Here is the big topic of discussion in our house right now. .... My husband & I are constantly talking about leaving space in our schedules to think and reflect.
Our brains and our schedules are overloaded.
He is feeling the need for thinking time as he gets busier as a business leader. He can get so involved in day to day activities that he needs time to step back and think about the business. I am well aware as someone who is an entrepreneur and a creative that space must be left to connect with inspiration and creativity. I understand why my husband is starting to see the need for space to just think. It is a must for growth & creativity. We both keep busy schedules and we both realize taking time will have a greater, positive more powerful effect. Of course, as luck would have it, I recently finished a book called Focus by Daniel Goleman where he addressed this exact idea. The book cover is below. It is a good read to demonstrate how we are losing focus in our lives and how to get it back. As he expressed.... "Open time lets the creative spirit flourish; tight schedules kill it."
-Daniel Goleman, Focus
A very true statement. Add on the other layer we are all dealing with.... Covid lurking in our communities. As a result, we have university students learning online where I hear professors teaching from a laptop on the dining room table. Needless to say our schedules, our houses and our minds can get really messy and noisy. Carving out time is essential. I thought I would share some of the ways I create space in my schedule: 1) Find the best part of your day or week. Mornings are my best shot at creating space. I get up earlier than the family to either workout, journal, or meditate. This is one sure fire way to get this precious time to think about my life & business. It is also when I am the freshest & most productive. When is your greatest opportunity? 2) Batching - I free up space and my mind by finding things in my schedule that I can batch. For example, I batch my podcast recordings of Soul Sister Conversations and I even batch family suppers when I can. It amazingly frees up mental space. A clutter free mind streams creativity more easily.
3) Micro habits: I have a big reading goal for 2021. They way I am going to achieve that is by doing a little consistently. Perhaps creating a micro habit of daydreaming at lunch time with a notepad to capture ideas or taking 15 minutes before you go to bed to jot down ideas about a particular idea you have. Do not discount small amounts of time. They compound! If you like Netflix, there is a documentary on Bill Gates called Inside Bill's Brain. What I found interesting is the time he dedicates to reflection to solve problems. He will take one week alone in a cabin in the woods with a bag of books. He reads and reflects. He needs this space as he is trying to solve some large world problems! Have you seen it? I am curious ... has this idea of just needing time been on your mind? How do you make space in your schedule? What works for you?