Work Becomes Poetic
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I was trained to value performance and results at work. Were you? From a very early age, I was trained to strive and achieve. I placed a lot of value on grades, I learned to write well in business (sales, fundraising, financial analysis, etc.), and I made it my business to control and optimize as many variables as I could. All of these practices have served me very well to excel in the business environment.
But one day, in conversation with my conscious creator friends, I realized that writing doesn’t have to always earn its keep by persuading, cajoling, convincing, or by serving any other purpose to advance the cause of business.
At times, writing can simply be art for art’s sake.
Writing can just sound interesting, make observations, or express emotions. And it is legitimate for writing to do these things, even if no one but the poet is watching. Poetry does make a sound, even when no one is listening. Its rhythm and rhyme reverberate through the writer like the resounding beat of a drum, and we should only be so lucky as to be there to hear and feel it. Now that I’ve heard the beat of this drum, the power of poetry has made me whole, that I show up as more of myself everywhere and all times, including in my professional life.
This is what they mean by balance.
The powerful key that I am discovering is the balance of action and stillness, push and pull. In eastern thought, the concept is known as the Yin and the Yang, defined by Britannica as “two complementary forces that make up all aspects and phenomena of life.” This balance of proactivity and surrender and has added a totally new dimension to my work and dramatically increased my productivity, calmness, and sense of well-being.
Here is what it looks like:
|
Work Segment |
Proactive/Yang |
Surrender/Yin |
|
Prioritizing |
Process incoming emails and make to do lists |
Pause in silence and listen for inspiration for what is most important |
|
Starting a Project |
Dash off a flurry of emails, filling my calendar with back-to-back meetings |
Engage the team, see who emerges as a champion I can empower to lead |
|
Advancing the Work |
Set ambitious goals with aggressive timelines and set a method for measuring metrics |
Set gentle goals to spark momentum without intimidation, meet in person to build relationships, and take courageous next steps without pressure of meeting goals |
|
Financial Reporting |
Quantify past performance |
Visualize desired future performance |
|
Supervising |
Offer exact instructions, with daily milestones when necessary to stave off distractions |
Care for souls, conveying overall intentions behind the work based on key values, allowing people to find their own way |
|
Work Environment |
White board with post-it notes describing all work segments and current activities with pending paperwork in the inbox |
Visually pleasing and uplifting art on the walls, recognitions and awards on display, chillout music playing, plug-in fragrances, and plants and flowers to bring nature indoors |
The key is to incorporate both, and knowing when to employ each method. I wrote Work Becomes Poetic to make it a little easier for those of us seeking balance in the workplace to do just that, to do our best work, and bring out the best in ourselves and everyone around us, from the inside out.
If this will help you or someone you know to feel better at work, why not add it to your art collection and make your Mondays feel more like Fridays?