then I tried again. And I thought it was better (it wasn’t). The pencil didn’t come to a point anymore, but at least I could write. The mark was wide and fuzzy, but I decided it was good enough.

After a few days of fuzzy writing and continuous sharpening, I was running through a lot of pencils. My depleting inventory caught my attention and I smiled (that’s when I jotted down — with my blunt pencil — a reminder to write this blog). So I found a sharpened pencil and used it. But — as you now know — it didn’t stay sharp long so it was a temporary fix.

I thought about giving up pencils and using a pen and then laughed at myself. Why not avoid what you love because there’s an easier and quicker way to do it? Don’t be fooled. Easy might not be the answer.

So I decided I needed a new pencil sharpener. I intended to order a pencil sharpener from Amazon but it never reached the top — or even near the top — of my to-do list for the day. It was on my to-do list, but it still wasn’t getting done.

Then I was in Target finding cardstock for my daughter’s project and being near the school supplies reminded me to look for a pencil sharpener. And there it was…it was a fun color and even had a lid so the shavings wouldn’t fall out and it was $1.99.

Get where I’m going here? If you’re sharpening your saw in a way that worked before, make sure it’s still working for you. Maybe you need a new saw or another area to focus on for your business or your growth and development? Have you been struggling with marketing your business for months or years and it’s getting you nowhere? Maybe you need a new pencil sharpener and maybe that pencil sharpener is outside of yourself and involves asking for support.

“True transformation doesn’t happen with information, it happens with support.”
Dr. Marcia Reynolds, Covision CEO

In this silly example, my support was a $1.99 pencil sharpener from Target. Support doesn’t have to come with a monetary expense. Support can be a conversation with someone close to you, sharing your goal out loud, or writing it down. There’s so much power there.

My current “pencil sharpening” includes a Social + Emotional Intelligence Coach certification, a 30-Day Future Self Challenge by Benjamin Hardy, and working with a coach to take my coaching practice to the next level.

“All coaches need a coach. If your coach doesn’t have a coach get a new coach.”
Mary Ricketts, Turning Point Training & Development CEO

Neverending pencil sharpening ate through lots of Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils. And did you know that Ticonderoga is “The World’s Best Pencil”? I was using the world’s best pencil and — because my sharpener had worn out — I was wasting them.

I'd built a routine of sharpening my pencil and writing with it. When my routine had a glitch, snag, didn't go as expected, I did what we all do sometimes. I did MORE of what I had done before that worked. I kept sharpening sure that I’d plow past this “lead falling out” phase. It worked so well before, why wasn't it working now? I told myself to cut out the excuses and work harder.

With sharpening a pencil change is easy. With other habits, change is much, much harder.

What routine in your life might need a “new sharpener”?