Supercharge Your Focus And Motivation In Your Work!

Why do you know what you want to do in your work, but you still don't do it?

Why do you know you want to work more efficiently, but you end up wasting time on e-mail and social media?  Why do you want to write that book or start that business, but it's never gotten off the ground?  Why do you want to change jobs, but you can't seem to begin your search?

I think we've all asked ourselves this kind of question at some point, and the answer often seems maddeningly unclear.  What is clear, however, is that the usual organization and time management literature doesn't shed much light on it.

Yes, there are neat tricks and "hacks" out there for organizing your e-mail, color-coding your folders, and finding the right iPhone apps.  But as I think you know from painful experience, these tricks are useless if you aren't focused and motivated enough to put them into practice.

What Are You Running From?

So how do you find the focus and motivation you're looking for?  In my experience working with people around their productivity issues, to really get what we want out of what we do, the first step is to take a close look at what we're avoiding.

What do I mean?  You'll see for yourself, I think, if you carefully watch what's happening when you're at work, and you're about to start procrastinating.  You'll notice that, in that "clutch" moment right before you put off a task to do something else, you start having some thought or sensation -- some inner experience -- that feels uncomfortable or even dangerous to you.

The thought or sensation I'm talking about is different for each of us.  For some, it's tension in their body -- maybe a tightness in their neck or shoulders.  For others, it's a painful memory or a worry about the future.  Perhaps, for you, it's something else.

While the inner experience I'm talking about is unique for each person, the way people tend to deal with that experience is pretty much the same.  Because it's scary and uncomfortable, we try to distract ourselves from it -- perhaps by checking e-mail, playing Minesweeper, surfing the Web, or something else.

The trouble with this approach is that, when we distract ourselves, we take our attention away from our work.  We can't code that computer program, paint that painting, or do anything else that's productive when we're messing around on Facebook.

The Art Of Allowing

As it turns out, there's a better way to relate to this inner experience:  to fully allow it.  When you feel that tension, painful memory, or whatever it is coming up, simply hold your attention on your work, keep breathing, relax your body, and allow that experience to pass away on its own.  If you've done meditation, you probably have some idea what I mean.

The more you practice this, the more comfortable and familiar that experience will become.  You'll start to realize it isn't as scary as you'd thought.  More importantly, you'll become able to move forward in your work, even in the face of that pesky experience.

Of course, this is easier said than done.  Usually, we've become so accustomed to running from that troublesome inner experience that we're no longer aware we're avoiding it.  We just "find ourselves" checking e-mail, playing FreeCell, or whatever our favorite distraction is, totally oblivious to why it's happening.

The Inner Productivity Intensive is about getting conscious of that difficult inner experience, and developing a new relationship with it that gives you a new sense of purpose and freedom in your work.

What This Workshop Offers You

Since you're here, you may know that I wrote a book called Inner Productivity: A Mindful Path to Efficiency and Enjoyment in Your Work.  Inner Productivity, which Getting Things Done author David Allen calls "a great read and a useful guidebook for turning the daily grind into something much more interesting and engaging," is all about learning to allow -- rather than resist -- the thoughts and sensations that tend to disrupt our focus.

In this full-day workshop, we put the book's ideas and techniques into practice.  I will be joined by yoga instructor and course leader Rosy Moon Schlussel.  Basing our approach on meditation, yoga and other mindfulness practices that have improved people's lives for thousands of years, we'll help you notice, and transform, the patterns of thinking and behavior holding you back in your work.

You'll come out of the workshop with an increased ability to focus on your work, a stronger sense of mission, and a deep-seated knowledge that you've got what it takes to face the challenges that arise in what you do.

This workshop is unlike any other seminar on organization or time management.  I've designed the course to be small -- ten people or so -- to make sure each person gets the individual attention they need, and the breakthrough they want.  This won't be a lecture -- you'll be diving right into exercises that make you aware of the places where you're limiting yourself.

I'd recommend this workshop to people who are ready to take a deep look at what's really holding them back in their work.  If that's what you're interested in, this course will radically change the way you think about and relate to what you do.

What Others Have Said

“Chris Edgar has taken an exploratory dive into the procrastination pit and come up with a cogent explanation of this phenomenon as well as an elegant set of techniques to transcend it. It’s a great read and a useful guidebook for turning the daily grind into something much more interesting and engaging.”

– DAVID ALLEN, bestselling author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

“Inner Productivity will show you how to clear your inner clutter and create a pathway to success!”

– MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, bestselling author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

“Real productivity doesn’t come from forced behaviors. Inner Productivity can help you connect with the inner state of being that can empower you to act in new ways, choose new perspectives and have a different experience. There is no greater productivity than connecting with your true self.”

– TAMA J. KIEVES, bestselling author of This Time I Dance!: Creating the Work You Love

“Inner Productivity is packed with practical examples of how to achieve greater results and peace of mind at work.”

– LAURA STACK, bestselling author of Leave the Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro Shows You How to Do More in Less Time . . . and Feel Great About It

“A wonderful guide for organizing both your physical and your head space.”

– PETER WALSH, bestselling author of Enough Already!: Clearing Mental Clutter to Become the Best You

About Chris Edgar

Chris began his career as a corporate lawyer.  He became involved in mindfulness practices like meditation, yoga, qi gong and tai chi when looking for techniques to help him let go of the stress of his job.  Initially, he thought he could only do these practices "on his own time" at home.  But as Chris got deeper into these practices, he realized there were forms of meditation, movement, breathing and so on he could do in real time, as he was working, whenever he wanted more focus and motivation.

Inspired to teach these methods to stressed-out professionals, Chris received training in transformational coaching, mindfulness meditation, hypnotherapy, and other modalities.  He began working with people one-on-one, and speaking to groups, about how we can adapt spiritual practices into our working lives.  Chris also released the acclaimed book Inner Productivity: A Mindful Path to Efficiency and Enjoyment in Your Work, which Getting Things Done author David Allen calls "a great read and a useful guidebook for turning the daily grind into something much more interesting and engaging."

Chris received his B.A. degree from Haverford College, and his law degree from Stanford University School of Law.  Chris’s articles have appeared in, among other publications, Balance, Balanced Living, EdgeLife, LivingNow, Mystic Pop, New Age Journal, New Renaissance, Self-Improvement, WellBeing and Wisdom. 

About Rosy Moon Schlussel

Rosy Moon Schlussel is a Life Coach, workshop facilitator and yoga instructor in the Tantric Hatha tradition. She is a facilitator and event producer for the Authentic Woman Experience in San Francisco, CA. She enjoys teaching yoga at Vara Healing Arts in Albany, CA, and has a private coaching practice.