Productivity

Getting things done is not the same as making things happen. (Take a moment to read the above list... so true!)

 

Currently, my days fall before me in a series of calendar charts as I attempt to finish graduate school projects. If I don't complete eight hours of work a day, then I tell myself that I can't go out at night. If I don't check off three assignments per day, then I tell myself I must finish four the next day. It's a way to psych myself into doing work that I really don't want to do: aka, getting things done.

 

True satisfaction, authentic fulfillment is "making things happen." Taking risks, setting ambitious goals, changing perception, and creating possibility is what I want, at the end of the week, to have accomplished.

 

The people I admire and the friends I want to spend time with are doing this with their lives. Here in Taos, Susan Powter is creating possibility for many women by offering training classes for getting strong and fit. Lenny Foster is doing what he loves by printing breath-taking photographs and showcasing them at Living Light Gallery. Allegra Huston is writing books (Love Child) and producing films (Good Luck Mr. Gorski)  and leading the creativity classes Imaginative Storm. Ted Wiard has used his grief to create places of healing at Golden Willow Retreat. The pastor of El Pueblito United Methodist Church, Steve Waird, is the director of the "The Shared Table",  the largest food pantry distribution in Taos County. As I learn to know these people, I realize that although getting things done is part of thier daily lives (after all, we all have chores and duties that must be accomplished), their vision expands outward to making possible that which has not yet been created.

 

I have not made any New Year's resolutions. I never do. However, I have set a few intentions. One of them is this: focus less on getting things done and more on making things happen.

Comments

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Some of these people who aim for 'good enough' results and goals are just simply unmotivated, I think. Usually, people aim low because they don't know what's beyond the horizon. They go with the flow because they are ignorant of the consequences and benefits of going against the flow. Like employees for example; Employees can never be as constant and accurate as machines because they only do what they are told to do. With the proper training, they can develop, learn and progress - something machines can't do no matter how much programming you put in your computer, etc. SMED presentations brief employees about small things they can do to maximize productivity, like a simple guide on using your workstation. A TPM presentation guides employees basic troubleshooting and techniques about their equipment. These kinds of seminar are similar to letting employees know that they can break the barriers to aim higher and do better!