Awakening in Time

Setting a task boundary allows us to steer our own ship. We do the task for a while, then stop, acknowledge progress, re-strategize, review how it’s going, and get back to it later with fresh energy.

We often allow the task to set the boundary rather than setting it ourselves, saying, “I’ll do it till it’s done.”

If we find ourselves habitually withdrawing, we need to make sure our range of operation doesn’t narrow each time we withdraw. Those who are caught in withdrawal find it less and less possible to be themselves in company. The trick is to both connect to our inner selves and to venture forth. When we do this our world becomes bigger, more inclusive.

If we go faster than we can, we’re creating a set-up for unmet expectations, uncomfortable feelings, and judgments.

We talk to the visitor, answer the e-mail, and pick up the phone. Sometimes, we do all three at once!

When we’re about to cross into a new task, distressing emotions can arise. We feel ashamed that we haven’t already finished what we’re just beginning. Or we’re embarrassed to have done only a fraction of what we’d expected. Or we’re leaving familiar territory and have to figure out what’s next.

You know how it is—you’re working on a report and a thought flits through your mind to pick up the dry cleaning on the way home from work. Your mind then starts shuttling between the report and the dry cleaning, the report and the dry cleaning.

We’ve all experienced meetings where nothing happens until the last ten minutes, when the end looms and people get down to business.

We can get into those big tasks, like deciding to change jobs, without going on a weekend retreat—

but also when we are defining tasks, containing the time we spend on them, and structuring them so we can work with them more easily.