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Picture this: It’s 5:15 p.m. on a Friday when I emerge from “The Zone,” where time disappears. I am like a stone figure typing away for several hours until I realize I lost track of time again.
I grab my phone and purse in a hurry and rush out, knowing there is nowhere in San Diego I can get to in under an hour. My hands ache from typing as I sit in traffic, gripping the steering wheel. I am still deeply dissatisfied with where I left what I was working on. I was not quite ready to let it go.
I arrive late and am full of apologies. I spend the evening semi-present, thinking about unfinished work in the back of my mind while attempting to appear engaged and delightful. The weight of those waiting on me does not go away just because something new is in front of me, but I can pretend. Thankfully, I can always get caught up on the weekend when it’s quiet.
In the morning, I shoot out of bed to an alarm and race through my routine past the “Slay the Day” sign to get it all done.
This is my formula for burnout. I did it what felt like a million times until I realized that it gave me what I thought were great results. However, they came at a high personal cost. My health and relationships suffered greatly, and my professional aspirations far exceeded my results.
At the guidance of my brilliant and worried mother, I went to a “networking event” that I quickly learned was a personal growth seminar. I made new friends that shook my perspective on things and began a lifestyle of just saying yes to whatever they were inviting me to do, even if it didn’t sound that fun.
I learned a lot (and continue to) from that community; however, I did not learn to study until I began to work with and study under Bob Proctor. He taught me the power of repetition and studying one thing until you deeply understand it emotionally, not just intellectually. We can speed through all the knowledge there is and be the hardest worker in the room and still not be winning or happy.
That was me through and through.
I was studying the chapter The Effortless Way from The Power of Awareness by Neville Goddard every day at Bob’s recommendation when I realized how my life was dramatically shifting from the burnout cycle to one of seeing opportunity all around me. As my awareness grew, I realized I needed to change my attitude and start taking advantage of all the choices in my world… or choose to stay stuck and work hard out of blind habit.
I put “The Effortless Way” on a board in front of my computer and cleared everything else off my desk. With everything I was working on, I started to pause and ask myself, “Is there an easier or better way you may be missing?”
Sometimes the answer is so simple and right in front of you if you stop rushing and choose to be in the present moment. Stop and observe your surroundings and use the tools in front of you.
As long as you never compromise your ethics, shortchange people, or slack on quality, if there is a quicker way, why not pause to take a brief annoyed moment to learn it? It is only unpleasant momentarily, and it could have profound ripple effects.
It is worth it. I promise. If the shortcut doesn’t hurt anyone and gets you off the computer back to your health and family, take it.
That’s what inspired Shortcut Nut. No more 16-hour workdays… start finding the effortless ways on computers.
Our habits make up our lives, which is essentially what shortcuts are. The strategy for learning new shortcuts is the same as changing old ones, and it doesn’t just apply to the computer. Apply it to your life, and you’ll be a shortcut nut in no time.
Coming to work with Bob Proctor was my most incredible unexpected shortcut. One day, I was in the audience at a seminar on a ranch in the middle of the mountains when he randomly asked the audience if anyone had my specific expertise. Taking that particular “shortcut” was terrifying.
That is where a little risk goes a long way. Just get uncomfortable long enough to see all you could gain and give.
Look for shortcuts everywhere.
Then take them!
Betty Jones
Betty Jones is the Director of Information Systems at Proctor Gallagher Institute. Betty has written Shortcut Nut, a short pocketbook on computer insights and a strategy to changing habits to improve your personal technical performance. Let a thousand small actions add up and make a difference in your virtual life right now! Can be found for purchase on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XZVN1LF.
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