“I don’t have enough time to think” is a common concern among many leaders I work with.
Many use productivity strategies to try and address it. Better diary management, having shorter meetings or being more disciplined with emails, better prioritisation etc.
All aim to create space in the diary. However, it could be argued that the more productive we become, the more space we make to ‘do’ more instead of thinking more.
But, what if we adopted a different approach?
What if, instead of worrying about how much time we had to think, we broke our thinking down, to fit into the time we had available?
Sometimes we treat thinking like a big meal that needs to be ‘finished’ in one sitting. However, thinking can be more like a ‘cognitive snacks’. Smaller, shorter and easier to fit within the gaps and opportunities available.
So, let’s test this out. Set yourself a time limit of 2 minutes and see where the following thinking can take you.
Step 1: Reimagine
● “If only I could…{insert your answer}.... that would mean…{insert your answer}
Step 2: Reflect
● “What’s stopping me from doing it right now?”
● “What’s the biggest question I need to answer?”
● “Where could I start?”
Step 3: Resolve
● What have I learnt?
#problemsolving#curlycalm&curious