Have you heard the saying, ‘doing without doing’?
Our lives are complicated, busy and full. It’s just the nature of modern living.
Every day we are bombarded with information and ‘stuff’ to manage.
Along with this is more and more technology to help us manage this assault on our senses.
Technology allows for efficiency, organization and leverage. Which is true.
Technology also brings with it more sensory overload. More skills to learn, more stuff to manage our existing stuff.
Technology allows us to take on more. So what do we do? We take on more. We get more done in a day. We respond faster, action faster, move to the next project faster, and manage more tasks at the same time…
We then expect this from our community. We expect others to always have their mobile phones on and answerable; we expect an email response at least same day; we expect our PC’s to move faster and faster; we expect the cloud to back up every moment seamlessly and we expect the internet to be ‘on’ and be ‘fast’ all the time.
Everything is ramped up.
Yes, we are organized, and yes we get stuff done, but the volume of stuff and the pressure just keeps over loading.
Then we start noticing signs and symptoms. Our nervous systems start to malfunction The circuitry starts to over load, and glitches. We don’t sleep as well as we did. We’re not as present as once were. We’re just not as much fun to be around.
But. We are getting ‘stuff’ done right! That’s good, right? I mean if you can get on top of your ‘stuff’ a few weeks, months sooner that you may have done before the technology and internet came along, that means some down time…right?
Wrong! We create more ‘stuff’ to get done, more deadlines, more projects, more pressure…
Then we start complaining. Our PC’s are too slow, the internet is not reliable, our mobile phones just aren’t robust enough to keep up…
There’s another saying, ‘It’ll still be there tomorrow’, you know, whatever it is you didn’t get done today. And there’s always collaboration and delegation to help with the load. There’s also prioritization, letting go of what’s not important.
So let me get to the point.
Sometimes the best ‘doing’ is ‘not doing’!
I’m sure you’ve noticed on those rare occasions you might find some space for yourself, your ‘right’ brain suddenly becomes freed up. Your creativity starts to unleash. You can see clearly the tasks and projects in relation to the bigger picture. You realize what’s really important and where you need to spend your energy. You end up being more productive in a ‘being’ space than you have been for weeks in your ‘doing’ space.
To quote Kevin Hart, ‘SAY WHAT!’
Yep, that’s right you’re LEFT brain doesn’t have all the answers. It needs to be balanced with your right brain and technology just isn’t right brain, at least in the main.
So appreciate the value of sitting still. Take a moment, or maybe 5 moments, and just sit. Find a quiet space and breath. It’s also called meditation or contemplation. Allow your mind to wander, that’s what it does naturally. Imagine sitting by a roadside watching cars passing. Their thoughts. Don’t judge, just observe. After a while you start to notice them less. Just keep focusing on your breath and see what happens.
Your productivity will greatly improve, I guarantee it. And you might just extend your quality of life.
Written by someone who is still trying to get this, by the way.
About the Author:
Dr. Andrew Arnold (Chiropractor) is the ‘Practice Leverage Expert’; Principal Chiropractor and owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre; Accredited Business Coach; Founder, Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew is married to Dr. Linda Wilson, the Stress Specialist and has two children, Isaac and Bella. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.