How to Get the Most Out of Your Thinking
ow that we have looked at the importance of thinking and the types of thinking now it is time to talk about the nuts and bolts of thinking.
1. Find a place to think
This may go without saying but you need a place where you can think without interruption. It may be a room in your house, it could be hidden away spot near your office or it could be a café. It doesn’t matter where it is a long as you have a place to think where there are no interruption. One of my favorite places to think is when I am mowing the lawn. I also like to just take the time when I get to my office before anyone gets there and before I start my computer to just sit in silence and think. Wherever works for you, make sure that you go there and think.
2. Set aside time every day to think
This is probably the most difficult aspect of thinking. Life is so busy that it almost seems counter intuitive to take time out and just think. However, taking time to think every day could very well be the most valuable part of your schedule and to-do list. How do you do that? Let me give you two ideas. One, find the time of the day when you are the sharpest. It may be first thing in the morning or just before lunch or before you go to bed. For me it is after I drop the kids off in the morning before I start my day. Second, schedule the time. You need to put it on your calendar so when people ask, you can tell them, “I am not available at that time.” You need to be intentional about carving out the time to think. My experience has shown that my day goes much better when I take that time to think.
3. Capture your thoughts
There isn’t as much value in thinking if you don’t have a place to capture the thoughts that come to mind. If you are anything like me, some thoughts are very fleeting and I forget them if I don’t write them down. And so any time that I do my focused thinking, I make sure that I have something close by with which capture those thoughts. If you are more technologically savvy and electronic devices don’t distract you, you might use something like Evernote to type in your thoughts and categorize them so you are able to find them at another time. Whatever you use to capture your thoughts, make sure you have an organizing system so that you are able to find those thoughts later.We are all unique in what gets our thinking juices flowing. But as leaders we must be thinkers. Don’t think you have to be perfect in the place or the time of your thinking. Just like any other skill, thinking takes development. However, don’t put it off any longer. Just do it.
Conversation
Where are those places and times you think the best?
What are some ways that you capture the thoughts that you have?