Maren Schmidt. Sharpen the saw meaning

Take Time To Sharpen The Saw

Practicing self-care brings improvements in all areas of your life. You’ll feel better, you’ll be in better health, your relationships will be strong, your well-being and life overall will be enhanced. Just as a woodcutter is more effective when he or she takes time out from cutting wood to sharpen his or her saw, you’ll find when you practice your own self-care habits that you are reaping increasing benefits as time goes by.

TheExceleratedLife.com

Two Woodcutters

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Once upon a time, in a logging camp in the northwest woods, two loggers, Abe and Al, got into a heated debate about who was the fastest woodcutter. They decided to have a competition to see who was the fastest. The logger who cut down the most trees in a day would claim the title.

The morning of the contest came and both men went off into the woods to begin chopping. The two were chopping away when Al heard Abe stop. “He’s taking a break already,” Al smiled to himself and begin chopping even harder.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

After a quarter of an hour, Al heard Abe’s ax once more. But he was sure he had taken the lead. After another hour of labor, Al was starting to get tired when he heard Abe stop again. “Another break?” Al thought and this seemed to give him renewed energy.

This went on for the whole day. About once every hour or so, Al heard Abe stop work. As the day went on, his confidence grew stronger and stronger. With so many breaks, Abe must be way behind Al reasoned. He had this contest in the bag.

But at the end of the day, Al was astonished (and frankly, a little ticked off) to discover that Abe had cut considerably more wood than he had. “This can’t be possible!” Al cried. “I heard you stop chopping nearly every hour for about 15 minutes or so. How could you possibly have cut down more trees than me. ”

“It’s simple, really,” Abe replied. “Every time you heard me stop, I was taking time to sharpen my ax.” [1]

What Does “Sharpen The Saw” Mean

While the two characters in our story were using axes to chop wood, the original phrase made famous by Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People is “sharpen the saw”. “Sharpen the ax” means the same thing, but “sharpen the saw” just has a ring to it. So that’s what we’ll use today.

Sharpening the saw, as Stephen Covey presents it, means taking time for balanced self-renewal; balanced across these four dimensions: physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional or relationships.

It’s important to keep in mind that you can’t “binge” sharpen. You must take time periodically to sharpen the saw in each of the four areas. And you must do it over and over in ongoing renewal.

To sharpen the saw, Covey says, “means exercising all four dimensions of our nature, regularly and consistently in wise and balanced ways.” [Covey]

Sharpening the saw is anything that will help you renew your energy and keep you balanced.

How Can Sharpening The Saw Help Me?

In another part of The 7 Habits, Covey discusses P/PC balance. P stands for production while PC stands for production capacity. In order to keep producing, you must preserve your production capacity. If you run your car but don’t provide proper maintenance, eventually it will break down and you are faced with expensive repairs. Similarly, if you run yourself without providing proper self-care, eventually, you will break down. Sharpening the saw “means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have – you.” [Covey]

When you sharpen the saw day by day, you make the improvements that allow you to continue taking steps forward. Sharpening the saw is the foundation on which to build your self-care habits.

What If I Don’t Take Time To Sharpen The Saw?

The truth is, unless you’re literally cutting wood, you won’t notice any difference at first, whether you sharpen your saw or not. We return to this again and again with Jim Rohn’s two easies.

“It all comes down to a philosophical phrase: the things that are easy to do are also easy not to do. That’s the difference between success and failure, between daydreams and ambitions.” [Rohn]

To maintain consistency, we adopt disciplines to sharpen our individual saws that are simple and easy to do. This has been a life-altering lesson for me. By focusing on and doing simple things every day, I continue to see steady improvements in my health, my relationships, my work, and my overall well-being. It doesn’t happen overnight; in most cases, it has taken months or years.

In the same way, if you don’t do the simple tasks to sharpen your own saw, to take care of yourself in all areas, you won’t see any major failures right away. But slowly, over a span of time, you’ll steadily decline. Your health, your relationships, and the other areas of your life may not be completely broken (although they very well could be), but you will not be flourishing and thriving.

