It seems like our world is perpetually urging us to go faster and faster. The pressure to accomplish more today than the day before can be intoxicating. However, is it sustainable?
Recently on his website, Darius Foroux explored this problem. In a post called Balancing Quiet Focus Time with Go Time, he explores the delicate balance between speeding ahead to our objectives versus slowing down to take a breath. He starts by exploring the fallacy of being constantly in motion.
Most ambitious people have this false belief that they should always be in go time.
They want to be fit, social, have a good romantic relationship, spend time on their hobbies, see their friends, learn new skills, travel, and do well at work.
When I list all of this, it sounds ridiculous. How can one person push hard in every area of life, every single day?
You can’t.
Foroux goes on to define the two modes of time and how they interact. This is important to understand how to balance them out.
Go time is when you push. You execute ideas, meet people, travel, train hard, learn new skills, take on projects, and move things forward. Your energy goes outward.
Quiet focus time is when you slow down and narrow your attention. You read, think, write, plan, recover, or work on one important thing without trying to do ten other things at the same time.
You need both modes. And the balance between them keeps changing.
The trap that Foroux calls out is the misunderstanding that our energy levels can be kept in a constant high state. The truth is that they change all the time. Pretending otherwise can lead to long term problems.
I understand the urge. If you can force yourself to feel energetic, you can keep doing everything on your list.
But I don’t think that’s a good long-term strategy. You can override tiredness for a while, but eventually you pay for it. I don’t want to use up my body just so I can feel productive every day.
To learn more about how Foroux recommends balancing between quiet time and go time, I invite you to read the rest of his post.
