Monday Musings - Time To Think

So, this week’s Monday Musings is coming to you on a Tuesday! Mainly because it was a Bank Holiday and also because I took the time yesterday to do what I want to talk about today!

I spent a wet and windy Bank Holiday Monday decluttering my office! John and I have decided that it’s time to make changes to the way we work. Our focus shifted a couple of years ago from building a business to creating the life we want, and it’s something I encourage my clients to do, so yesterday was a clear out day of all the stuff we are not going to need moving forward.

It was not only cleansing and empowering, but it also gave us time to do something else that entrepreneurs don’t make time to do…

Clients often tell me that they get frustrated as they’re not achieving the success they desire and there’s often a very good reason for this,

You see, there’s a secret time bomb ticking away in lots of businesses. It can be quite subtle but it is definitely sabotaging everything - and it takes its toll in many different ways.

As business owners we have to do a heck of a lot of stuff. We face opposition, we experience rejection and disappointment and we resolve problems in far greater quantities than normal people who have jobs. Our need to be ‘on it’ all the time is much greater than it is for most people – because we have to do a lot more stuff.

As a result, we are always very busy. Hugely so. And good though that is – we’d all rather be busy than quiet – it means that it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of perpetual busy-ness and when that happens, what also occurs is that we lose the time to think.

‘Thinking time’ is an absolute pre-requisite for anyone who aspires to sustained super-success. But lots of business owners don’t have enough, or don’t have it at all.

Thinking time is time to think, time to gain perspective. Time to look beyond the immediate problems or challenges and take stock. And modern life makes it harder than ever to get this time. Mobile phones always with us and on, emails checked twenty times a day and TikTok, Instagram and Facebook taking too many spare minutes.

The result of all this is that attention spans are reduced, listening skills compromised and clear thought difficult to come by. 

Being instantly or constantly available to your customers or employees does not make you more effective.  In fact, it’s more likely to make you much less effective. And it stops you thinking.

No-one can think properly, formulate ideas and communicate really well if they are under constant day-to-day pressure. 

We spend most of our time being reactive to stuff because we don’t have time to step away, think and respond in a more positive way.

We all need to find time to think!

Thinking time that is free of interruptions. (Trust me when I say my teens won’t be interrupting me when I’m sorting out the office – I may ask them to do something!!)

Walking the dog is another source of thinking time.

Or maybe an evening stroll with a partner of friend.

It doesn’t matter how or where you find the time but you do need to be regularly thinking about your business – away from the dreaded ‘day-to-day’.

Stop being a slave to email.

Turn off the mobile phone now and again.

Take a long walk with a loved one.

Have a coffee with a friend.

A long soak in the bath or pottering round the garden.

Use social media like you drink alcohol. (In moderation).

Reclaim some thinking time. To reflect. To process. To see clearly.

Without it, you’re almost certainly sabotaging your future profits. All the best ideas we’ve had have come from taking time out doing ordinary things.

So, pop some ‘thinking time’ doing something you enjoy in your diary this week, you’ll feel so much better for it!