As we saw earlier, if you don’t maintain your car, eventually there’ll be a catastrophic failure. Sharpening the saw is the maintenance you need to continue on the upward path.

How Do I Sharpen The Saw?

Sharpening the saw is personal. We each need certain healthful practices such as exercise, adequate sleep, and healthful food, but how we go about those is tied to individual needs and idiosyncrasies. However, keep in mind the 4 dimensions detailed by Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits.

Physical: exercise, nutrition, stress management.Practices: get a massage, work out at the gym, eat more fruits and vegetables, _ (you?)

Mental: reading, visualizing, planning, writing.Practices: read for pleasure, take a class, visit a museum, learn a new skill, _ (you?)

Emotional/social: service, empathy, synergy, intrinsic security.Practices: go out with friends, visit family members, join a yoga or fitness class, _ (you?)

Spiritual: value clarification commitment, study meditationPractices: meditate, pray, read in the wisdom literature, walk in nature, _ (you?)

For more ideas and suggestions, the Excelerator SelfCare JumpStart provides quick actions you can take right now to begin taking excellent care of yourself. You can download your free copy here.

A Brighter Tomorrow

As we’ve seen, investing time in sharpening the saw and practicing self-care won’t show any returns in the short term. But over time, the improvements you’ll see in all the areas of your life are gratifying. You’ll feel better, you’ll be in better health, your relationships will be strong, your well-being and life overall will be enhanced.

It doesn’t happen overnight and that makes it all the more important that you stick with your self-care practices, even though you won’t notice any differences at first. But just as the woodcutter was more effective when he took time out from cutting wood to sharpen his saw (or ax as the case may be), you’ll find as you continue to practice your own self-care habits that you are reaping increasing benefits as time goes by. And that is embracing your Excelerated Life

Excelerated Selffulness /strong> — taking excellent care of yourself — is one step in creating your Excelerated Life /strong>, a life of flourishing and well-being, and a life of meaning, purpose, and service.

[1] I adapted this story from Screeble.com. See Resources.

Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon Schuster, 1989.

Rohn, Jim. Leading an Inspired Life. Niles, IL: Nightingale-Conant Corporation, 1997.

Wolya, R. “The Story of Two Woodcutters — Why You Should Sharpen Your Axes.”Screeble. Screeble.com. Web. January 29, 2022.https://screeble.com/blog/2017/03/07/story-of-two-woodcutters/

Habit 7 | Sharpen The Saw

Carpenters and cooks know a certain rule of productivity.

A sharp well-maintained tool makes a job go faster and easier.

Plus, tools that are ready to go are a pleasure to use.

One of facts of life that I understand now, that I didn’t appreciate in my 20‘s, 30, or 40’s, is that our physical body is our most important tool.

As they say, if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.

In terms of overall health there are four basic aspects to consider.

When I neglect to maintain these areas my life, I work and work and don’t have the results I desire or expect.

As I applied the 7 Habits in my life, I began to see the practicality and necessity of “sharpening the saw”.

It wasn’t extra work. It was the work.

Abraham Lincoln was reported to say, “If I had eight hours to cut down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax.”

Covey recommends planning daily habits to renew, refresh and recreate yourself.

As I used Habit 3: Put First Things First, I understood that these renewal activities may not be urgent, but they are important and deserve to be treated as Quadrant II activities.

The Physical Aspect

Our bodies need good fuel and exercise, along with a time-out from constant stress.

Spend time learning about what nutrition requirements for optimum health. One of the best books I have read recently about this is Deep Nutrition by Dr. Cate Shanahan.

Our bodies need to be exercised in order to be efficient, flexible and strong. To maintain a basic fitness level requires only about 30 minutes of exercise a day. Endurance, flexibility and strength training need to be part of a daily regimen.

Adequate sleep, about eight hours a night for adults, along with relaxation techniques such a meditation, deep breathing, mindfulness, laughing and more, form the third leg in our physical health.

