Carl's Corner
by Carl Pritchard, PMP (February 1, 2010)
Did you get a million things done today? GREAT! Now try ACTIVELY doing nothing. It's harder than you think.
Zen versus the Multi-Tasker
By Carl Pritchard
Welcome to the vagaries of modern life. You hurry to complete your project charter and then wait three weeks for a signature. You stand in line to correct an administrative problem, only to find out that you don't have the right paperwork. Hurry up and wait. How do we fill the voids while we wait? Many of us have spent much of the last ten years carefully crafting a thousand different ways to fill the voids while we're in the car, on the train, in the line, and a host of different spots. And for the truly anal-retentive among us, we have mastered the art. Barely a second is left open. Stuck on the road? Read a text. Waiting in the lobby? Cruise through e-mail on your laptop or Blackberry(r). Waiting for your significant other (who promised to be "right down" ten minutes ago)? Great opportunity to check voicemail. Wake up. Event. Event. Event. Event. Event. Event. Event. Event. Go to bed. We often consider it a triumph when the entire day has been occupied with fruitful activity.
Are we bearing fruit? You bet! We're getting a lot done. (Heck, I'm writing this article while waiting for a call-back on my cell on the train to New York!) We're accomplishing!
And then there's my wife. While Nancy is very accomplished in her own right (she's a CPA and a hyper-achiever), she's spent a lot of the last five years or so getting involved in contemplative, meditative groups. She goes on retreats. She doesn't carry her laptop with her everywhere. She even turns off her cell phone with reasonable frequency.
The impressive thing is that Nancy has a different perspective on "doing" and "achieving" than I do. Her perfect day is when she has a clear understanding of something she didn't understand yesterday. And sometimes that "something" is simply her discovery of a new way to have a moment without an intrusive thought. It's a moment of quiet.
While I don’t envision myself heading for an ashram or going on a spiritual journey in some steamy hut, I am beginning to believe that my wife is definitely on to something. Despite my penchant for trying to get a thousand things done at once, I often succumb to the sensation that I may be filling my voids with things that I wouldn't necessarily otherwise be doing.
But would it be worth it to intentionally do nothing? After watching my wife through the past few years, I have to answer in the affirmative. In trying to follow in her footsteps on a few occasions, I've quickly come to a couple of realizations. Doing nothing is hard work. Doing nothing actually gets something accomplished.
The Hard Work of Doing Nothing
Not that I don't want you to finish the article, but take a moment away from it and try to clear your mind completely. Try to empty it of thought, clearing out all of the cobwebs and extraneous thoughts. Then try to hold that "blank" for about two minutes. Go ahead. I'll still be here when you get back.
Not easy, is it? You had lots of little thoughts along the way. "I wonder if I'm doing this right." "I should probably check my watch to see if it’s been two minutes yet." "I'm not sure I see the value-add in this." "Did I leave the garage door open?" The mind is an amazing tool. Vacate the standard thought process and it will work like the devil to try to fill the void. If you were actually able to keep and hold blankness for two minutes, you're a champ! It takes effort, but there is a payoff. The payoff comes in the relative serenity of the moment. When you're able to clear your mind...even briefly...you capture something akin to the proverbial "first bite of a York(r) Peppermint Patty". It's a rush of nothing. A blast of clarity. It's a freeing moment.
What Gets Accomplished
In that freeing moment, extraordinary things get accomplished. Mental clarity leads to clearer vision. Clearer vision leads to more effective plans. More effective plans lead to better management. And that means we're more capable at our jobs. It's not the type of deliverable that's easy to load into a WBS or that's destined for a customer signature. But it is the type of deliverable that allows us to more clearly elucidate what we're doing for our customers, how we're serving them wisely and how that service can be improved or enhanced over time. Clarity opens doors. And a moment of nothing can expand our clarity.
Don't expect it to happen on the first, second, or even the third try. The world has spent most of your career trying to crowd out everything else. Crowding the world back out is no mean feat. But with time, and practice, eventually you too can accomplish nothing!
And that’s something.
Copyright 2010, Pritchard Management Associates - Right to reproduce in full with attribution is granted freely to Silver Spring Chapter members for personal and professional use. All other rights (including resale or republication) are reserved.