Productivity And “Pushing The Moment”
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
I shudder a little when I think about some of my old working habits. One of these habits was to do what I now call “pushing the moment.” When I’d be under time pressure, or I just wanted a task off my plate quickly, I’d tighten up my shoulders as I worked — as if I were physically trying to push the project to completion. Not surprisingly, my shoulders used to get sore pretty often.
Today, when I work with someone who’s looking for focus and motivation in what they do, we often discover they’re doing the same thing. Much of the working day, they recognize, they’re unconsciously tensing up some part of their body, as if their project is some big piece of furniture they’re trying to move across the living room floor. No wonder work feels so painful and uninviting to them.
Beliefs That Lead Us To Push
The most obvious way to deal with the “pushing” habit is to notice it and let it go. Every so often, as we’re working, it’s useful to scan our attention over our bodies, and notice anywhere that feels rigid. When we become aware of the tight places, they often relax by themselves, or we can breathe into those places to help our bodies let go of the tension.
But for some people, this offers only temporary relief. They become aware of the tight place and relax, but a few minutes later they’re clenching their jaw or neck again, and working again feels stifling and uncomfortable. Sometimes, I find, people have trouble breaking the “pushing” habit because of deep-seated ideas they have about themselves and the world that could use some examination.
These ideas differ from person to person, but I’ll go through a few common ones. It may be helpful to notice whether any of them resonate with you.
1. Work Takes Suffering. A few people I’ve worked with have noticed that, when they relax the tense parts of their bodies as they work, they start thinking of themselves as lazy. Somewhere along the line, they learned that, to be a responsible, hardworking person, you have to suffer while you work — “no pain, no gain.” When they look closely at this belief and see how irrational and self-hating it is, it often unravels.
2. Pushing Makes Us Work Faster. Some people tense their bodies based on the false, unconscious idea that clenching their muscles will speed up their progress — as if they’ll get more efficient if they just “put some muscle into it.” In fact, tightening up inside just wears us out, and turns work into a more dismal chore than it needs to be.
3. I’ve Got To Get “There.” In our culture, we usually don’t even consider the possibility that we can enjoy the moment-to-moment process of writing an e-mail or plugging values into a spreadsheet. The only thing we think we’re capable of enjoying, and let ourselves enjoy, is the product of our work — the money we make, the prestige of our career, and so on. This mindset can leave us literally aching for the reward, and not realizing how much we can make out of this moment.
In my experience, becoming aware of these destructive beliefs is a lot like noticing the places in our bodies where we’re holding tight. Often, when we become aware of it, the belief — like the tension we’re holding onto — dissolves on its own. And as it turns out, we get a lot more done when working is no longer such a physically painful process.
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 | If you found this post useful, you'll likely find Chris's book, Inner Productivity, helpful as well. Inner Productivity is packed with techniques to help you find focus and motivation in your work from a mindful perspective. |
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January 20th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Excellent advice as always.
As conscious as I try to lead my life each day and each moment, one would think I would never again have to suffer any shoulder tension….but I still do
I don’t ever look at myself in that I necessarily “push” myself in any particular direction, it has so much more to do I think with getting “caught in the moment”. Yes I love writing, but getting all caught up in the key strokes on a computer, especially if there is a feeling of time “running out” definitely ends up in my shoulders….
Well, something good to consider even more consciously and work on in 2010
Thanks Chris!
January 20th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Evita Ochel, Chris Edgar. Chris Edgar said: Blog: Productivity and "Pushing The Moment" — http://www.purposepowercoaching.com/site/?p=704 [...]
January 21st, 2010 at 9:31 am
Hi Evita — yes, I can definitely relate to getting caught up in the time pressure and tensing up out of habit — checking in and noticing how I’m holding myself from time to time has been such a valuable practice.
