Schedule time for…thinking?

Ben thinks about his business a lot. In the car while he’s driving. Sitting at his desk, staring out the window. He thinks while he reads inspiring books by 37Signals, Seth Godin, or Guy Kawasaki. Ben even thinks sometimes on the weekends while his kiddos are on the swings at the playground.

Many times during these informal thinking sessions, Ben is inspired. A great idea for moving the business forward hits him right between the eyes. He looks for a piece of paper, a napkin, anything to capture the idea before it goes away.

“When I get back to the office, I’ll do something with this idea! I’ll implement the new system, create the new product, and discuss this widget change with my staff! Awesome!” he thinks to himself as he stuffs the napkin or shred of paper with his precious idea into his pocket.

Think about it though…what happens to that note in Ben’s pocket?

It gets forgotten. Washed with the pants. Rarely to been seen or thought of again.

How can Ben change this informal thinking routine into something more structured, useful, and deliberate?

My advice: schedule your thinking time!

Seriously.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the quadrants – important, urgent, not important, not urgent. So much of our time is spent in the quadrants labeled “urgent.” Fires, emergencies, cranky customers, even our favorite customers get our time first.

Thinking time (the IMPORTANT but not URGENT work) gets consistently pushed to the back burner. This precious time is where our ideas flow freely. When we read interesting books that ask us to challenge the status quo. The time we’re relaxed, feeling loose, and seeing the possibilities. It’s a wonderful, open, and generous time.

So, if thinking time is so great, so useful, so necessary (you DO think it’s necessary, right?), how come we don’t schedule it? Why don’t we make it a priority?

This week, look at your schedule with new eyes. How many urgent, but not important, tasks are stealing your time, energy, and creativity?

Make a deal with yourself right now – pick a time during the week (yes, every week) where urgent things aren’t nipping at your heels. Schedule two hours to head out of the office for a walk with your notebook. Find your favorite coffee shop, the one with the comfy leather chairs and the quiet conversations happening around you. Bring that book you’ve been meaning to read. Bring your notebook – the one you’ve decided is the one that will serve as your idea repository.

Schedule those two hours each week and make the commitment to keeping those two hours sacred. Record your ideas, take them back to the office and implement at least ONE of them that you know will move your business forward. Implement that one idea that will make your processes better, more efficient, or that’ll save you money. Find the one idea that will delight your customers.

Soon, you’ll notice that you’re doing four new things a month. Track your changes over a period of time and you’ll quickly see how valuable that thinking time is.

Who knows… you might get crazy and schedule a whole day each week. Just image what might happen with your business if you did that…!

Uh-oh…can’t find two hours of thinking time? Do you find yourself stressed and worried about the business, your staff and your customers during that time?  MBS, Inc. can help you re-prioritize how you’re using time and help you delegate more effectively to your team. Let’s proactively carve out thinking time. You’ll be glad you did. Contact us at [email protected] or (704) 553-8082.