Alright, let me tell you about something I started doing in my sessions, my little workshops, or even just my focused work blocks – what I started calling the “no edging” rule. Sounds a bit rough, maybe, but stick with me, it came out of pure frustration.
See, for the longest time, I was pulling my hair out. Whether it was a group I was teaching or just myself trying to learn something new, there was this constant… hovering. People weren’t fully in it. Tasks would get started, then paused. Phones would come out. Tangents would happen. We’d get close to finishing something, understanding a concept, or completing a module, and then… fizzle. Distraction. “I’ll finish it later.” It felt like everyone was just dipping their toes in, never committing to the swim. Progress was slow, and honestly, it was annoying.
Hitting the Wall
The breaking point came during a project workshop I was running. We had a clear goal, a deadline, everything. But day after day, it was the same dance. Start strong, get distracted, lose momentum. We got near the end, but the quality was suffering because everyone was mentally checking out, saving their ‘real focus’ for some imaginary ‘later’. We barely scraped by, and the result felt hollow. That night, I just thought, “Enough of this half-baked effort. Either we’re doing it, or we’re not.” It felt like that time years ago when a client kept delaying payment, always almost sending it. You learn quick you need clear lines.
Putting the Foot Down: The “No Edging” Practice
So, I decided to change how I ran things, starting with my very next session. I laid it out plainly. Here’s what “no edging” meant in practice:
- Commit to the block: When we start, we start. No wandering in late, no checking out early mentally.
- Distractions OFF: Phones away, silent. Non-essential tabs closed. Focus is on the task at hand, period.
- Finish the unit: We define a clear chunk of work or a concept to cover. We don’t stop mid-way just because it feels tough or we get bored. We push through until it’s done or the planned stopping point is reached.
- No “I’ll do it later”: If it’s part of the session’s goal, we tackle it now. Later becomes never too easily.
I explained this wasn’t about being mean; it was about respecting our own time and effort. It was about actually achieving something solid in the time we set aside.
How It Went Down
First time I enforced it? Oh boy. There was grumbling. People instinctively reached for phones. Some found it hard to just stick with one thing. It felt forced, unnatural even, for some. It was genuinely tough for the first few tries. You could feel the resistance, the ingrained habit of constant distraction fighting back.
But then, something shifted. After pushing through that initial discomfort, we actually finished a tough module ahead of schedule. People looked up, surprised. There was this sense of accomplishment that wasn’t there before. That feeling started to catch on.
Now? It’s mostly habit. People know when they come to my “class” or work block, it’s go-time. We get way more done. The quality of understanding, the depth we reach, it’s night and day. It turns out, just committing fully, even for a short burst, is way more effective than hours of half-hearted effort.
It’s not foolproof, sometimes focus still wavers. But the intention is set. No more just getting close and backing off. We push through and finish. It made me realize how much potential we waste by constantly allowing ourselves to be pulled away just before the finish line. It’s a simple idea, really, but it made a world of difference for me and the folks I work with. Just deciding not to fiddle around, but to actually do the thing.
