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As I mentioned in the podcast on Monday, there is a fine line to walk between moving in the direction of progress and driving yourself unmercifully. The more adept we become and finding that line and staying where we want on it the more we can accomplish and the more we can benefit ourselves and the world around us.
In our society, we have this perception that the world exists in a series of mutually-exclusive binary choices: Good or Evil. Left or Right. Light or Dark. Athlete or Brain. Work and Pleasure.
While these differentials will work in a crude fashion, they are a very unsophisticated tool. As such, if you try to apply them to a situation that doesn’t fit neatly into one or another, the system breaks down.
The reason I bring up this facet of our society and our culture is because as long as we have this idea in our head, it makes it harder for us to grasp certain concepts that can readily benefit us.
Mary Poppins to the rescue.
Or Snow White, if you prefer. I like Mary’s message, because it’s more integrated. Whistling while you work may help take your mind off the task at hand and help you enjoy a melody, but you really want to focus as much of yourself as you can on the task at hand so it can benefit you. Mary’s method is to integrate the task at hand with something that brings you pleasure. If you can find joy in your work, you automatically become more effective at it because you don’t have to expend effort keeping yourself on task. You can focus all of your available talent and effort onto one white-hot point.
Multitasking wasn’t funny the first time around.
In case you haven’t gotten the e-mail: Multitasking anything worthwhile. . . isn’t worthwhile. Oh, sure, you can fold your laundry while watching a TV show. You can eat dinner while listening to an audiobook, if you like. But don’t ever try multitasking on anything that requires real effort, intelligence, or talent. You wind up spending most of your time thinking “wait, where was I again?” and your end result is mediocre and disjointed. Trust me on this: Break it into bite-size chunks. Then focus everything you’ve got on each chunk until it’s gone. Trying to multitask something important is nasty because you never really get done, and you never get the feeling of accomplishment. You are never sure if you really got it. So do yourself a favor: Don’t do it.
Cool your jets.
Speaking of never getting done, I’m going to climb back on my soap box for a bit and say a few choice words about the “work ethic”.
Hear me out here. I’m not saying anything bad about a good day’s work. I’ve put in many and am looking forward to putting in many many more. However: Work in and of itself isn’t a virtue. Working to move a pile of sand from one point to another point twenty feet away and back day after day would be an obvious waste. Nothing inherently virtuous there.
Having said that, I do acknowledge that the ability to work hard and buckle down is a great asset to have, and I highly recommend it if you haven’t developed it.
The point that I do want to make, is that people are rather dense when it comes to work strategy. They think that they can keep hammering away at something for long hours with no breaks to rest and replenish.
I recently read a classic of science fiction: Skylark Three by E.E. “Doc” Smith. I wouldn’t ordinarily bring up a book of fiction except for a specific scene. The main character of the book was a genius at chemistry and engineering. He happened to find himself working as an assistant to his counterpart in a very advanced society. They were on the verge of something great, when quitting time came. The main character wanted to continue, but the advanced scientist refused, saying:
“There speaks the rashness and impatience of youth,” rejoined the scientist, calmly removing the younger man’s suit and leading him out to the waiting airboat. “I read in your mind that you are often guilty of laboring continuously until your brain loses its keen edge. Learn now, once and for all, that such conduct is worse than foolish—it is criminal. We have labored the full period. Laboring for more than that length of time without recuperation results in a loss of power which, if persisted in, wreaks permanent injury to the mind; and by it you gain nothing. . .”
Taking a break runs counter to our ingrained training that working is good and resting makes you lazy, selfish, and a failure. However, it is only by taking your rest that you can recharge your mind and body so as to be more effective than ever. If you can actually let yourself relax and recuperate, you will find that you can bring a lot more to bear in your efforts, be they physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Be gentle and let yourself rest.
Get to work!
So, have a project in mind? Give these tips a spin and see how you do. If When you find the difference and see the results, you’ll be much more confident in your methods.
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