Whenever I’ve flown across the country I’ve always been amazed at the Rockies.  When you’re flying you can see that it’s not so much one row of giant mountains, but several consecutive rows.  Looking out those plane windows, I always have the same reaction – what would I have done if I was Lewis and Clark?

Frankly I think I would have seen one mountain range and thought, “yeah right!  Denver looks like a nice place to settle.”

Maybe if I would have been following an amazing leader I would have gone over the first peaks.  But the despair of that second row of mountains would have been crushing.  Because the whole time you’re going up the first mountain you’re saying, “once I get through this challenge, it will be smooth sailing from here on out!”  It never is of course.  It’s a lie we tell ourselves. Everything is harder and takes longer than we think.

Work projects can feel like that.  They have their own challenges.  And in those moments we’re confronted with a Rockies-like choice.  Do we climb or settle down?  Both choices can work.  Denver’s a great city.  But if you settle in Denver you miss out on the oceans of California.

Why do I share all of this?

Because Meaning to Work will be doing a month long series on improving your productivity.  And you’re going to need to choose whether you want to scale the mountains or settle where you are right now.

I’m not saying either choice is bad.  Not all of us need to be more productive.  But a lot of us would like to see what’s over the next mountain.

So if you’re interested in doing a little productivity rock climbing, then stick around for the next few weeks.  And just to whet your appetite, check out the article that started this all: Becoming More Productive at Work.

This is part 1 of a 4 part series on improving your productivity.  Photo provided by flickr user jurvetson

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