My efficiency is killing me!
Huh? That’s a weird thought. Why did I have it, and what does it mean?
Doesn’t efficiency mean that I’m making the most progress in the least amount of time and with the least amount of effort? How can that be bad, much less deadly? Why do I keep feeling like it’s working against my long-term health?
Running two businesses and a household means my To Do list is long…always. I find that if I throw in a load of laundry and turn on the iron in the morning when I’m in the laundry room grabbing a towel for my shower, then I have saved myself two trips back to the laundry room. If I go to the post office before I go to my office, then I can get my bank deposit ready before a meeting that’s close to the bank. I’ve used less time, less gas, and done less driving. There’s no inherent problem with any of this. It allows me to move down the list quickly and be responsive to my customers. And, of course, the general premise is that I will be able to finish tasks quicker leaving more time for the fun, relaxation, and connection that improve my quality of life. But is that what’s really happening? Let’s take a look:
The problem comes when I finally recognize that I opted to finish 3 more emails, 4 purchase orders, and two more phone calls before I stopped for lunch, my lip is numb, my arm tingly, and I can’t think straight because my blood sugar has fallen. Other times, my bladder hurts because I’ve efficiently arranged my errands, but waited too long before trying to find a bathroom. My focus on being efficient in the moment is sometimes counterbalanced by my ineffectiveness later. It takes hours to fully recover from a severe sugar drop making everything I attempt in the meantime take longer and be more prone to error.
The focus that keeps my mind crunching on a computer problem until it’s solved or holds a task list in my head that’s more accurate than my written list also causes me to ignore my body’s signals. When I lead with my mind, my body and spirit often get out of balance. When I cannot clearly absorb the communication from my body and spirit, it becomes easier to make choices that are detrimental to my physical or emotional health. Even when I’m exhausted, I’ll may work late rather than take time to connect with a loved one. I’ll eat a carb heavy dinner like GF pizza or cereal and milk because it’s fast even though I know that I’ll have a headache and feel groggy the next morning…and all because I’m choosing to be efficient.
We face pressures in this fast-paced, accomplishment-focused culture that often pull us out of balance. We are then trained to believe that we can engage our intellect to conquer the resulting problems. Of course, these problems will not respond to intellectual cures. So we become more efficient, try harder, accomplish more and wonder why we don’t feel better.
Perhaps rather than suffer the detrimental effects of being efficient, I can focus more on just being…being present in the moment in body, mind, AND spirit. I know that it’s in this quiet balance that I find peace, strength, and healing. I know that it’s in such a state of being that thriving begins. Sounds like it should be as easy as relaxing, but it’s not easy for me. How about for you?
Image from freedigitalimages.com contributor Ambro