The Mental Aspect

In terms of our mental health I believe the wisdom of this computer programming saying: Garage in. Garbage out.

Our mental health builds off reading, visualizing, planning and writing while using Habit 5: Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood.

Be aware of what you are listening to and watching on social media and television. Is the consumption of modern media helping you become mentally acute?

Challenge yourself to read a book a month. Then a book every two weeks, and then a book every week. Learn something new every day.

Use Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind to visualize your goals for sharpening the saw.

Write everyday, even if it is only a few sentences. Writing helps keep a journal of our thoughts, insights, experiences, and promotes mental clarity.

The Social/Emotional Aspect

Applying Habit 5: Seek First To Understand And Then To Be Understood, helps you become more socially and emotionally astute.

As you listen to others first, before commenting or acting, I think you’ll find your social and emotional intelligence growing.

Learn to listen to yourself, and take time to listen every day, and the benefits you’ll discover will be keen.

The Spiritual Aspect

The spiritual aspect of our overall health includes:

The spiritual aspect of our healthy being is extremely private and individual.

What inspires and uplifts you? What activities calm and center you and help you put daily strife of life into perspective?

Connect with those things everyday, whether it is art, music, nature, friends, family, or so many other personal inspirations you may have.

Sharpen the saw.

It’s the habit that puts all the other habits into action.

As we learn, commit and do these seven habits of highly effective people, we create an upward spiral of success.

Our overall habit becomes one of continual learning, commitment, and service to others, providing us with a life full of meaning and purpose.

Sharpen the Saw

In the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, Stephen Covey, presents an approach to effectively reach your goals by adopting 7 different habits. If you are not familiar with the first six habits then read the 7 habits of Highly Effective People Summary.

Habit 7 “Sharpen the Saw” is the one habit that makes all the other 6 habits possible. Your mind and body are the greatest assets you have and the 7 th habit focuses on preserving, renewing, and enhancing these assets. Renewal of our minds and bodies empowers us to keep becoming better versions of ourselves and to reach our full potential.

Sharpen the Saw Meaning

What does “Sharpen the Saw” mean?

Covey starts the chapter on the 7 th habit with a story about a person who is trying to saw down a tree. He doesn’t want to “waste time” sharpening his saw, so instead, he spends hours trying to saw down the tree with a dull saw. He thought he didn’t have time to sharpen the saw. However, had he taken the time to sharpen the saw, he would have sawed down the tree in less time even if you take into account the time he “wasted” sharpening his saw.

In the Workbook The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey gives the following example:

Cutting a log with a dull saw takes 30 minutes
Sharpening the saw takes 5 minutes
Cutting the log with a sharp saw takes 10 minutes

Therefore, you can see that it takes 5 minutes to sharpen the saw which seems like 5 wasted minutes. However, these 5 minutes cut the sawing time down by 20 minutes so they have actually saved you 15 minutes!

This theory can apply in many different situations. For example, when you have a deadline at work or school, sometimes it is better to take a break. This might help you be more focused and effective after your break.

If your workplace is messy and disorganized, sometimes it is better to take the time to declutter and get organized. You might find you will be more effective in a tidy, organized workplace.

In order to be more effective and productive, Covey presents Habit 7, the habit of renewal which suggests you should sharpen your saw regularly. This includes regular, balanced renewal of the four basic dimensions of life – physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional. It is the habit of continuous improvement that creates the upward spiral of growth that enables you to reach your potential.

The single most powerful investment we can ever make in life is to invest in ourselves, in the only instrument we have with which to deal with life and to contribute.

To be effective, we need to recognize the importance of taking time regularly to “sharpen the saw” in all four ways – physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional.

Four Dimensions

The Physical Dimension

The physical dimension involves caring effectively for our physical body. This includes eating the right kinds of foods, getting sufficient rest and relaxation, and exercising on a regular basis. Doing all this will preserve and enhance our capacity to work and adapt and enjoy life.

