Time is a Dojo: Learn to Enter, Focus, and Leave with Intention
I’ve trained in a couple of different versions of martial arts. In each case, there were rules of conduct, particularly involving the training area or dojo. Also known as “place of the Way” a dojo is a hall or room dedicated to immersive learning, training, or meditation.
Built on this foundation are a set of rules and etiquette a student needed to follow that helped maintain a sense of order and focus when instruction was scheduled. This article will tie the protocols of guided behavior and how they can be used to improve your use of time in life.
Respect the Dojo and Your Time
One of the first traditions taught is to bow when entering and leaving the dojo. The concept of bowing into the space self-identified you were leaving the world behind, all its challenges and troubles, to place your concentration on the training you were about to receive. Bowing out, returned you back to reality.
How many of us never bow into work? We still have our phones “at the ready”, waiting to be distracted by the slightest text, ding, or vibration. Because there is a lack of planning and focus, we react to outside influences and never get to a state of high productivity.
On this flip side, how many of us never bow out of work? We live in a state of perpetual professional engagement, never giving our personal lives a chance to take shape. We lack the boundaries to define personal and professional realities.
Respect Mentors Around You
The Sensei or Instructor was key to order and progress for each student. Pupils that remain disciplined and listened to instructions are rewarded with better development and advancement.
Whether you are just out of college, a middle manager, and even a CEO – a teacher or coach is an invaluable asset to time optimization. Deference to leadership that you trust and respect creates dojos of opportunity. Find those leaders in your life.
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Respect Your Fellow Students
The only time I saw a Sensei become generally angry during a training session was when someone disrespected another student. The second was not commanding your movements while sparing. Hurting another person was a direct result of you not controlling your actions.
The same applies to a professional and personal environment. Your lack of time planning can drag all the others around you down a hole of unproductivity.
Respect for Your Discipline
As noted above, martial arts are about control—not aggression. Begin disciplined using the PEC method in my book, The Time-Optimized Life keeps your time structure in place.
- Preparation: Invest time in laying out what the future holds. It never exactly happens that way, but you proactively try and shape it.
- Execution: Because you prepared with a plan, you now have a chance to execute it. If all does not seem to be going well, pause and adapt. Maybe even prepare a little more.
- Control: Being disciplined says you are trying to control the outcome of a task or project. You figuratively step into the dojo of time management to give it your concentration.
PEC is not a one-time event, but a continuous approach to provide discipline to your time management needs.
Respect for you and others plays a lot into a successful time optimization strategy. In all of it, showing humility and being to leave your ego at the door defines a sense of needed focus. Like martial arts, respecting your time is about learning, not showing dominance.
David Buck is the author of the book The Time-Optimized Life, coauthor of The Retirement Collective, and owner of Kairos (Time) Management Solutions, LLC. Learn how to apply the concepts of proactively planning and using your time. Take the Time Management Analysis (TMA), the Retirement Time Analysis (RTA), or all the other free resources offered to help bring more quality time into your life.
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