Interesting article on BBC about how people need time to think and how people at the top (using Barack Obama and David Cameron as example) see this as a major obstacle to achieving their optimum effectiveness. It goes on to list some pointers that will help you get your thoughts together, namely:
- Choose your moment. No more lunching “al desko”
- Choose your location. It doesn’t have to be atop a mountain
- Have your props at hand. Aristotle or Moyles?
- Give yourself less to think about. Your mobile has an “off” switch
- Have the desire to think. You can get it if you really want
I think I’m quite lucky in that I have a 10-15 minute walk to work every morning and that helps me put my thoughts together to prepare for the day. Walking back home also helps me put those thoughts to rest so I can enjoy my home time. I also get to spend some time at the gym regularly and between bouncing on the treadmills and trying to pump iron, I do get some quality thinking time.
Read the whole article here. There’s a pretty interesting comment thread following it too. What about you? When do you get your thinking time?