Are you giving yourself space to think?
Every successful business relies on ideas; some ideas will be new and innovative born from a moment of true inspirations, others will be a reaction to a crisis or sudden change in market. However they come about, they allow us to change and survive in difficult times – and even to prosper. So when was the last time you gave yourself some space to think?
Putting time in your schedule every month is a good start – and this is about discipline. Put a recurring appointment in your diary and stick to it. I allow an afternoon twice a month. It is the most valuable appointment in my diary.
How you spend this time is up to you but having some rules helps. My rules are simple but effective:
1) No phone calls – in or out.
2) No Tweeting – it can wait.
3) I can send an email about an idea but not read any emails.
4) Record everything – no matter how silly or impractical it seems.
5) Never cancel this appointment or cut it short.
Where you spend this time is key. Just sitting at your desk is not a good idea; familiar surroundings don’t always stimulate no-box-thinking and if you start with limitations you are never going to have those true light-bulb moments. I have two regular “me-time” venues; one outside and one in a local cafe that has a quiet corner overlooking the river. Both places are peaceful and private and neither is local to me – so I don’t meet lots of people and end up having coffee!
I always take four things with me:
A voice recorder which is more spontaneous than a keyboard.
A camera as what I see often triggers a train of thought.
A beautiful note book, reserved for these sessions.
Chocolate – well, that one was obvious – wasn’t it ?!
Giving yourself this time can feel like something you can’t afford in a busy schedule – but it is so easy to be busy. This time allows me to be effective – much more valuable to me and my business.
Plan your no-box-thinking time in your diary today – and please share your experiences with us here.
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Oh Dinah, very timely! A great reminder of what I always do, well mostly
You are spot on to remind us to find that thinking time, it’s creative and so necessary. Just because you are not in a conventional ‘business’ setting does not mean it isn’t quality time. I’ve just made plans and had great ideas out walking, in lovely surroundings.
Nice one Dinah! x
My goodness, Dinah – This is such an important nudge for me! And you hit the nail right on its head: I believed that being busy was the same as being effective. Your article showed me that one has little to with the other! I now see how making space for myself is actually another way of making friends with myself!
)
Have a had a de-clutter week this week – in mind, office, home etc…partly to do with a crucial GCSE year ahead for my eldest and wanted to be organised for me and him… it’s a therapeutic journey actually a bit of feng shui for the mind and soul! A bit like ‘nesting’ !! Love the idea of creating space – space is crucial for all creativity, thinking or otherwise and I already tell my contacts that I only check my emails twice a day. Love your other ideas Dinah…will add them to my list. Thanks!
Great post. I posted a question on our Facebook page last week about where people went to get good thinking done.
For me it’s cycling, the ideas seem to flow in when I’m out and about on my bike. I have a lot to write down when I get home… it can be hard to write whilst I’m cycling
Others talked about Fly Fishing, Gardening and walking. I think you’ve got to take time away from your regular work space and I totally agree about switching email, tweets etc off. If I leave them on I’ll get too distracted.
Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
I totally agree with being away from your desk for this, some of my best thinking time has been whilst sat in a hospital cafe or waiting room. I like the idea of booking a regular slot in the diary and a special notebook. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for the comments ladies, great to hear this is true for you. My thinking spaces often change in the autumn, and today I am exploring some new ones as the weather is on the turn. I love the colours of September and October and find this a very creative time of year for me.
Hope you are all making space to think this month.
Dinah x
[...] read a really good blog about thinking by Dinah Liversidge a little while back and promised myself that I would re-establish my old habit [...]
Great ideas! Good to have those moments alone.
Thought it interesting that you put your cat’s pic! lol I took a walk today and noticed a cat in someone’s front yard. It seemed to be going thru hypothermia. I would have taken him/her home, but I was not sure how to feed and take care of it, so I placed a piece of blanket swag around it that was laying on an outside rubbish container. Hated to see that, but the last time I let a cat in from the snow, she gave birth to a litter of 4 on my doorstep. Didn’t even know she was meowing because she was preggers. I gave that cat to a friend as my dog scared the bejesus out of her on our way out the next morning. He was a big Akita mix. Never seen a mama cat get so defensive. I guess the moment I had today had me wanting to run all the way back home to get all the tuna fish cans I had stocked up. My moments are more like “stories”. ‘Things that happen on the way to……’ Those types of tales.
Funny you mentioned a nice notebook. I’m the same way. Haven’t really done that since I was in France. It was a lot of fun to write poetry whilst sitting around various Parisian Cafes and the lovely fountains and parks that dot the city.
I like the recorder idea. I would use my cell phone, maybe take a pic. If it was my smartphone, I’d write my thoughts in a word doc file… so useful when trying to catch those fleeting moments.
Speaking of “space to think”. Am de-cluttering the work area as I type. Love your posts! Awesome energy… feels “uplifting”! =D
Cheers!! =)
BTW, if you are into books… THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron is a wonderful series for those creative (and non-creative types). You mentioned the “time allotment” and it made me think of her “writing pages”, moments where we ‘de-clutter’ our blocked thought patterns by just writing in stream of consciousness mode.
Thank you Lee
We have 3 cats and 2 dogs in our house – not much room left for the humans really ;o)
I always carry a beautiful notebook, and I do use the voice-recorder in the car a great deal. I love the way I can record a thought and let it go, safe in the knowledge I can play it back later.
Thank you for the suggestion on Julia Cameron’s book – will take a look on Amazon today. Do love de-cluttering and making space for new, positive things.
Dinah x
Great reminder Dinah, thank you. Some people do very little and others find it invaluable. I suspect it’s something that we all should do more of.
I find walking really helps, somewhere simple, pretty and obviously circular (specially if you’re discussing with somebody else). Country parks are really good, but my favourite used to be around three office blocks so it doesn’t have to be “pretty”.
The car (or train) works really well for me, and converts some journeys into something really useful A recorder is very useful. A few minutes prep for this one helps, jot down 2-3 starter points before the journey, the subconscious is great at filling them in while you concentrate on other things.