Several months ago my friend Bill Bellet sent me the following comment:
Many struggle with typical planning methods because the effort requires sorting through so many ideas & logistics leading to information overload & difficulty achieving a macroscopic/integrated overview that captures everything.
At the time I thought to myself, wow that’s silly, isn’t it easy to dive into planning, being long-sighted, rather than short-sighted, rolling up your sleeves and getting to work. The context of Bill’s comments were to recommend my team building program, so I was happy. But I didn’t personalize the dilemma…..until last week. I’ve been traveling a bit lately and last Wednesday I had my sight set on my office, more specifically my desk.
But something peculiar was going on. Every time I began to face my desk I found a distraction and turned away, much like a kid not wanting to face a monster. My work seemed like a pile of weeds and I have never liked to garden.
By mid-afternoon I hadn’t done much productive and while viewing the Kidbilly Music Youtube channel I came across Bill’s comments noted above. Aha, I thought. I’ve become my own potential client.
And so I took the advice I often give my team building clients while I’m explaining ways to create and develop ideas and creativity – one lil’ ole’ step at a time.
The rest of that Wednesday was fairly easy. I spent about an hour in reflective mode, sitting in a comfortable chair thinking about what I wanted to accomplish during the next month, what had to be done and what could be done. Then I left my office….gave myself downtime. Yes, after coming back from traveling I actually gave myself additional downtime because I knew my emotional feeling of being overwhelmed would prevent me from being productive that day.
On Thursday, I was back at my desk early, with clarity, calm and efficiency.
I don’t view Wednesday as a wasted day. Sometimes the best way to face the crowded desk is to turn away, make room for reflection, strategy, and creativity. Now you’ll only have to convince your boss!
I hope you’ll browse our site to find out more about creativity, innovation and next-generation team building.
Billy Kirsch