Sharpen the Saw

Most of us want to do big things. We want to accomplish so much, and spend all our time doing the things that are important us. The net result is that we do not have time to refresh ourselves, and we lose our effectiveness.

Stephen Covey – renowned author and planning specialist talks about “Sharpening the Saw.”

Picture a lumberjack. He uses a saw to make his living. The more trees he cuts down, the more money he makes. That money is very important…let’s say he has a wife and kids. A lumberjack’s life is not luxury, so every dollar, every tree counts. This motivation could easily inspire a lumberjack to take his saw and cut down every tree in site. The faster he works, the fewer the breaks he takes, the longer he works, logically, the more trees he cuts down right? Probably not.

At first, the strategy might seem to pay off. However, pretty soon, his saw will become dull, and it takes more effort and more time to cut down each tree. So now, the more he works, the worse off he becomes. He is no longer succeeding. He is no longer helping his family at the highest level.

If instead, he takes some time each day or each week to sharpen his saw, he can accomplish a lot more. He might not directly see cash or reward while he is sharpening his saw, but overall, he can cut more trees down each day, each week, each year when he keeps his saw sharp.

All of us are like that lumberjack. Our bodies and minds are our saws. If we do not keep them sharp, there is no way we will accomplish all that we hope to. Mr. Covey likes to divide sharpening our saws into four categories, and I don’t feel qualified enough to offer up anything to the contrary, so here they are:

Physical: exercise, eat better, sleep more/less, etc.
Social/Emotional: hanging out with friends, family, etc.
Mental: read, do puzzles, etc.
Spiritual: prayer, go to church, bible study, etc.

The moral of the story is that it is really easy to get caught up in trying to do as much as possible each day in order to attain your goals, but without sharpening your saw, you are only limiting your potential.

One thing I try to keep in mind (because I am guilty of it) is that life is not a competition about how busy we are…there are much more important things to think about.