Why is it easier to scale up than back? Why are we better at adopting habits that creep into doing more rather than less?
In my around work de-cluttering, I often talk about how we seem to need to do more and more in order just to keep up with everything. I also talk about how shadow work has crept into our lives, the work that companies and service providers have shifted onto us consumers in our new DIY economy in the name of “efficiency” (read “cost cutting”).
Our jobs become ever busier and our life admin now requires increased levels of effort and attention. It’s no wonder that we feel like we never stop.
But here is what I’m noticing: this constant doing, chasing our list of chores, being switched on and connected to our devices all the time, leads to a compulsion of more, more, more. We keep fitting this in, “just” getting that done, quickly responding to these messages… We try to do more and more in our waking hours and as a result, we collapse at the end of the day, exhausted by the race.
The other day, a coaching client said to me that he wanted to try and stop working at 8pm rather thank his usual 9-10pm. How about aiming to stop at 6pm, or maybe even 5pm?
Of course there are workload considerations and some stuff does need to be delivered. But how about thinking creatively about how to de-clutter some of what’s not essential? How about scaling back a bit some of our relentless doing to a new and less punishing “normal”?
What really struck me was how foreign it felt to me when I did this for myself. And this is stuff that I’m an expert at and pay much attention to!
So let’s really look at our compulsive doing and block out our diaries for some down time. If it takes reminders or nagging partners/children/pets, so be it. But for the sake of our health and sanity, let’s work harder at scaling back.
Let me know how you get on!
If it feels impossible and you want some help in thinking creatively about how to make that happen, get in touch and let’s chat.
Further resource:
Here is a free short course that I created around working from home well: https://academy.creatingspacecoaching.co.uk/courses/win-at-working-from-home