Slow Work

The other day a couple of friends and I were talking about the difficulties of maintaining a healthy life/work balance, which as you know dear reader has been one of my personal challenges. It was extraordinarily helpful to hear the details of other people's struggles with this increasingly prevalent  modern phenomenon, and draw on their solutions.

SlowWork, a concept with connections to the SlowFood movement, is another positive response to this cultural addiction to speed. It's not about going backwards or doing things "at a snail's pace", they say, but about changing gears and finding a way to work that's less driven and destructively focused on quanity rather than quality; giving ourselves the space to cultivate our professional relationships, the time for the rest and recuperation that's needed to support our physical and mental health so that we can do our best. In other words, bringing a different quality of presence to our work.

During my walk this morning I was listening to a podcast from Oprah's Book Club, where Eckhart Tolle was talking about opportunities to bring more mindfulness into our everyday work practices. He suggested two simple exercises. One, take something that occurs all the time; the phone rings, say, and instead of racing to pick it up, let it go for an extra ring or two. Take that time as a reminder to be present with this moment, and begin the call from that place.

Tolle's other suggestion was one of my own favorite "tricks" - keep something beautiful next to you on your desk - a flower, perhaps - and periodically look up from the computer screen to rest your gaze on it.

Another thing I do is to light a candle before phone calls with my clients. They might not even know I'm doing it, but it reminds me that the person I am speaking to is holy, a human being worthy of my utmost care and attention. For some clients, this is a ritual they partake in as well, and we start our calls with a moment's silence followed by a brief 'check-in' so that anything that would distract or effect our work together is spoken and shared openly. It also helps to create the intimacy and connection that feeds creative collaboration and produces extraordinary results.

Do you have practices to help you stay centered as you go about your work? What are they?

Comments

[d]

I find it helpful to do something physical - sitting at a desk all day can really suck you into your work (and not in a good way). Walking around a bit or (for me) doing a few quick yoga poses helps reground me.

I also try to monitor my frustration level - if I'm getting too worked up (no pun intended) about a particular problem I'm working on, that usually means I need to take a break and come at the problem from a fresher place; or, at the very least, pull my chair back from my desk, and take a few deep breaths.

I really like your idea of having something beautiful to look at. I'm going to give that one a try. :)

[Amy Lenzo]

These are brilliant points, d, about doing something physical and taking a break from frustrating situations to get a fresh perspective on things.

Your comments made me appreciate the physicality of my practice of starting each day with a walk (the trick is to get out of the house before opening my email or I'm inevitably sucked down the endless email tunnel of doom :-).

Just having that quiet beginning, that hour of contemplation, puts everything in perspective and lets priorities rise to the surface naturally.

Thanks so much for writing, and for sharing those great suggestions.

[Karen Speerstra]

Amy, I was struck by your posting, "Slow Work," especially since I just had lunch with a friend who has moved from a high-powered Harvard job to another demanding position with a Jungian foundation (talk about interior perspective on her work!) I asked her, "How are things going?", knowing how challenging the adjustment must be for her to move from her Harvard office to her one-woman home office, setting up her systems without IT help, getting the land line phone installed correctly--you know the drill. Anyway, she said, placing her hand on her opposite shoulder, "I have, right here, two demons: fear and guilt. So I'm working really, really long hours right now to prove I can do it without the built-in work structure I had."

I shared some of my own experiences moving from a bustling Boston publishing company to my Vermont home where I commute across the hall from my bedroom to my office. Anytime. Day or night. For weeks, your body says, "get to work, now!" and your soul says, "Watch the sun move across the garden." You learn to balance in whole new ways, and with time, the demons that like to perch on all on our shoulders get bored and go live somewhere else. You learn, not just slower work, but more careful (filled with care) work. More fulfilling (full) work. That's the kind of work that overflows, not all knotted up by stress but overflowing with blessings. You soon give up driving and start thriving. My Jungian friend will come to that--we all do eventually.

Karen

[Amy Lenzo]

Ah Karen, I love your optimism... it gives me confidence and hope. :-) Thanks!