"Pay attention to what's in front of you— the principle, the task, or what's being portrayed." —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.22
I was born an impatient person who liked to slay as many chores/tasks in a twenty-four hour period as possible. Completing a list of tasks just naturally feels good, it provides a sense of accomplishment not to mention a mighty satisfying brain-chemical release.
Our school and work lives reinforce this productivity-based mindset. This emphasis on productivity was probably forged during the Industrial Revolution as before this period in humanity’s history quality and craftsmanship was held in higher esteem.
As I got older and started meditating in the early 1990’s I began to notice how much more enjoyment I got out of these tasks when I slowed down, took more care/focus, and did each one to the best of my ability instead of just rushing through. This slower, more purposeful way of thinking and living has a way of shifting more towards the pursuit of excellence than it does pure output.
As someone who wasn’t naturally inclined to think this way I find myself continually having to refocus. I'm still a work in progress. I have to keep bringing myself back into the frequency of this never-ending pursuit of excellence. Every time I do this I feel more accomplished, at peace, and complete. Details matter. Excellence matters. Many times I discover productivity isn't effected much at all. You may discover meticulousness is even more rewarding than robotically and absentmindedly checking tasks off of a list. Patience takes practice.
When going about your next week why not—take a deep breath, relax, and totally focus on your task at hand? You may discover something you’ve been missing out on all along. Focus on one thing at a time. It’s a much more peaceful, grounded way to live and is more in-tuned with our true nature. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. How you do anything is how you do everything.
For the coming week, set a notification on your mobile device for once during the morning and once in the afternoon (or write it on a Post-It Note and put it on your mirror), remind yourself…
This will serve as a daily reminder throughout the next week to stay the course.
Be well, make the most of this day. Thank you for reading!
If you're interested in learning to meditate, please take a look at my book, The Perfect Pause.
Growing weary of the ads and divisiveness on mainstream social media? If so, why not try Hive? Click on this link to sign-up and join our growing global community.
Want to Keep Up with My Travels? Please subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Indeed, I create a task list if I have more things to do in a day or week, and I feel relieved after I completed them as I wanted.
We were taught that we had to be productive. This week that I saw the movie Heretic, I think that much of what we are and believe is because they have not been instilled in us. Many of us are “indoctrinated” into beliefs that are good for the system. We have to be productive, Shakira used to say “we have to bill”. This producing or invoicing leads us to an endless spiral of activities that have no rest and what is worse: they do not give us pleasure. Substituting seeing for observing, listening for hearing, smelling for perceiving. To be attentive and enjoy this attention seems to be a utopia, but it is not. A hug, Eric
It was the same way with our generation here in the US. Most of the world's citizens, especially Gen X and older, were conditioned from a very young age to follow orders and to be worker-bees because the economy needs so many to keep the global economy humming. I think this is one reason it's so hard for many of us to transition into retirement—it's an entirely new way of living. I've heard that during feudal times of the middle ages (9th to the 15th century) peasants had more free time, on average than the modern worker does today. That's really something to ponder! Thanks Nancy. I hope you had a great weekend!
The phrase "How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything" is one of my wife's favorite expressions :) She really believes it. I do have a natural tendency to look for shortcuts and sometimes it was beneficial, but sometimes it got me into a trouble. Less rework and mistakes is the benefit of taking it nice and slow and doing the job the right way the first time.
I've learned to try to embrace it in the last few years but it doesn't come naturally and I don't expect it from others, just myself. When I do slow down and take more care tasks almost become meditative and I find I have a lot more pride in my work. It's a slippery slope too though—it can cause a person with obsessive tendencies to drive themselves (and those around them) crazy. Lol. I don't think it's always the best thing to always expect/demand perfection in an imperfect world.
Wise words my friend. Thank you for living this and intentionally creating masterpieces.
Thank you @lydon.sipe! It's so good to hear from you and I hope you and the family are doing well.
Thank you! Yes, my wife and I are excited for a new chapter to start in our life soon. Waiting on some crypto harvest as you can imagine. Our 3 little ones 5 and under are doing well as well.
That's wonderful to hear! I'm sure you're a busy man. Those childhood years go so quickly! Yes, between now and October we should be seeing some great market action. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out now that crypto is more mainstream.
Childhood years are a beautiful and chaotic journey of discovery - I am grateful for them. Yes, curious to see how this cycle plays out. Blessings to you my friend!
One of the things I found when I truly started to do less things at a time was you enjoy things more and you do them better. Of course being a projects manager it is hard to put into practice in a work environement.
It is a bit like food, I eat less now but it is much better quality. The cuts of meat will be better quality etc and you have less but you savour and enjoy it more.
When less is more!
Good point! Less (but better quality) can be more in more ways than one.
I was just telling my wife the other day how I would often get many problems wrong in my homework as a student because I would rush through and try to finish it as quickly as possible. It's not that I wasn't a bright student, I just didn't focus enough.
I can remember rushing through my homework too so I could do other things. I don't know about you but I was often bored to death by my schoolwork. I think it was a combination of it not being challenging enough and all of the other childhood temptations (playing, cartoons, etc.)
I don't remember being bored, but the other temptations were definitely real!
"Interesting—do you think slowing down really leads to better productivity, or is it more about personal fulfillment? How do you balance quality with getting things done?"
In many cases, yes. More focus in our work = less rework and mistakes. Each of us have to find the our own balance in terms of quality vs. quantity. Obsessing over getting each thing absolutely perfect is just as bad as not focusing on excellence at all.
#hive
#hive #posh
#hive