Stop, think and grow your business
Do you feel like you’re just going through the motions? Simon Wehr explains the importance of taking a break and letting your mind wander.
Running a small business can be challenging to say the least.
Further, these days people have become so obsessed with efficiency and time-management that we have lost the art of simply sitting quietly and pondering the challenges that face us on a day-to-day basis.
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Our results-driven culture has taught us to us feel guilty when we are not doing something that delivers a measurable return on investment when in actual fact, greater successes could be gained through the simple act of cultivating freethinking.
We have let our lives become too hectic. Never before have we been so time-poor and spread so thin. And yet for some reason, we continue to over-commit and allow ourselves to sacrifice the one asset we can never get back – our precious time.
The scary thing is that it seems almost impossible to avoid this scenario. Between the ever-increasing expectations of work, combined with the pressures of family and social life, our quiet thinking time seems to simply slip through our fingers.
Worse still, when we do have a few spare moments to ourselves, we are either checking emails or filling our brains with mind-numbing activities like social media. We have become so addicted to being constantly ‘plugged in’ that we have lost the ability to simply sit in silence and think about the things that are happening around us.
But the reality is that we do need time to think and if we don’t make the time to do it during the day, our brains will automatically do it at night. Have you wondered why you are finding it harder to sleep these days?
No matter what you do in life, spending time thinking openly and freely without any distractions will have a dramatic effect on your creativity, problem solving and overall productivity at work and at home.
Here are some simple steps that I do to help the process along:
1. LEARN TO BE ALONE
Have you ever noticed that you come up with some of the best ideas when you’re doing mundane tasks such as taking a shower, washing the car or mowing the lawn?
As you relax and start to daydream, your prefrontal cortex also relaxes, allowing you to have creative thoughts that your conscious mind would typically dismiss. With thoughts flowing freely, your mind can start to wander … and before you know it, you are coming up with brilliant ideas that you would never have had in your normal day. Learn to harness this time and embrace the opportunities it creates for you by learning to be alone with your thoughts.
And lose the iPod!
2. TURN OFF TECHNOLOGY
Do you find it difficult to leave technology alone? Be honest; are you picking up your smart phone at every free moment to look at your emails and post social media updates?
A recent study at Harvard found that 70% of people check their phones within an hour of getting up and 51% check it continuously during vacation. These are scary statistics, and indicative of the dependency epidemic that is stealing our freethinking time.
The problem is that when you’re always switched on and plugged in, your mind doesn’t get a chance to relax and daydream. Make a conscious effort to leave your phone alone and turn off technology for at least one hour each day (and that doesn’t mean while you’re sleeping). The world won’t end, opportunity won’t pass you by, people can and will wait … and who knows, you may just find it so liberating that you’ll want to do it more often.
3. DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE
Find a pastime or hobby that allows you the luxury of more freethinking time.
My thing is cycling, so I make sure I do at least two or three solo rides a week to process my thoughts and come up with creative ideas. For you, it could be fishing, bushwalking, running, golf or even something creative such as art or woodworking. Make the most of that time by allowing yourself to relax.
Some people try to control their thought process during this time but that doesn’t work. Get in the zone with what you are doing, switch off, relax and let your mind do the rest.
4. GET A LITTLE CRAZY
As I mentioned earlier, we have become so results-driven that we are obsessed with seeing a measurable return for our investment in time. The problem with this philosophy is that it quashes creativity and prevents new and exciting ideas from bubbling to the surface.
If you keep doing things the same way, you’ll keep thinking about things the same way. In other words, your brain will be like a scratched record, going over and over the same track, even in your subconscious.
Have you ever noticed that some of your best ideas have come during times when you have been doing something fun and exciting? Well you need to do more of it! Break your routine, let your guard down and get a little crazy.
If you are stuck in a thinking rut, do something that is totally out of character like going to an art gallery, museum or botanical garden for example. You will be amazed at how the simple act of strolling through a completely different environment that is filled with beautiful and inspiring things can impact your ability to think more openly and freely.
5. DON’T LOSE THAT THOUGHT
The biggest risk of freethinking and daydreaming is that great ideas can slip away as quickly as they came. Have you ever had an excellent thought only to lose it a few moments later?
If you were lucky, you were able to retrace the steps in your mind, allowing you to have the idea all over again. If not, well another great opportunity has slipped off into oblivion.
Sir Richard Branson says, “Anyone who aspires to lead a company must develop a habit of taking notes. I carry a notebook everywhere I go.”
Great words, from a great man!
I don’t keep a note pad, but I do keep track of my ideas on my phone either in voice recorder or notes. I also have a giant whiteboard in my office that I will use to jot down ideas as they come to me. I particularly like the latter, because the writing of one idea on a whiteboard often starts a creative thinking snowball that will lead to more ideas. It really doesn’t matter how you keep track of it, just don’t lose it.
English author Terry Pratchett once said, “The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.”
Never before has society been filled with so many things that would occupy our thoughts. The greatest ideas in history have not come from efficient processes, strict routine and structure, but through the simple act of letting one’s mind wander off into a journey of discovery and creativity. Don’t get me wrong, you still need traditional disciplines to run a successful business, but you also need equal measures of entrepreneurship and creative thinking to allow it to reach its full potential. Think about that.
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