The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months

Chapter 10

Greatness in the Moment

They say that with technology the world is now smaller; I think it’s also moving faster. Life seems to be getting busier and speeding up.

Don’t get me wrong; technology is great. My phone now has way more computing capability and usefulness than the first laptop I purchased in 1988 for about six grand. The downside is that we now have very little downtime in our day. It used to be that on the drive to and from work you could ramp up and ramp down, but now most people spend that time on the phone. The natural margin in our day is disappearing but we still need time to mentally relax.

In this hurried new world, multitasking has become a highly valued skill. The belief is that in order to get the most out of my day, I need to be fully scheduled, fully committed, and constantly on the run. The fear is that I might miss out on something good, so I hurry from one meeting or event to the next, squeezing in a phone call or two in between. When I’m in meetings, I’m constantly checking my email and messages because I don’t want to miss anything, and with texting I can carry on two or three conversations at one time. Not many people would admit that this is the way they operate, but just look around you—this is the way most people behave.

In our efforts to not miss anything, we unwittingly miss everything. Our attention is spread over various subjects and conversations, and when we strive to do so much, we actually apply very little of ourselves to any individual ...