Mastery vs. Productivity
Mastery by George Leonard is one of my most-cherished-books-of-all-times. I saw this book mentioned on tennis online forums, and not once, when I used to search the web for some nuggets of information on what in the world do people do 1) to enjoy their game and 2) to make their game perfect. Ironically, from where I stand now, I can see that these 2 searches are mostly irrelevant.
I wouldn’t say that this book is about the things that hadn’t been known to me before. Mastery provides a gentle reminder about the basics of learning, making the readers aware that the mass culture quest for scoring, quick wins and quick fixes at any rate proves wrong in the long run and brings the consequences more grave than one can imagine.
I read Mastery years ago, and I’m still coming back to it, time after time, to remind myself of some of the never-aging truths unveiled in the book wisely and quietly.
Mastery is Enjoying
The essential requirement for practicing an art, or a hobby — and for work, too! — is that you got to enjoy it. Love doing it. Not researching online on it, and not just buying gear for it. And, not thinking “oh, those others, they must be doing this better than me”. George Leonard cites various examples of this sustained desire to just enjoy it, e.g.: Aikido black belts are never bored to practice simple moves as they poke and probe the ever subtler nuances of their practice, going into a focused trance. On the opposite side, frenetic search for more tips and tricks would be characteristic of shallow students looking for shortcuts to their own version of stardom.
Mastery is Unrewarding
Mastery is an unrewarding process. It’s not about getting 100% results. It’s about following the path. Master is the one who deliberately takes on the fool’s mask, like court jesters, because if you think of yourself as an expert in any given field — you’re full. There’s no more room for novelty. So, you’ve got to pour out of the glass of an attained expertise to stay fit as an eager apprentice. The luggage of expertise steals the ability to enjoy your path of mastery!
I’ve pondered the “Mastery” book a lot, in my search for answers. I do have quite a few hobbies — arts, sports and crafts —which I feel I should practice. And, I’ve actually practiced them, devotedly, for quite a long time — but how am I supposed to keep up with all of my pursuits? At some point I just got stuck. I seemed to be unable to figure it out for myself how one can fit several masteries and their diligent practice into a busy schedule — after all, there’s also work that I love doing! How do I fit all those loves into 24 hours a day?
I’ve also noted that in the process of being stuck with this dilemma I seemed to cease enjoying my masteries. Instead, I would spend hours on the web, devouring any information I could find on productivity and on getting things done.
Productivity is Unproductive
The problem of having to choose between the masteries literally haunted me. Finally, it all came out simple. I’ve also found out that even if you read countless how-to’s, countless blogs, no matter how many of those how-to’s you read, and how well laid out they are — it inevitably takes time for things to go home. Reading about something and understanding something from within are two different things. That’s why the blogs and books about productivity are nothing more than someone else’s experience reports. Reading someone’s blog will not solve your problem of finding time, or gaining focus and concentration. Taking in too much information from the web — because it’s so easily accessible — is a distraction from practicing your mastery. I’ve seen people making a big deal out of GTD. All these productivity software, gadgets, hacks to block interruptions, you name it. Making a religion out of productivity leaves us with even less time to practice our masteries, that’s the point.
You’ve got to sit down and decide for yourself: what is it that you actually love doing? Once you listen to your inner voice — it all gets into place, like in a puzzle. There’s no need to think any more. If you really enjoy what you do, setting priorities is absolutely irrelevant, because what you enjoy doing now is the best thing you could do right here, right now.
This story was updated and re-written from one of my earlier articles.
