The Story of the Traveller and the Woodsman
This is an old story about a traveller who comes across a woodsman who is frantically trying to cut down a bunch of trees.
Although the woodsman is working very hard, the traveller notices that his axe is quite dull and and the woodsman is making little progress cutting down the trees.
The woodsman is working much harder than he needs to be and he is not really producing the result he wants…he’s not actually cutting down that many trees.
The traveller asks the woodsman why he doesn’t take time to sharpen the axe, since it would not only make his job easier – but also more effective. The woodsman replies that since he is so busy he simply doesn’t have time to stop and sharpen his axe.
This story works on different levels.
On one level, it gives us insights on how our actions relate to the results we produce. If you just focus on the number of times the woodsman hits the tree with the axe, which is a lot of work, you might actually think that he is very busy and getting a lot of stuff done. However, if you look deeper, you realise that he is not really cutting down that many trees at all. He is very active but not producing results.
When you focus on only getting things done , you run the risk of confusing activity with true productivity.
Just because you are busy and completing tasks doesn’t neccessarily mean that you are being productive or working on tasks that will make a significant difference to you life.
‘It’s not enough being busy. So are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?’
True productivity is the result of both efficiency and effectiveness; it’s about getting the right things done.
So, get focussed and sharpen that axe!
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