Many of us work so hard in our job that we can forget to work on our job.
You may have heard this story, or one similar. The lesson is referenced in Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”
Once upon a time there were two friends. Pat and Jo were woodcutters. Every evening they would chat in the local tavern and talk in competitive terms about how much wood they could chop. One day, tired of hearing them argue, the tavern owner suggested they have a competition. The rules of the competition were simple – who ever chopped more wood between sunrise and the noon bell the following morning would win.
Early the next day Jo and Pat took up their positions in different parts of the forest. As the sun rose they began chopping. Although they couldn’t see one another, the sounds of their axes biting into the wood carried through the trees. It wasn’t long until their chopping fell into a synchronized rhythm.
The pair of competitors continued chopping in tandem for an hour before the sounds from Jo’s part of the forest suddenly stopped, leaving Pat to chop alone. Pat was excited that Jo was taking a rest so soon.
Five to ten minutes passed before Jo’s chopping resumed, once more falling into the synchronized cadence being set by Pat. Another hour passed before Jo stopped once more. Pat became convinced of victory and pushed on through, incentivized by Jo’s lack of stamina. After a short while the sound of Jo’s chopping rejoined Pat’s.
This sequence of chopping and stopping continued all morning. Pat was finding it harder and harder to keep going through the times when Jo stopped, but was sustained by thoughts of bragging rights forever.
The tavern owner, who had been monitoring both woodcutters from atop a small hill, called time when the noon bell rang and each dropped their axes. Pat couldn’t believe the sight when inspecting Jo’s pile of wood.
“How can you chop so much wood!” Pat was incredulous – Jo had chopped at least a third more. “We were chopping at the same rate… and you took a rest every single hour!”
Jo was calm in reply. “Every time I stopped I wasn’t taking a rest, I was sharpening my axe.”