January 21st, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Chris,
Excellent post. It is so true that many people do tense up and push their work along and much for the reasons that you mentioned. The funny thing is that we are not doing our best work when we are in a pushing mode. We zap our creativity when we become rigid. It is very important to shift our ingrained beliefs about what work is supposed to feel like and to become comfortable in what we do, it is then that our creativity flows and that we optimize the work that we are doing. We then become more efficient and in turn more relaxed. Work does not have to be “Work”.
January 21st, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Wow, Chris, #3 really struck a chord in me, especially the part about emails. I get quite a few emails a day (gratefully), but sometimes I get overwhelmed at the need to respond to them all. So I tense up, and think, “This will take forever!” Then I procrastinate. And do so a little bit more…
Gosh, I loved the idea of just enjoying every sentence I choose to type. Stopping the idea that I have to “finish this email!” and instead relaxing into what a gift it is to be able to correspond so effortlessly with folks nowadays.
Thank you!
January 21st, 2010 at 7:16 pm
I agree with Megan. WOW!!! This is really important for me right now because I AM having to work long hours getting my book ready. And yet…. I am trying to rethink how I THINK about that. How I respond to that. I am beginning to suspect that so much of it is HOW I look at it all. Now this is all something that I am only really exploring as my load gets very intense, but I think so much of it is in my MIND….even when do I have to work long hours. The drain comes more from how I perceive it than maybe what I am actually doing.
You said: “…we can enjoy the moment-to-moment process of writing an e-mail…” Now, THAT is something I relate to and really am starting to think more about. Staying in ONLY this moment. All day long. I tend to get ahead of myself and then become overwhelmed. BUT I am getting better at this. And find that even when I let go and take a nap like I absolutely HAD to yesterday that the world or my work doesn’t fall apart. I just said to the Universe, “Okay, this is what I need and you are going to have accommodate me doing it. Because if it’s what I REALLY need it has to be right.” The more I can do that the more it works.
This is wonderful Chris, but then your sharings always are. I really appreciate this one soooo much. Thank you my friend and thank you for the delight laugh the other day. I’m still chuckling over the image of your ina group of a hundred women…taking out the trash. LOL!!! Hugs, Robin
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:19 am
I’ve read your book twice, and I’m still guilty of worrying and tightening up sometimes. But luckily, you offer a beautiful reminder here of what I already know and have proven works. Float. Go easy. Enjoy.
It really can be joy to work, like now, I’m all relaxed again.
Thanks, Chris! You continue to be a rare gem, a treasure in all you so freely share.
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Hi Mark — I like that way of putting it, that work doesn’t need to be “work” in the way we usually use the word. When we take responsibility for how we’re relating to our work instead of assuming that “it’s called work because it’s no fun,” I think we can surprise ourselves with what’s possible.
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Hi Megan — that sounds refreshing to me — I’m hearing that you transitioned from the view that you “have” to respond to all the e-mails to a sense that you’re actually doing it out of choice, and that you’re seeing that the number of e-mails you get actually reflects that there are a lot of people who care about you.
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Hi Robin — that sounds inspiring to me — my sense is that perhaps you’re questioning the notion that you *have to* work long hours on the book, and maybe stepping back and noticing how much you *want* and *choose* to give to the world with your book and how essential every moment of your work is to that choice. By the way, I’m available for trash service at Naked In Eden workshops as well should you need it.
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Hi Jannie — I’m really glad to hear about the positive impact the book has had for you. I like the word “float” — it’s a welcome alternative to “charge” or “fight,” which I think is the way most of us relate to working.
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:01 pm
ROFL!!!! RE: “By the way, I’m available for trash service at Naked In Eden workshops as well should you need it.”
I can see it now. You will never hear the end of this. Millions of women’s workshops the world over will be seeking your “trash removal services”. LOL!!
Also, I am going to print out here your response as I think you REALLY hit the nail on the head and it did me good. I could really feel the shift in me just READING your words. Wow! This is one of those examples of how we look at things and how a shift in our perception changes everything. Thank you soooooooo much. !!!