At meetings, I got used to barrages of questions: “Why has this issue not been resolved yet? When are we going to start on this project? We’ve got tickets stuck since last year with no update.”
It’s easy for us to focus only on what isn’t done and ignore what is. We might all hold to various ideas about what we want or envision for the future. I used to hold a feeling inside that nothing I did was ever enough, that no matter how hard I worked or how much I rushed, I would always be behind. I used to daydream about days when my to-do list would finally be empty, and I could sit back and relax, even for just a day. Nowadays, I think differently about this topic. Let me talk about how I look at task management, productivity, and “getting it done”.
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It started with an ideal. Last summer, I was discussing the idea of abundance with my fiancé. We talked about what it was to us. I told her that to a person who has a deficiency mindset, or a feeling that it’s never enough, abundance is hell. The desire is rooted in lack, and the desire is to lack. I now think an abundant world is a world full of problems, unresolved issues, difficult challenges, and bugs. To have problems is to have opportunities.
When you stop having problems, that’s a sign of a bigger issue; it’s a sign of a world where your colleagues stop dreaming of a better tomorrow, stop thinking about how things can be better, and give up on the feeling that nothing will ever make a difference. On days like these, when pressures from stakeholders can weigh heavily on the heart, I remind myself that these are people with passion. People with ideas. People who dream of a better workplace and a better environment for themselves, their peers, and our customers. Still, it can feel heavy to feel like you’ve disappointed people, or that you haven’t been able to help them realize their dream, at least you haven’t, yet.
I worry we obsess too much with speed.
If I take an electric scooter, I can get to work in 5 minutes. If I walk, I arrive in 30. If I were efficient, I’d take the Ryde every time. But what’s the rush? I only have eight hours to work, a long evening to look forward to at the end of the day, and plenty of time in the morning to get ready.
I have little need to stress or to rush to get there. I could try to do everything the fastest way possible, and at the end of the day, I’d be home, having nothing to do, all tasks completed, bored out of my mind, but realizing this: I didn’t sit down and listen to my colleague, and I didn’t take the time to journal or reflect on my day. I didn’t get the chance to spend time in and enjoy nature. I didn’t let myself have a nice lunch. I rushed through everything I did, only to be left with nothing to do. Why do we obsess so much with speed?
The importance of relationships
Let’s face it. You’re not enough. You can’t do it all on your own. There are more problems on this planet than there are people. How could you ever hope to tip the balance alone? If you can recognize that you’re not enough, you can learn the importance of good relationships.
After all, we need to talk with each other, we need to solve problems together, and your individual failure is an opportunity for your team to step up and to work better together. On days when pressure from my colleagues feels heavy, I remind myself to reach out, ask for their help, admit my failures openly, admit when I’m struggling, and ask for their support.
At other times, I tell myself I should pull overtime, work faster, and cut corners. But I know how this can backfire, too. I know about the bugs and unexpected errors that occur when you deploy something without proper testing. I still sometimes get the bad urge to “just rush it,” and I’m reminded over and over again about the problem of rushing. The goal is to find a sustainable pace.
How do you find a sustainable pace?
Some people move faster than others; some move more slowly. If you enjoy a task, you should take your time with it. Why take a shortcut at a task that you genuinely like? If you enjoy your task, you want to genuinely immerse yourself in it, and give it your complete attention and energy. You love this task. It deserves your attention and focus. For me, I’m working on a lesson on focusing on tasks and really putting my full energy and effort into it.
Pacing yourself means moving with your breath. You should try to breathe with every action that you do. With too little air, your actions become rushed, like you are drowning, and you start to feel overwhelmed. Without breathing out, you become tense and stiff, and you fail to let go. Mindfulness should be a daily practice in every action and every activity. Reminding yourself to breathe through conversations, work, and physical exercise makes everything easier and more natural. Some say “Go with the flow” – I think it’s equally apt to say “Go with your breath”.
An action becomes sustainable if you can execute it consistently over time. When you rush, you may get ahead momentarily, but the next day, you’ll have to rush twice as fast, just to keep yesterday’s pace, and the day after that, you’ll have to rush even faster, just to stay afloat. This is the danger of speeding up. It makes you fall behind. When you slow down, you breathe out. Your mind learns, your memories stabilize, and you become more balanced. This helps you build mental and physical muscles. It makes your average faster. Rushing makes your average slower. So ask yourself: Can I keep this pace consistently forever? Or am I going to crash?
When you show up at the end of a workday, collapsed on the couch, unable to move or do anything, remember that this is what it is like to have exceeded your limits, to have pushed yourself too far. You failed to listen to your signals. You could have slowed down earlier and still have energy for some journaling, self-reflection, or mindful rest. Now, you’re stuck with mindless rest, you’ve crashed, and it’s going to take you much longer to recover. I can remember these moments with some shame.
These were the times when I would mindlessly scroll on my phone, binge-watch Netflix, and lose myself in social media. And the next day, I’d still feel tired, still angry, still tense. I sacrificed sustainable progress for inconsistent success, with crashes, bumps, and failures along the way. And this is my reminder to myself to learn from these moments, to recognize the signs before they start, and to breathe, once more.
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