We live in an 'I want it now' society.
We can be eating fast food within 10-120 seconds of ordering it.
A painkiller can block a headache within 6-18 minutes.
You can contact anyone, anywhere at anytime within seconds using SMS, email or a mobile phone call.
With a switch you can instantly create light, heat, cool air or water in your home.
With a press of a button, you can access news and entertainment from around the globe.
Our lifestyle has become very convenient and very 'instant'.
The problem is when we expect everything to be able to be delivered, fixed or
changed instantly. Therefore, we expect to get everything 'now' and become
frustrated, impatient or stressed when change is not instant.
Our delayed gratification gene is mutating.
As a result...
We are giving up too easily.
we are losing confidence in ourselves too quickly.
We are walking away from conflicts and challenges too hastily.
Instant living is eroding our perseverance, stick-ability and drive to become more. When the going gets tough, most people have already gone.
A looming deadline now breeds impatience and impulsiveness instead of clarity and confidence because
we want everything done now. Work culture has become very reactive and focused on 'putting out fires'
instead being productive and forward planning.
Technology may be working faster, but the human working
pace is not able to keep up with it.
I recently received this email from a subscriber that reads:
"Many thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience so generously..... I over extended myself so I am
feeling very tired and impatient with the process of recovery. And to add to my stress the hospital
bills are piling up....Why am I telling you all this? I suppose I am reaching out for a quick fix so that
I can get on with healthy being, doing and living. May God bless your efforts."
We are designed, by nature, to adapt, recover, and bounce back from every emotional, physical or mental
pressure that life throws at us...as long as we give ourselves the right time frame. We are not a light
switch, air conditioner, or car engine that can be immediately switched on and off on demand.
As a result of wanting everything now, people are becoming more reactive instead of proactive.
In the business world, people are often in a REACTIVE mode.
People are so 'busy being busy' that problems are only addressed when they are emergencies, for example, when a computer crashes, a staff member leaves, budget is not met, etc. Often there is a 'quick fix' solution, like a band aid, so that work can keep going.
This is a reactive working mode...and it is a stress inducing way to operate. It creates stress in yourself
and amongst the people you work with.
A reactive working mode is like the pattern of a drug user who needs a 'fix'. The drug fix temporarily
removes the problem until the craving inevitably returns. The drug fix only simply prolongs the next fix. A reactive work mode creates stress, and using a quick fix method in your business doesn't remedy
the problem - it only prolongs it.
Some examples of a reactive work mode are:
* Rarely training new team members properly to handle a new role
* Filing away emails to other folders and thinking 'I'll get to that later'
* Feeling tense, tired or uptight but not allowing yourself to stop because you have 'too much on right now'
* Not communicating with your partner after work because you just want to unwind and forget about your day
Don't follow the stress induced consensus of the 'quick fix', impulsive, or impatient solution.
Instead, become calm, focused and proactive when working under pressure.
ACTION STEPS:
1. Rushing Results Impairs Decision Making
A good soup takes time to cook - you can't rush that taste. Take the time to fully understand the challenges you are dealing with. Look at your own flaws - are they impeding your efforts?
Are you rushing to avoid facing your own imperfections?
Just for a moment, remove the time pressure and look at the challenge as if you had more time.
Remove the distraction of urgency to get a clearer picture of what decisions and actions need to be taken.
2. Do what is Required
The old saying 'near enough is good enough' does not work for architects, civil engineers, heart surgeons, chemists, or the tax department...and it should not work for you either!
Urgency can lead to sloppy work, poorer standards and apathy.
Do the ground work properly. If the reality is that you need to become a better manager, sales person, accountant, or communicator, then do it. Don't put off what needs to be done by 'staying busy'.
3. Make more time
When I made the switch from Shiatsu practitioner to speaker/trainer I was working 12 hour days plus weekends. My day was truly full. I simply didn't have very much spare time to set up or promote my new work as well as run the Shiatsu practice.
So, instead of living in time urgent mode, I got up 1 - 2 hours earlier each day and worked on the business. so for over a year I worked on my new business from 4am-6am, then practiced Shiatsu from 8am - 8pm, 5-6 days each week. Sure, it was tiring, but not half as exhausting as living in 'I want it now' mode and trying to fit the work into an impossible time frame.
Maximize your time by spending less of it in 'urgency' mode. Slow down your working pace from time to time to be more productive and less impulsive. Reduce your distractions of emails, calls and messages during important focus times.
When you take control of your time, you take control of your working pace and results.
