Ash trees amaze me. They have the casual excellence of Usain Bolt. They do what they do with such efficiency that I’m in awe of them. Ash trees come into leaf later in the year than almost any other tree in the UK and then they drop their leaves early in the autumn whilst most other trees are still hard at work. Often they don’t even bother recovering the valuable pigments from their leaves and drop them green. They reproduce as prolifically as any other tree and are one of the quickest growing. They don’t skimp on quality – their timber is highly useful and as firewood it reigns supreme. They do all this in about a quarter of the year and then spend the rest of the year taking it easy.
On dark, damp autumn days what can we learn from the ash tree? Forgive the anthropomorphism but I think one reason ash trees are so successful is their timing - they know when to take hold and when to let go.
From late May to September ash trees seize the opportunity to grow and their growth is truly impressive. For the other three quarters of the year they let go of their leaves and with them all opportunities to be productive. How does this strategy benefit them?
Letting go brings the following advantages to ash trees:
- Leaflessness deprives would-be browsers of food. Many invertebrate herbivores specialise in a single food plant. Ash leaves are a poor choice because they are only available for a few months of the year. Consequently, few things eat ash and ash’s losses to herbivores are small compared to other species of tree. Plus, ash has to invest less in producing distasteful chemicals to deter herbivores.
- Having leaves costs energy and water. Dropping them enables ash trees to conserve water and energy through the least productive months of the year.
- Leaves act like a sail and mean potentially damaging mechanical loads during high winds. Leaflessness reduces the surface area exposed to wind and therefore damage during high wind.
- Releasing leaves allows cycling of the minerals contained in them. Soil organisms break down the leaves through the autumn and winter and make them available to the ash tree’s roots.
- All of the above means that, come the spring, the tree is in a stronger position than it would have been had it not let go. It is poised to produce new growth when the optimal conditions of late spring arrive.
How do we compare to the ash when it comes to letting go? How well do we choose when to take up, when to persevere and when to let go? Poorly, if I’m anything like typical. It has been said that much of our exhaustion comes from our vigorous and prolonged attempts to do things we shouldn’t be doing. We shouldn’t be doing them either because they are not supportive of our primary aims, consistent with our strengths or congruent with our core values; or, now isn’t the time to be doing them.
We have a brain and it’s supposed to be one of the things we have over plants, so how come we aren’t as smart as them when it comes to letting go? Wouldn’t it be great if we could have the sort of edge ash trees have because of their willingness to let go?
How ready are you? If a tremendous opportunity leapt up and bit you on the buttock would you be ready with overflowing creative energy to seize it before anyone else could take it from you? Or are you so overwhelmed with other stuff that you wouldn’t even notice it? If it’s the latter, chances are it’s time to let go of some stuff.
What should we let go of?
Here’s an idea: Take your, to do list. If you don’t have an actual, to do list you’ve probably got an equivalent in your mind, or in the form of your diary, dingleberry or other device. Perhaps other people have a list for you. Whatever, have your to do list in front of you. Then ask, why are the items on it there in the first place? Should they be? Which would you rather weren’t there? Attack your, to do list. Enjoy doing so.
Try carving your, to do list, into five lists under the following headings.
List 1. To do
Projects that are both important and timely. E.g.
Buy anniversary present
Go kite fishing
Sleep
Plan weekend away
Put out fire in kitchen
List 2. To delegate
The internet is full of the terrible and glorious fruit of men overburdening themselves with tasks which they clearly should not have been doing. If the man who bought the chainsaw and the checked jacket had thought a little more about what makes someone a lumberjack, he might not have had to listen to his wife as, together, they watched their large tree enter their front via their roof. Our, to delegate, list should contain important schemes that we discern would be better completed by someone else. E.g.
Get vet to look inside cat
Let woman choose colour for new curtains
Book electrician to make safe yesterday’s DIY
Train and encourage Al to take over marketing
Call fire brigade to put out now general house fire
List 3. To do with…
Important projects best undertaken alongside an expert. E.g.
Ask IT Dave round to help unbreak PC
Invite colleagues to collaborate on new project
Consult daughter when buying new tie
Ask for child’s help with new IT
Pass kids through window to attending firefighters
List 4. To do not.
The, to don’t list, can be harder to follow than the, to do list, but there are few things more liberating. On it go projects that might be important to someone but if you’re honest are not your highest priority. E.g.
Spend 400 weekends block paving the drive
Help organise the next office karaoke tournament
Vacuum the garden
Take work home to finish
Communicate dull things via a social network site
List 5. To do later, maybe
Projects which have merits and may later be put on your to do list, but not yet. E.g.
Take up golf
Try out the recently opened Norwegian restaurant
Paint a large white circled H on neighbour’s roof
Help Brian build his escape glider
Write memoirs
Letting go is hard because people feel we are letting them down or being irresponsible but it’s by far the better alternative to being one more person labouring into chronic unconsciousness and missing all those passing life bringing opportunities.
Let’s not just work out what we should be doing. Let’s work out what we shouldn’t be doing and let’s let go of it.
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