WorkLore

There’s a saying commonly attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”.

The sentiment behind it is that without taking the time to ensure we have sharp tools (or even the right tools), the task is going to be harder. When we take the time to sharpen the tool, the task becomes easier.

Steven Covey got more specific in using this idea in his 7 Habits, applying it to our mental, social, physical and spiritual readiness for a task. That is, when we allow ourselves to wear down, just as a tool does, we make our work harder.

I know I’ve experienced this before – trying to push through when you are overwhelmed, or exhausted, or just plain overloaded. The work just drags. Not only that, but my error rates go up. My ideas become dull. Even my typing gets off balance with more typos than usual.  

I worked for a CEO who was a big proponent of sharpening the saw and frame it as taking time to work ON the business rather than just working IN the business.
I liked that distinction. Because it can be very easy to just work through the to-do list rather than stepping back and asking yourself why the items on the list are there in the first place. If they shouldn’t be there, what should?

I’ve been taking some time to sharpen my own saw, so if you have been looking to connect and haven’t been able to, it may be that I’m out in the toolshed.

I’ll be back soon.