So, I’ve been calling this little project of mine ‘masters watch’. It sounds fancy, maybe, but it really wasn’t. It started because I felt kinda stuck, you know? Like I was just going through the motions every day. Needed to see something real, something skillful being done.
First thing I did was just look around my own neighborhood. Who’s actually making things anymore? Took me a bit, wandering around after work. Found this small workshop, tucked away down a side street. An old guy, carpenter, worked in there. Didn’t even have a proper sign, just the smell of sawdust and varnish gave it away.
I didn’t want to barge in. Felt weird. So, for a few days, I just walked past. Slowed down a bit each time. Peeped through the window if it was open. Saw him planing wood, measuring stuff, focused like nothing else existed.
Finally, I got up the nerve. Just poked my head in one afternoon. Didn’t say much at first. Asked if he minded if I just watched for a bit while he worked. He just kinda grunted, shrugged. Took that as a yes.
Getting into the rhythm
So that’s what I started doing. Couple times a week, maybe an hour or so. I’d just stand in the corner, out of the way. Didn’t take notes, didn’t record anything. Just watched.
What I focused on:
- How he picked up his tools. Never rushed, always the right one.
- His hands. Rough hands, but they moved steady, knew exactly how much pressure to use.
- The way he looked at the wood. Like he was reading it, figuring it out.
- He didn’t talk much. The shop was mostly quiet, just the sound of tools on wood. Scrape, tap, whirr.
It wasn’t like watching a tutorial video online. This was slow. Sometimes boring, if I’m honest. He’d spend ages just sanding one small piece. Or he’d stop, look at something, then just put it down and start on something else. No explanation.
What stuck with me
After a few weeks of this ‘masters watch’, things started clicking in my own head. It wasn’t really about learning carpentry. I mean, I didn’t suddenly know how to build a chair.
It was about the patience. The sheer, unadulterated patience. Doing something right, no matter how long it took. No shortcuts. Just the work itself.
And the focus. In that hour I was there, he was completely absorbed. The world outside didn’t matter. Phones didn’t ring, or if they did, he ignored them. It was just him, the wood, the tools.
Made me think about how I rush through things. Always trying to get to the next task, the next email, the next thing. Always distracted. Watching him was like hitting a pause button.
So yeah, ‘masters watch’. Sounds grand, but it was just me, standing in a dusty workshop, watching an old guy work with wood. But it did something. Made me slow down a bit. Made me appreciate the quiet focus needed to do something well. Didn’t fix everything, but it was a start. A good reminder.