There are different ways to renew your physical dimension. Here are some sharpen the saw examples:

Eating the right kinds of foods
Eating junk food less than twice a week
Getting sufficient rest and relaxation
Exercising on a regular basis for at least 20-30 minutes at least 3 times a week
Including cardiovascular, flexibility, and strength activities in your exercises
Being aware of your need for vitamins and minerals
Find an effective positive way of dealing with stress

Most of us don’t exercise regularly because although we know it is important to exercise it isn’t urgent. Covey describes activities that are important but not urgent as Quadrant II in his Time Management Matrix. Despite the fact that we know that exercise is important we often put it off because it isn’t urgent. When we do that, we eventually land up with the health problems and crises that come as a result of our neglect. These problems are defined as Quadrant I in his Time Management Matrix (urgent and important). They have now become urgent and we have to deal with them but they could have been prevented had we dealt with them when they were in Quadrant II.

Covey explains that most of us think we don’t have enough time to exercise but that is a totally distorted paradigm! In fact, we don’t have time not to exercise. Because if we don’t exercise we will find ourselves with health problems that will waste a lot more time. This can be compared to the saw. Spend time exercising (sharpening the saw) and although you might “waste” time in the short term you will save a lot of time, energy, and problems in the long term.

Covey suggests exercising for about 3 to 6 hours a week, or a minimum of 30 minutes a day, every other day. Considering that you work around 162-165 hours of the week and the time spent exercising will impact and benefit the hours you spend working, Covey explains that you actually save time by exercising!

A good exercise program according to Covey, is one that you can do in your own home and one that will build your body in three areas: endurance, flexibility, and strength.

Endurance comes from aerobic or cardio exercise.
Flexibility comes through stretching.
Strength comes from muscle resistance exercises.

The greatest benefit you will experience from exercising will be the development of your Habit 1 muscles of proactivity. When you exercise you are being proactive in order to promote your physical wellness instead of reacting to all the forces that keep you from exercising. Therefore, your paradigm of yourself, your self-esteem, and your self-confidence will improve as a result.

HABIT 7. Sharpen The Saw

The Spiritual Dimension

The spiritual dimension is your core, your center, and your commitment to your value system. Renewing the spiritual dimension provides leadership to your life. It’s highly related to Habit 2 (Begin with the End in Mind).

Spiritual renewal takes an investment of time. But it’s a Quadrant II activity (important but not urgent) that we don’t really have time to neglect.

There are different ways to renew your spiritual dimension. Here are some sharpen the saw examples:

Daily prayerful meditation on the scriptures
Immersion in great literature or great music
Communication with nature
Meditation or yoga
Spending time in the place where you were happiest as a child
Define what your values are and plan and live your life accordingly
Create your personal mission statement. Rely on it to give you vision to find your purpose in life (see our personal mission statement generator)
Find daily renewal through meditation, prayer, study, or reflection
Spend time in a place where you find spiritual renewal
Live your life with integrity and honor
Keep your heart open to the truth
Take a stand or tell the truth, even when opposed by others
Serve others with no expectations of any type of returned favor
Identify the things in life you can change and the things you cannot change. Let go of the things you cannot change.

When we take the time to define what life is ultimately all about for us, it renews us and refreshes us, particularly if we recommit to it.

This is why Covey believes a personal mission statement is so important.

The Mental Dimension

Most of our mental development and study discipline comes through formal education. But as soon as we leave school, many of us stop studying or reading. We might explore new subjects in our action fields but not beyond them. Instead, we spend our time watching TV.

Wisdom in watching television requires the effective self-management of Habit 3 (Put First Things First), which enables you to select TV programs that best serve and express your purpose and values.

