Space and Pace

— by Daniel Sih

SPACE AND PACE

Several years ago, I was renovating my home and struggling to drill through concrete with my battery-powered drill. The battery kept smoking, and I needed more grunt. I needed The Ken.

It wasn’t called The Ken back then, but it is now. 

The Ken is a super-powerful electric drill, which I borrowed from a friend named Ken. He warned me that the drill was fast and hard to use. 

This was an understatement.

Most drills come with various speed settings, but The Ken has only one. When I squeezed the trigger, the chuck rotated so quickly that I needed to brace my arm to maintain precision. No matter how much I practised, The Ken made a huge mess and was impossible to control.

I still have this power tool sitting in my shed as Ken didn’t seem to want it back. Whenever I see The Ken gathering dust on my shelf, it reminds me of the importance of cadence and rhythm. An on-switch without slower speed settings is limited. Faster is not always better, particularly if we lack the capacity to slow down and shift gears. Those who achieve space know this and unplug as a habit to maximise their productivity.

When it comes to personal effectiveness, opposites are important. If we don’t stop to unwind, we achieve little. Highly effective people give equal attention to opposing realities. They create a rhythmical lifestyle of activity and inactivity, connection and disconnection. For simplicity, I call this pattern keeping pace and making space. Pace and space are the yin and yang of personal productivity. They require skill and attention, and we must value and practise both habits if we are to live a healthy, meaningful life.

KEEPING PACE

Keeping pace means keeping up. Our workplaces are complex, global and competitive. Jobs are becoming automated, and many traditional roles are moving online or off shore. Entire trades have become obsolete. If we are to survive and thrive in the digital age, we need to keep pace with these changes in our chosen fields. Keeping pace requires us to build tech skills, tech confidence and tech habits. We need to engage in skills training and risk-taking and be willing to reinvent ourselves.

In my line of business, keeping pace means adopting skills and systems to maximise output against effort. I have an online system to coordinate timetables and to communicate with my staff. Apps are used to mind-map ideas, store passwords and manage money. I upload blog posts and download podcasts. Software updates help me stay afloat in a cloud-based environment. Such practices consume most of my time and head space, and enable me to achieve my goals.

MAKING SPACE

Making space is about slowing down; a conscious choice to unplug and unwind.

Space does not mean meditation and mindfulness, although these can be useful tools. Space is anything that helps us to stop, reflect and regenerate. Spacemakers pay attention to their habits and motivations. They think before they react, plan before they do, rest before they work. Space can be inactive – lying in a park staring up at the sky – or active – running along a beach or skiing down a mountain. We can find space in a meaningful conversation or alone in deep thought. The

secret is to find space as a habit, resting deeply at a soul level, rather than being stuck in high gear.

A SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY

There are many books written to help people keep pace in a busy world. They teach you to do more, know more and add more to your already full life. Yet in my experience, doing less is sometimes more productive than doing more. Many of my clients are ruthlessly organised yet

unproductive. They adopt every new app and life-hack that promises effectiveness but are unable to focus or prioritise. They tackle too many projects and jump at every notification. The root cause is not a lack of pace but space.

In recent times, ‘productivity’ has become synonymous with ‘pacemaking’. Workplaces subconsciously communicate the idea that adding without subtracting is effective. They want more projects, more policies, more services – never less. In my own business, most of our

contracted services are to help people ‘keep pace’ – building teams, redesigning meetings, developing strategy – all busy stuff!

Companies rarely invest in the unconventional habits of ‘making space’, teaching staff to do less, not more. This is not surprising; buying a donut for its hole instead of the sugar-coated ring is counter-intuitive (even if the hole has fewer calories). Visionary companies, such as activewear

giant, Lululemon Athletica, are beginning to see the world differently. They have created a winning culture by urging staff to set personal goals (one-year, three-year and ten-year goals) and supporting them to succeed. Staff are encouraged to take part in activities such as yoga and meditation within working hours. The head office provides reading materials to inspire personal growth, and staff have access to board games, gym facilities and a healthy-living café to encourage health and wholeness. Space and pace in balance – it works!

In almost every field of employment, making space is a good investment. Take email for example. Workplaces that eliminate email notifications, discourage out-of-hours communication and reduce

email volume, save money and improve efficiency. When individual workers process their inbox less often, rather than continuously, they experience less stress without losing responsiveness.

Balancing pace and space is a winning strategy. I believe it is the secret to sustained productivity

and getting the right things done. So why do so few of us have space to focus? Why are we wired, tired and distracted? Let’s find out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Daniel is the co-founder and director of Spacemakers®, a productivity consulting group for busy leaders. As a trainer, coach and keynote speaker, he has worked with CEOs, executives, and other senior professionals throughout Australia and beyond, ranging from global corporations and businesses to universities and non-profits. He has a broad professional history, including leadership roles in physiotherapy, health management, project management and Christian ministry. He is the founder of a number of globally accessible productivity courses such as Email Ninja®, List Assassin®, Priority Samurai™, which in total have more than 15,000 students online and online. Daniel lives in Tasmania, Australia with his wife, Kylie, and their three children. To learn more about Daniel and his work at Spacemakers, please visit www.spacemakers.com.au.

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