The Psychology of Productivity... and Being Spread too Thin

Whereas I am well aware that "multitasking" is a popular 21st century buzzword, I'm also well aware that I suck at it.

But this is not really a post about multitasking, because that suggests being able to to multiple things at the same time. In this case, I am more looking at simply trying to do too many things well, and how it negatively affects our productivity.

Red leaf in the sun

I Hate Rushing!

I know plenty of people who love the sensation of "hustle and bustle," and feeling like they are "always on the go," but I have never been one of those. Whereas I do enjoy doing things, I like to be a deliberate and thorough worker... someone who creates quality "something" rather than quantity "something."

Whenever I find that I have to rush a lot to get one thing done in a hurry so I can get on with the next one, the quality of what I do suffers severely.

Of course, there are those that argue that "as long as it gets DONE," most people never stop for long enough to notice and pay attention to minor problems.That basically amounts to a slightly genteel way of saying "who cares?" in not so many ways.

Wealth of color in our summer garden

Too Many Irons in the Fire

For the past 4-5 years, I can with a high degree of certainly say that I have had "too much" going on.

As a result, I am spread thin to the point where I don't ever feel like I am able to pay appropriate attention to anything I do.

There's an old truism in Denmark that goes "Hastværk er lastværk" which literally translates into something along the lines of "The business of being in a hurry is a burden."

I would tend to agree with that, and extend it to include just having too many projects to look after, concurrently. It feels like a "burden" to not have the time to do my best at each one of them; and I realize that I often live with a pervasive sense of mild irritation as a result.

Flathead Lake, Montana. A storm is building...

The Psychological Fallout

We often tend to overlook the psychological effects of the things we do, or we sweep such things under the rug with rationalizations that having feelings about our work and projects is "too woo-woo" and just serves to get in our way.

And yet, millions of people seek help to deal with work-related stress, anxiety, hypertension and various other physical issues. But where do those come from?

When I look at myself... and apply many years of training in self-inquiry... the truth is that I don't mind working hard to have what I have, but it makes me feel bad about myself — and occasionally mildly depressed — to know that I am in some way not doing my BEST because I'm in too much of a rush to keep up with everything I need to keep up with!

Short answer: For most people, it's depressing to create something sloppy, in service of going quickly, and getting a lot done. Often it's even subconscious... but some part of us "senses" that we're ultimately "putting our name" on a piece of crap. Or something we could do a lot better.

Red rocks near Sedona, Arizona

So Why Be Into so MANY Things?

It's a very good question, and a fair part of it has to do with simple economics. Many people are simply "out of time," from the perspective that they have to work extensively to simply survive and afford the basics.

This morning, I overheard my work neighbor mention that he'd been working on a problem with a plumber, and the plumber said "well, we PROBABLY have the leak fixed." My friend Robert found himself asking why there was a "probably" in the sentence — why isn't the problem just FIXED?

Of course, "Scott the Plumber" is not only a plumber for five days a week, he also works part time as a re-stocker at the supermarket, during night-time hours. Scott is always on the run... and whereas I'm sure he'd like to take his time and make sure that the problem is truly FIXED, he simply doesn't have the time to make it to enough appointments to make a living, and so we end up with "probably."

And so we return to some of my previous writings, in which it increasingly seems like the world need to reassess what it means to have — and DO — "enough" in this world of ours.

Because a lot of us are just stretched too thin. And that's not a good thing.

Thanks for reading!

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Created at 190222 17:16 PST
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