There are different ways to renew your mental dimension. Here are some sharpen the saw examples:

Selecting educational TV programs that best serve and express your purpose and values
Expanding your formal or informal education
Reading good literature to expose yourself to great minds
Writing your thoughts, experiences, insights, and learnings in a journal
Writing good letters that communicate the deeper level of thoughts, feelings, and ideas
Organizing and planning
Puzzles, problem-solving, or games
Engaging in meaningful dialogue at least once a week
Allowing music or any relaxation exercises to clear your mind every day
Spending time on a hobby
Visualizing projects and plans when you have the end result in mind to guide the process

Sharpening the saw in the physical, spiritual, and mental dimensions is a practice Covey calls the “Daily Private Victory.” Covey recommends you spend one hour a day every day doing it. It will affect every decision you make, and every relationship you have and it will greatly improve the quality, the effectiveness, of every other hour of the day, including the depth and restfulness of your sleep. It will also build long-term physical, spiritual, and mental strength to enable you to handle difficult challenges in life.

The Social/Emotional Dimension

Not a day goes by that we can’t at least serve one other human being by making deposits of unconditional love – Stephen Covey

The social and emotional dimensions are connected because our emotional life is often developed according to our relationships with others.

The social/emotional dimension focuses on Habits 4, 5, and 6 which are centered on the principles of interpersonal leadership, empathic communication, and creative cooperation.

There are different ways to renew your social/emotional dimension. Here are some sharpen the saw examples:

Seeking to deeply understand other people
Making contributions to meaningful projects that improve the lives of others
Maintaining an Abundance Mentality and helping others find success.
Trying to be a reliable and dependable person
Developing a hopeful outlook on life
Trusting and supporting the people in your Circle of Influence
Listening to others and hearing what they have to say instead of thinking about what you want to say
Reaching out to others and being empathic
Maintaining and working on your most important relationships and checking your Emotional Bank Account
Apologizing when you need to and making sure that it is sincere
Controlling your impulses by cooling down and acting rather than reacting to people and situations
Showing yourself respect, care, and love. You need to invest both in yourself and in others. You cannot give to others until your needs are met.

You script someone when you believe in someone who doesn’t believe in himself.

When you are a positive scripter, or an affirmer, of other people, and encourage them to be proactive, they will be inspired to reach their potential because you believe in them.

We have so much we can invest in the Emotional Bank Accounts of other people. The more we can see people in terms of their unseen potential, the more we can help them become independent, fulfilled people capable of deeply satisfying, enriching, and productive relationships with others.

The self-renewal process must include balanced renewal in all four dimensions of our nature: the physical, the spiritual, the mental, and the social/emotional. When we neglect any one area, it will negatively impact the other areas.

The things you do to sharpen the saw in any one dimension will have a positive impact in other dimensions because they are so highly interrelated. Your physical health affects your mental health; your spiritual strength affects your social/emotional strength.

You need to create a personal renewal plan that will be right for you.

Create a Personal Renewal Plan

In the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey stresses the importance of developing a personal renewal plan to ensure that you are and stay efficient so that you can continue to reach your goals in the short and long term. There is no single personal renewal plan that will work for all. You need to develop a plan that will work for you.

Commit to spending an hour a day on this program. Schedule this time in your planner and don’t let anything stop you from spending this time on yourself. Remember, you are your most important asset so prioritize this time to sharpen your saw.

Another way to develop a personal renewal plan is to create a morning routine. Use our free custom morning routine maker to customize a morning routine for your specific needs.

Weekly Planner

The following weekly planner is based on the principles of the 7 Habits and includes items that Covey suggested tracking weekly. The weekly planner prints on two full pages and is very comprehensive. I should note that I included a gratitude list which was not mentioned in the 7 Habits books. Covey doesn’t specifically mention keeping a gratitude list but he did mention the importance of wellness and gratitude helps with that.

“Sharpen the Saw” – Why This Lumberjack Analogy Matters

In Stephen Covey’s popular book, “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People,” he explores seven important habits. The seventh is “sharpen the saw.” It may sound like just a silly lumberjack analogy, but it’s one of the most important habits. Without it, it’s difficult to do anything else. At its core, it’s all about focusing on what’s most important – yourself.

