Some people take stressful situations in stride. You probably know at least one person who is rarely, if ever, tense or under pressure. Life comes at them just like it does for everyone, but they glide through it without too much effort.
Others are in a perpetual state of frenzy, trying to deflect or absorb everything that comes their way. Each day at work is crisis after crisis. Each evening at home is one giant flurry of getting things done. They don’t relax, ever.
While these are the two extremes, most Westerners seem to be closer to the latter than the former. As a culture, we celebrate and honor those who are continually pushing the limits (or at least appear that way) of what they can do in a given day. If someone has figured out how to manage their flow well, they are often ostracized by their peers for not keeping as busy as everyone else. They are often labeled ‘lazy’, regardless of how much they accomplish or produce relative to their peers.
There are basically four approaches to stressful input: flail (fight), avoid (flight), ignore (denial), and glide. Westerners gravitate towards the first two in large numbers.
Flailing accounts for all the busy people you know. They always appear to have three-too-many things going on, and nothing gets quite enough attention to be done well. These people are operating in ‘fight’ mode; you can even hear them refer to the ‘uphill battle’ or ‘onslaught’ of staying on top of everything at once.
Avoiding people are the ones who immediately find something else that is more important so that they don’t have to deal with the stress of the task at hand. Maybe there is an important chore around the house, like sorting the sock drawer. These people are busy, just like the fighters, but with something of little or no value… no progress is made on the important things.
Ignorers get sidetracked by anything more interesting. Perhaps a fascinating TV show is about to start that will be full of great information or funny situations. They know there are things they should be working on, but ‘it can wait’. The only problem is, how long will it be before they actually take action? These people really are being lazy.
The approach that works best for me is what I call ‘gliding’. Gliding is a form of being present.
Am I always gliding? Those who know me know that I can be an flailer, an avoider, or an ignorer; we all switch between them, sometimes many times per day. No, I’m not always gliding. However, when I remember to glide, everything just flows, and it all becomes easy.
How do you glide? There are basically three core components to gliding:
- Pick the right tasks
- Work purposefully
- Know when to stop
The first part of gliding is choosing the right activity to be working on. Are there three important things that must be done today? For each one, what is the next step? Identify the step(s) that must be completed and clearly understand what doesn’t have to be done; the difference this will make in saved time can be enormous.
The second part of gliding is being focused on the job at hand and not letting other things distract you for a period of time. This is about attention, pure and simple. You must keep your energy directed on the specific tasks you identified in the first step. This means, among other things, turning off your email program, silencing the ringer on your phone, and doing whatever else you need in order to keep your attention directed purposefully.
The third part is knowing when you’re done. Sure, you can peruse your document one more time, but at some point all the looking in the world isn’t going to make it better. Clearly define the ending criteria (in the case of objective work) or the ending time (in the case of subjective work), and when you get to that point, stop.
There are several fantastic strategies and great approaches to gliding. You may have heard of Get Things Done, First Things First, and Goal Focus, for instance. While they are each superficially different, the share many characteristics. What they teach are the three points mentioned above: pick the right tasks, work purposefully, and know when to stop. They take time to integrate, as you must create and habituate new methods to manage your time well. It isn’t necessarily easy, but it is worth it.
Want to get more done in less time and with less effort? Learn to glide…
Other news
Book review: Getting Things Done
I spent years spinning my wheels when it came to making progress on the things I needed to do. While I had millions of ideas and lots of energy, it seemed I never actually made progress on the projects I envisioned.
A few years ago, I was introduced to the work of David Allen, and his approach to time-management, GTD (Getting Things Done). My skills have changed for the better, and continue to improve, as a result of implementing his ideas.
This book will start with the basics and walk you through a systematic approach to achieving the important things in life. Whether you tend to bite off more than you can chew or just forget what your long-term goals were, GTD will help you re-establish your focus and attention and get more done in less time.
Recently I re-read the book, and realized there were a lot of new ways I could improve again. Like any good personal development book, each time I open it I find something new or something that I understand in a different way that brings more value to me.
Getting Things Done is a great book, a quick read full of ideas you can put to use right away. I highly recommend it to anyone who finds they just don’t seem to have enough time…
Looking for a last-minute gift idea? It’s not too late to pick up a copy for that important person in your life! Want more time for your family? Get yourself a copy!
From the editor
I remember growing up in Alaska, especially the dark and the cold. At the winter solstice, Anchorage only has about six hours of daylight (including dawn and dusk). I recall many days not seeing the daylight at all, because it would be dark when I got to school and dark when I left.
Dark has always amplified the other characteristics of the environment for me. The cold is colder, the crisp is crisper. I like the extremes that I experience for a few weeks in the heart of winter.
There is something beautiful about the quiet Christmas carols on a dark, still night. I love the last few weeks before Christmas, the stillness in the morning air, the silence of a fresh snowfall…
I hope you are doing well as we approach the end of another wonderful year.
Healthy thoughts,
Jeff
