Are you living on autopilot?
Do you ever find yourself arriving at a destination and wonder how you got there?
Or, have you ever found that you’ve done something without consciously thinking about the task?
If the answer is yes to either of these questions, you can rest easy that it’s unlikely that you’re losing your memory. Instead, like most other humans around you it’s a sign that you’ve been living on autopilot.
What is our autopilot?
A perfect example of me being on autopilot occurred just this morning before sitting down to write the blog. After rushing around the house picking up after our children, I sat down ready to start typing only to then question myself; “Did I put the washing machine on?” I knew I needed something to be washed for the next day and I knew I had taken the clothes to the machine, but I had no memory of whether I had added the powder or turned it on! Immediately I went to check and happily found the machine all running correctly.
It would have been easy at this point to feel like I’d been thoughtless or worst-case question whether I have more serious issues to worry about. Instead, I accepted that this is just my autopilot working at its best. That is, I needed to achieve something and rather than me planning out every action, my brain and body took care of the details so I could focus on the more important task I needed to tackle – i.e. write this blog on Autopilot!
Why do we need an autopilot?
Many people don’t realise that the brain is the most energy-consuming organ in the body, using up to 20% of our daily energy. This is why we can still feel exhausted after an intensive day-long meeting even though we’ve barely left our seat.
So, to help remain efficient and conserve energy, as a species we’ve learnt to make as many routine tasks as automatic as possible. That is, if consciously thinking requires so much energy, then it’s better to do things instinctively because it uses less energy. For example, how much thought do you give to brushing your teeth or putting your shoes on each day? Running on autopilot is therefore our way of conserving energy. Infact research conducted by Havard psychologists, Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert showed that people operate on autopilot roughly 47% of the day, following automated behaviours while their thoughts wander from the task at hand. 1
As humans we have therefore been designed to spend most of our lives relying on our inbuilt autopilot and we’re not able to completely switch it off. We have neither the mental capacity nor capability to do this. And the truth is, we wouldn’t really want to. That is, would you want to consciously think about every single task you perform, every single day?
Too much autopilot?
Although we now know that autopilot is a very important tool to help us function at our best, there are times when over reliance on our autopilot can become detrimental. For example, there are moments that we should really tune into our surroundings, paying attention to what others are saying or the information being presented to us. If we over rely on our autopilot in these moments then we can miss some critical information that might help us have the impact we desire.
Understanding that we can over-rely on our autopilot also helps us understand that certain factors can activate our autopilot resulting in us becoming a too disengaged or distracted from life. Factors such as stress, anxiety, change and being overwhelmed can lead to overuse of autopilot. It’s in these moments where we already feel overwhelmed and so our autopilot kicks in to help protect us and conserve energy.
When to switch off autopilot
Whilst a level of unconscious behaviour is useful for many menial tasks, when we get to the more important things, we need to switch autopilot off and put our hands back onto the controls.
If we allow autopilot to start to creep into all parts of our lives it can cause issues. For instance, when interacting with others, leading teams and making decisions, we need to be fully present, actively listening and conscious of our actions and interactions. We need to challenge what we’re seeing or hearing and assess the usefulness of the stories and messages that are embedded in our conscious and unconscious thoughts. We do not want our autopilot directing us, rather we want to be consciously in control. It is also interesting to consider that being on autopilot numbs your emotions somewhat, which might be helpful in stressful moments, but to feel excitement, joy or accomplishment you need to be present and in control of the decisions you are making.
How to switch it off?
To switch off your autopilot means to act with what we call mindful intention. To achieve this there are a few things you can do as follows:
- Do a mental audit of your life, work and home, then question when over relying on autopilot doesn’t help. Would your team, colleagues, family and friends say you are present and engaged? What moments mean the most to you and what do you want to be good at? Do you want to be a successful leader? Do you get fulfilment out of supporting your team? Do you want to be more present with your children when you get home? These can be called your mindful intention moments.
- Purposefully plan when you want to mindfully use your time and energy. Which daily tasks are your mindful intention moments and prioritise them when you are at your energy peaks. Or perhaps as an example, ensure you give yourself a little bit of down time on the way home from work so you feel more energised when you get home to your family.
- Make a habit to prompt yourself to engage, actively listen, question and participate in all your key moments of the day.
A story about switching off autopilot from Rob’s book – The Great Man is Dead: a new philosophy for leadership
Georgia was firmly running on autopilot each day and unconsciously following a routine without ever challenging whether the routine was helping her unlock her potential or the potential of those around her. She had a deep desire to ‘pay it forward’ in terms of helping people make the most of opportunities available to them. In recognising this, Georgia ‘woke up’, as she described it, to the fact that she was just leading and living on autopilot. ‘I’d stopped questioning how I was spending
my time each day,’ Georgia said. ‘It’s as if I was just doing the same things day in and day out, never considering whether they were the best things for me to be doing.’ Georgia’s further admission related to her continual state of distraction. ‘It was easier to be distracted than face some of the questions I should have been asking,’ she said. ‘I would actually look for things to fill my day almost as if to avoid having to
deal with the frustrations I had about my life.’
Georgia’s realisation that she was leading and living on autopilot proved to be a powerful catalyst in support of her learning to lead and live with greater mindful intention. Through her realisation and recognising where she had the most energy each day, she focused on changing her routine at home and work. ‘I think my children found it a shock at first,’ she described. ‘They are now a lot more responsible
for themselves rather than me feeling like I’m their servant.’ At work, Georgia also took control of her diary, especially in managing the range of distractions that impacted her. ‘I was being pulled in so many different directions, just because I said yes to everything,’ she said. Changing this involved being more discerning about what she
got involved with and what she didn’t. It also involved using her desire to help people make the most out of opportunities to give greater responsibility to her team.
Through changing her routines and being more conscious of the type of distractions that she was opening herself up to, Georgia gave herself the headspace to focus on her contribution to those around her. This ultimately gave her a stronger sense of purpose which further contributed to the development of her authentic sense of identity.
If you are looking for help to recalibrate your autopilot contact Rob@purposefulleader.co
1 Killingsworth, Matthew A., and Daniel T. Gilbert. “A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind.” Science, vol. 330, no. 6006, 12 Nov. 2010, p. 932. https://web.colby.edu/cogblog/2020/11/24/moving-from-autopilot-towards-mindfulness/