Why “Sharpen the Saw”

Why didn’t Covey call it “self-care” or just “make yourself a priority”? In his book, he discusses this habit by starting off with a simple story. In it, a person meets someone working hard to saw down a tree in the woods. They say they’ve been at it for five hours and are exhausted.

The newcomer suggests taking a break and sharpening the saw to make the job easier – hence the phrase. Of course, the lumberjack says they don’t have time to do that with so much work to do.

But, it’s more than that. In life, you have various tools to get jobs done. The most important is you. You’re the saw that you use throughout your life. If you don’t take time to sharpen it, it gets dull. When the saw’s dull, you have to work twice as hard to get half as much accomplished.

Working Smarter, Not Harder

There are two lessons to this lumberjack analogy. The first is to work smarter, not harder. If the lumberjack had sharpened their saw first, they wouldn’t have spent five hours cutting down a tree, but it’s hard to see that at first. Instead, the instinct is to just power through. As a result, you don’t think you have time to do a job or task any other way.

Sadly, all the available technology at our disposal has made it even more difficult to work smarter. The always on culture means spending time treating every minor task as a major priority, which leads to overworking, difficulties staying focused, and far less productivity.

In Tim Ferriss’s “The 4-Hour Work Week,” he drives this point home. Getting more done in fewer hours gives you more time off to FOCUS on yourself. It’s a smarter way to work. Smarter doesn’t mean doing more work. It just means being far more efficient at it so you work fewer hours and don’t completely burn yourself out.

Hard workers have great intentions. But as several productivity speakers and coaches explain, you need downtime. Melissa Gratias says, “Working smarter is the pursuit of productivity coupled with a respect for downtime and rest.” And that, is exactly right.

Focusing on Yourself

The second lesson to take away from “sharpen the saw” is to FOCUS on yourself. You may also call this self care. However, Covey takes it a bit deeper for a more well-rounded variety of self care than what many people may be used to.

Think about how often you feel tired, grumpy, scatter-brained, and generally blah. Yes, you could just try to yell at yourself and force yourself to work. You’ll get stuff done, but not as much as you want. Plus, the quality usually suffers, too.

What if you took a moment to make yourself feel better first? Imagine if instead of spending hours slogging through your day, you spent 30 minutes to an hour focused on you. You’d feel more alert and focused. You’d tackle your tasks quicker and more efficiently without trying to find a zillion ways to procrastinate in between. That little bit of time saves you hours later and makes your tasks a little easier.

Sharpen the saw, and you’ll be more productive. It’s that simple.

Balancing the Saw

Yes, you’re supposed to sharpen the saw, but you need to sharpen it evenly. This creates a balance. After all, if only part of your saw is sharp, it’s still not working as well as it should.

Covey lists four dimensions as part of the sharpening habit:

Physical – Exercise, sleep, eat right, get massages, take cold showers, etc.
Spiritual – Pray, journal, meditate, practice gratitude, walk in nature, etc.
Emotional/Social – Spend time with loved ones, meet new people, play sports, eliminate toxic people, cultivate strong relationships
Mental – Take classes, read important books, go to museums, listen to educational podcasts, continue learning and stimulating your mind daily

These four areas are connected. When you FOCUS on all four, you create a more balanced life. If even one is neglected, it can negatively affect the others.

Make a short list of two or three things you can do every day to FOCUS on these four areas. You can even use Pomodoro timers to make time just for you. It may take time to find the right combination that fits your schedule, but as you do, you’ll discover you feel better and will accomplish more throughout your day without feeling drained at the end.

Crystal’s spent over 15 years writing about technology, productivity, and a little of everything else. She’s always trying out new ways to beat procrastination and distractions to stay more productive and hopefully work fewer hours.

Sources:

https://theexceleratedlife.com/take-time-to-sharpen-the-saw/
https://marenschmidt.com/2020/02/habit-7-sharpen-the-saw/
https://www.101planners.com/sharpen-the-saw/
https://www.onlinetivity.com/sharpen-the-saw-why-this-lumberjack-analogy-matters/

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