Resting with the ball

I like to draw parallels between what I see in elite sports and what I do in daily life, and try to integrate concepts from one side to the other.

In association football, you often come up with two philosophies of playing — the counter-attacking team, and the possession-heavy teams. Counter-attacking teams absorb pressure and hit back in sharp bursts, while possession-based teams hang onto the ball for the most of the match, and probe patiently at the other team until something cracks.

I’ve always considered myself to be a counter-attacking guy. I like having a blitz of energy, and finishing my tasks off quickly in that time. However, as I’ve started picking up more complex tasks at work, that strategy has started failing me. This is because I keep encountering unanticipated complexity, that intercepts my sharp movement, and breaks the counter down.

In order to address this, I’ve been thinking about ways to slow down, and adopt a concept that is valued in possession football — resting with the ball. The idea is that you should be able to keep possession even when you’re tired, and that chasing possession is more energy-sapping than keeping it.

For me, the idea of chasing possession is equivalent to the boot-up required me to get into the focussed state and get things done. The impending urgency of a deadline tends to give you an energy boost anyway, and a counter-attacking strategy can ride this energy and get things done well enough in time. It’s what has worked for me in the past.

I think writing is a glue that can allow me to ‘rest with the ball’. If I encounter a problem, I can write it down, which means it’s not running away from me. I can poke at it from different angles, and then maybe even find a way.

So, from now on, I’m going to experiment with this. I’m going to start early, and start writing as a way to keep me in the same headspace. I might even end up creating some useful content along the way!