Our days are lived according to a template.

Wake.
Work.
Relax.
Sleep.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat…

That’s the shape we’ve been given. We follow the outline. We don’t think about it.

What would happen if you changed the shape?

Wake up. Relax for a few hours. Read, watch tv. Do whatever you consider a hobby. Then do work.

Go for multiple naps instead of eight hours sleep.

Alternate an hour of work with an hour of play.

There are many possible shapes.

What happens when you change the shape?

Maybe the normal shape is what suits you best. Maybe you find a shape the suits you better.

A day is just a box we live in. We can order it any way we like.

Doing is important. But so is thinking. Rush the thinking and the doing becomes more difficult.

Thinking is working. Take time to think.

You don’t live.
You don’t do.
You don’t take part.
You don’t experience.

Of course you have nothing to say.

Often it doesn’t matter what work you do, as long as what you’re doing is, in fact, work.

Examine what you’re doing. Is it work? Or is it something that just looks like work? It can be hard to tell. Lots of things that look like work are not. Lots of things that don’t look like work are.

Here’s how to tell. Ask yourself, ‘will progress come of this?’

Check your expectations.

Are the realistic or just wishful thinking?

The answer can often determine your success and happiness.

If your expectations are just wishful thinking you shouldn’t be surprised if you don’t meet them.

Don’t be surprised either when after failing to meet the expectations you set that others no longer trust your ability to deliver.

Set your expectations wisely.

Usually, mostly, it’s not. But then, sometimes, very rarely, waiting is the answer.

This is not an excuse to slack off, to procrastinate.

Normally, you should dig into the work. Force yourself to do it.

But sometimes, sometimes, waiting is important.

On those occasions, waiting is not passive, it’s active. It’s looking for something. Knowing that some detail of what you’re waiting to do isn’t exactly right. So you wait.

For me, I find if I try to do certain work too early in the day it’s more difficult. If I wait to do it later in the day it becomes easier. I don’t need to spend as much time on it. There’s much less sitting in a chair waiting to be inspired. That’s because all day, while I’ve been doing something else, I’ve been thinking about how to go about it. Indirectly. Not looking it in the eye but knowing where it is in my peripheral vision.

Wait. Sometimes.

You finished the big project and present it. The client loves it. Well, mostly. They love everything except one bit – the bit you love the most.

You don’t want to drop it but you have to. It hurts.

Take a step back. Remember this wasn’t for you. This was for your client.

You’re trying to work but you’re mind keeps thinking about something else.

It’s thinking about unloading the dishwasher. It’s thinking about running out to the shop to grab milk. It’s thinking about that other project that you want to work on.

Sometimes it’s best to indulge the distraction. To do the thing that’s on your mind. To get rid of it so you’re mind frees up.

Indulgence is not always wise. You must decide if on this occasion it will help.

This morning I came across some extracts from John le Carré’s memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, on The Guardian website. In one he talks abouts how, after he found success as a writer, critics would say that he was ‘trying too hard’.

Trying too hard. What a nonsense phrase. How can anyone try too hard?

You might not meet the target you’re aiming for but you can’t be too accurate in your aim.

‘Done right’ does not always mean more words. More is not always better. Sometimes a thought or idea can be communicated more effectively with less. Sometimes ‘done right’ means reducing to the essence.