I have recently realized one of the hardest thing to do is slow down or do nothing. Why is that? Why is that we place so much importance on being busy? or why are we so wired to act or be busy?
When I think about it now, may be it all started with the onset of industrial age and consumerism.
Moving from farming where the effort you put in was tied to the seasons, people could now work all year long and almost everyday to more and more material comforts. Sounds fair and square and we made a lot of progress – regardless of the debate on quality of progress – I won’t get onto that moralistic high horse.
So where am I headed with all this background. My point is simple.
Now with the advent of information and creative era hard work simply is not the best strategy and being busy is not a virtue.
Surprised! Of course this goes against all our training and conditioning and proverbs such as ” Success is 99% hardword and 1% inspiration”
With the advent of information and creative era a small player can change the game with a powerful idea. People have become millionaires (and yes totally legally) with new innovations.
New jobs are created everyday where your creativity and not your hard work differentiates your impact and hence you. In these creative jobs – the impact of proper thinking and ideas is much more than simple hard work.
Lets see some example of new age jobs.
Software development: Small time spent on understanding requirement deeply can save hours or rework and create highly differentiated product.
Sales: Time spent in connecting and building relationships with large account contact and expanding your network with quality relationship can much more dividends then cold calling for hours and hours.
Design: Conceptualizing a better product / break through product can not only change ones careers but the destiny of whole companies.
Drop busy-ness
Bottom line is in the creative era – being busy or not does not matter. Work when you are in the right zone. Take time, take breaks, smell the rose, nurture your creative sensibility, take time to let ideas sync in, follow your heart and engage it deeply in your work when you work.
Stop counting hours, start measuring the dept of your involvement and immersion. Give your heart not time to what you do.