When P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, was a young woman, she traveled by train to Ireland to see the venerable old poet W.B. Yeats. Before she arrived at his home she decided to bring him a gift. She found a boatman and got him to agree to take her to the Isle of Innisfree, where she collected several large branches of rowan (a tree that in ancient times was thought to have magical properties and was used to make magic wands and Druid walking sticks) to take as her gift.

As she made her way back to the train car she got caught in a storm and she struggled to maintain the colossus of branches. With difficulty, she made her way finally to the poet’s door. A maid, startled by the young woman’s drenched and bedraggled appearance, took her in and dried her clothes by the fire. Travers, young and embarrassed, was planning how to escape and skip seeing the famous poet. She was just about to beg off when the maid returned and said that Yeats was ready to receive her. Travers ascended the stairs and at the top met a "grandfatherly Yeats who proudly showed her the egg his canary had just laid." The two began to talk, and as they did, Travers noticed a small vase on his desk with just a snip of the great pile of branches she had dragged in. "That’s when I learned," Travers said, "that you can say more with less."

We all know people who seem to rush from one thing to the next without ever being able to settle into a moment. Why is this such a destructive mode? The main reason is that when you are constantly in motion you rarely have the time or energy to process your life and what is happening.

While staying busy is important, it seems that a reminder to slow down in the workplace is what most people need these days. We are all running in high gear so much of the time, what we are doing or accomplishing seems to lose meaning. Doing anything, even if it doesn’t make sense, has become important.

To break the mold, you need to do something, but getting results requires thought combined with meaningful action. A little meditation on the matter might help. Plus, you don’t need an hour of meditation every day to get results. Instead, try to stop three times a day for three or four minutes and empty your mind. You can do this while sitting at your desk and it’s not likely anyone will notice. Close your eyes and try to quiet your mind, emptying it of the many thoughts racing through in it. Take a deep breath or two, relax and let your mind be still.

Consider starting your morning this way, then take a midday break and another just before you end your day. The practice should restore a little equilibrium to your life and it only takes a few minutes to accomplish.