After a Long Time, I Know What My Brain Needs
“Mindfulness isn’t difficult: the hard part is remembering to do it.”
-David Rock-
Many people say that 24 hours a day is not enough. Time seems to pass quickly without waiting or giving a chance. Our tasks and responsibilities await even while we are asleep. From personal activities in the morning to preparing for work or school, facing various obligations, demands, and challenges in the office or campus, and if one is married, routines and challenges will increase. All of these require a lot of time and energy, making it difficult to focus on one task while at the same time facing challenges from different sources or people. This mess can cause a leader to feel stressed, exhausted, and even burned out.
Admittedly, I am one of the individuals who frequently experience the perception that the available time within a day is insufficient to accomplish all required tasks. This propensity leads me to attribute the responsibility of time management to external factors, causing negative ramifications on my overall physical and mental well-being. The implications extend to my interpersonal relationships with my spouse, children, congregational members, and other entities within a broader scope. Correspondingly, the quality of my ministry may be compromised. Despite recognizing the suboptimal outcomes associated with failing to maximize my available time, I have been confronted with the challenge of identifying effective solutions.
I am grateful that when I read David Rock’s writing, I felt guided to understand what I have been doing all along. At the beginning of the book, I found that my issue was that I have been struggling to prioritize which tasks to focus on, which tasks are not urgent and can be done later, and which tasks I can delegate to others. I am the type of person who finds it difficult to refuse when someone asks for my help, especially concerning service. For example, once upon a time, when I was working on a task in the context of local service, I received a call from the staff of our synod publishing office. She asked me to help write daily devotions for a week, which included seven-morning devotions, seven-evening devotions, and preparation materials for both Sunday sermons and Wednesday family worship sermons. Due to the unavailability of another writer and the absence of any other writers who could help, she contacted me for help. However, the printing and distribution deadline for the daily devotional book was only two weeks away. She called me because she knew I had difficulty refusing requests like this. And once again, she succeeded in persuading me. As a result, my other work was disrupted. Again, I experienced distraction, and I was powerless to prevent it from happening.
Rock teaches about how a leader prioritizes crucial things to do first. The key is to be disciplined with it. Rock emphasized that developing self-discipline is significant when it comes to prioritizing tasks. This task involves saying no to non-essential tasks, delegating effectively, and avoiding unnecessary mental exertion. It’s significant to determine what to delegate with a rested mind and to refrain from contemplating a project until all relevant information is available. Conserving our finite decision-making capacity is essential.[1]
The issue at hand pertains to my tendency to be easily distracted and lose focus while performing a task or carrying out work, especially when external distractions arise. Thus, I believe it is crucial to take note of Rock’s emphasis on mindfulness in his writing. According to Rock, mindfulness is crucial for workplace effectiveness as it involves recognizing inner signals, such as the need to pause emailing and reorganize your schedule. This recognition is significant for increasing efficiency at work, and being aware of our brain’s current activity is just as important as knowing how it functions.[2] Mindfulness is also beneficial for our health as Rock mentioned that “Mindfulness is clearly useful for getting and staying healthy”.[3] Based on research, people who practice mindfulness also experience almost fifty percent greater immune function on average.[4]
I acknowledge that delving into Rock’s writing could be advantageous for both me and my service, granted that I can conquer my inclination towards distractions and stay focused on completing my priority tasks. Rock believes that many individuals have succeeded in their work by effectively combating their internal distractions.[5] Rock asserts that playing against our self requires self-awareness and self-direction, which can enhance personal growth and directorial abilities. Improving cognitive abilities through techniques like labeling, reappraisal, and interpreting emotions can increase personal status without risking others’ status. This self-improvement also enhances personal relationships and promotes better decision-making and collaboration with others.[6] My next task is to make all of this into a habit and constantly remember to do it. As long as there is the willingness and hard work, there is hope to overcome distraction, be able to prioritize, and become a better person. As the Bible says: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us”.[7]
[1] David Rock, Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long (NY: HarperCollins, 2020), 24.
[2] David Rock, Your Brain at Work, 86.
[3] David Rock, Your Brain at Work, 87.
[4] David Rock, Your Brain at Work.
[5] David Rock, Your Brain at Work, 172.
[6] David Rock, Your Brain at Work.
[7] Bible, New International Version.
About the Author
Dinka Utomo
Dinka Nehemia Utomo is an ordained pastor of the Protestant Church in the Western part of Indonesia (Gereja Protestan di Indonesia bagian Barat or GPIB). He has served for more than 15 years. The first five years of his ministry were in the remote area of East Kalimantan, including people from the indigenous Dayak tribe in the small villages in the middle of the forest, frequently reached using small boats down the river. For more than 15 years, Dinka has served several GPIB congregations in several cities in Indonesia. He has always had a passion for equipping Christian families, teaching and guiding them to build equal relations between husband and wife, maintaining commitment, love, and loyalty, creating a healthy and constructive Christian family atmosphere, and rejecting all forms of violence and sexual violence. Dinka's beloved wife, Verra, is also a GPIB pastor. They have two blessed children. Dinka and his wife and children love to spend quality family time, such as lunch or dinner, and vacation to exotic places.2 responses to “After a Long Time, I Know What My Brain Needs”
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Hello, Dinka!
Thank you for your post.
It was intriguing that research has linked greater immune function to mindfulness. I googled what further research says about this and found an article by Black and Slavich that concluded “mindfulness mediation appears to be associated with reductions in proinflammatory processes, increases in cell-mediated defense parameters, and increases in enzyme activity that guards against cell aging.”[1]
It makes me realize how important the state of “being mindful” is so that we can live wisely and intentionally. I’m curious, since mindful living often evades us in the busy work of ministry, what daily rhythms help you live mindfully?
[1]David S. Black and Slavich, George M., “Mindfulness Meditation and the Immune System: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1373, no. 1 (June 2016): 13–24, https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12998
Dinka, I also agree that mindfulness was a helpful concept in this book and is for continuing our own productivity and I’d say relationships. It seems so easy to put things off until later, especially difficult tasks relationally. Dinka, if you had an opportunity to ask our a author a question, what would you ask him?