The Parable of The Saw
Thursday, April 30th, 2015 by The DirectorAt the dojo, kyoshi told us the parable of the saw:
There was a woodsman who went into the woods one day to cut some wood, and he began cutting wood. He didn’t want to waste any time, so he cut all through the day, working harder as his saw grew duller. Another woodsman too frequent breaks to sharpen his saw, and he could cut more efficiently than the first woodsman, who didn’t want to waste the time in sharpening his saw. Now, at the end of the day, who had the most wood? The second woodsman.
He’s right, of course; we need to take breaks to recenter ourselves, to focus on something other than our computer or mobile screens while working. Have you ever had a project or a deadline where you want to just bull rush through your list of tasks and responsibilities without taking a break or you’ll never get it done. Maybe some of you face each day that way.
However, focusing so hard that the pixels start to swim isn’t the solution. You should get up, walk over to the window, maybe even step outside for a minute. Take a breath of the fresh air or, if you’re in the city, try to guess if that’s the smell of the tannery or the chocolate factory.
But what’s important is that you get up, stretch, and do something other than sit at the computer. Don’t just switch out of the application you’re working on and check Twitter or read a blog entry. These don’t give you the chance to refocus.
And when you’re done and you sit back down at the computer, you’ll be sharpened like a saw and ready to see what’s before you on the screen instead of waving lines of endless obligation.