Take a Time-Out
“Distractions are the assassins of great work. You don’t need more time; you need more focus.” Farnam Street, https://fs.blog
Calendars become full of meetings, the number of meeting attendees grows, agendas lengthen, and the number of steps to make things happen gets longer.
When one needs to set up a meeting, just open the other person’s calendar and find thirty minutes. Boom, meeting booked. Never mind that the stops and starts around the meeting take an additional thirty minutes of mental capacity.
Between meetings, emails are perpetually hitting an inbox like a dripping faucet. Take a few minutes throughout the day to scan for the urgent.
As all of this is going on, social media is calling. A quick in and out just takes a second. Wow, the Johnsons took a nice vacation??!!
While all of this is happening, the family of five is each doing life. Cars break down, friends break hearts, classes are failed, outside pressure is constant.
Finally, at the end of the day, back to empty the email to avoid being out of control.
Distracted, shallow work can feel like accomplishment. The action plan was developed in the meeting. The email inbox is clean. We are fooled into thinking productivity is happening.
Distracted work is always greater than capacity. Distracted work creates unstainable paces. Distracted work clouds vision. And, ultimately, distracted work robs joy and fulfillment.
But deep work, work done alone, in the quiet, without interruptions, working on meaningful things that require deep thought, is fulfilling. An hour immersed revives the soul, brings clarity to the chaos, impacts others and the company.
After all, you are the only one, with the perspective and point of view, to uniquely do the deep work for your job. The company depends on it. And you are the only one who can do the deep work for your soul, your family, and others depend on it.
The only solution is to force the timeout, find the time, do the deep work.
The time-out is good for the spirit, brings clarity of thought. Deep work spent on a strategy, a project, a mission, brings fulfillment. Deep work done on oneself through meditating renews the spirit, brings clarity to life, and properly prioritizes.
And the world survives while you are away.
A great question in your check-in with others this week is if they are getting time for deep work. The frenzied pace will never bring fulfillment.
“Time expands when we eliminate interruptions — our attention, not the clock, ultimately limits what we can achieve.” Farnam Street, https://fs.blog
Scripture: Proverbs 3:13-18
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