This time round perhaps take a moment to pause before resuming old work habits and falling into unconscious Doing.

Most people almost immediately associate work with Doing rather than Being. Doing appears to be the predominant mindset to get things done. It’s what we get acknowledged for, what we get paid for.

For several reasons, this assumption is both wrong and misleading. Once we realise and accept that a Doing mindset does not equal ‘Getting things done’, we get a much better picture.

A Doing mindset can get things done, but there is no guarantee that it will.

When working against a to-do list of clearly defined tasks, we probably need a good deal of Doing, assuming that we know how the things on the list need to be done. However, often we can’t just do things. They require presence, true creativity and – when collaborating with other human beings – empathy. Thus a lot of Being is needed.

Even a bricklayer who is processing the same task of building walls over and over again entertains some level of Being at work. The task at hand may be well known to the bricklayer, but she still needs presence at work so as not to harm herself or others, apply a level of creativity to the work where needed, sense the condition and needs of co-workers, and know when it is time to give mind and body a rest to restore focus.

A bricklayer may become completely absorbed and fall into a state of flow (which is also Being), but will unlikely become unconscious at work.

And besides, work cannot be reduced to a to-do list. This would de-humanise us. We are human beings, not human doings.

Whenever we mentally fall into unconscious, robot-like Doing, acting out of habits, autopilot or reactive patterns, losing our human sense and abilities, we turn ourselves more and more into Human Doings. Not a good place to dwell, as Artificial Intelligence and robotics will outclass us in unconscious Doing.

If instead – whatever we do – we act from Being, that is with presence, creativity, intuition, empathy, fully embodied and with a human touch (such as humour), we have a much greater chance of getting things done with satisfaction or joy, perhaps entering a flow state, and knowing what is right to do.