It’s A Wise Thing To Think Of Nothing For A While

I was inspired by a recent article in the Plain Dealer, It’s A Wise Thing To Think Of Nothing For A While.

Do you schedule “thinking time?” For me, that’s the time when I reflect on where I am, envision where I want to be, and plan how to get there. Sometimes that planning is for the short term (today or this week), frequently it’s for the medium term (this month or year), and every so often it’s for the very long term (several years or longer).

In our crazy busy calendars, this often gets lost. One symptom is that we get driven by random events, and lose any ability to stay on any course. Early in my career, I worked with a mentor who had recently taken on her first executive role at a Fortune 100 company. After several months of whiplash, she explained to me that her priority for the coming year was “to take control of her calendar.” She built in unscheduled thinking time, and also worked to become better at delegating and letting go.

For most of my career I have blocked off an hour or two each week for thinking time. I usually call this “Computer Maintenance” on my calendar, and occasionally I do use it for backups, virus checking, deleting my old email, etc. But mostly I use it for thinking. However, my best thinking is almost always while I’m sitting in the balcony at Severance Hall or on the lawn at Blossom, listening to the Cleveland Orchestra. I’ve invested thousands of dollars in tickets, but more than made it back with better ideas for work.

Everything in moderation applies here. A little time thinking of nothing is great. But don’t try this all the time!

What is the right amount of thinking time for you? How do you make sure that time doesn’t get taken over by something more urgent? Where do you think best? And what are some great ideas that have come to you there and then?