As consumers, convenience is addicting. We go through the drive-thru instead of going in the restaurant. We order online instead of getting in our cold car to go to the mall. We pick up prepared food at the grocery store instead of buying the ingredients and spending the time cooking them.
Alexa “what is this” is quicker to say than going to your computer to type these same words.
Our time is valuable. Convenience makes things so much easier. It gives us more time to do other things that we would rather be doing. We seek out convenience ten times out of ten during each of our days.
But what happens when we are the creator of something or service provider rather than a consumer? Convenience does not fit in at all. This is the problem with concept of convenience. It doesn’t work in all situations.
You see there are no shortcuts when you are the one responsible for creating something or providing a service. Putting in the work becomes the necessary element for completion regardless of how much time it takes to get something done.
Arguing that working from home is a convenience. It well might be in terms of saving you travel time but it does not change the nature of the work that is demanded of you.
Anytime you do things that are convenient when it comes to work, you might get by. But I have found that your work will not be as good as it could be. Defaulting always to what is simply convenient, will give others the impression (over time) that you are lazy.
Presence and engagement are modern terms that get shared freely when it comes to describing the enthusiasm and interest one has in a topic or a relationship. Convenience has no part when being present or engaged in creating work that matters or providing a service that others deem valuable. For all of these things take time and effort.
Turning off the consumer side of our lives is quite difficult. Understanding the trap, convenience causes, when you are asked to do good work is the most important first step to committing to a higher quality of output than most are willing to create.
Take the time given to you by convenience, when you are the consumer, and putting it into the time required for you to create or serve will bring you more presence and engagement in your life than you have previously experienced. You might just find that it will make everything around you much more interesting.