Welcome to innovators

It's the paradox of our time. According to a recent study, overworked and stressed-out executives are spending little or no time thinking about the future of their companies - and, by implication, their lives.

Devoting several hours of uninterrupted time per week to thinking, reflection and creative problem-solving offers numerous benefits:

• It deepens the spiritual part of us that often gets overlooked during the "busy-ness" of our everyday lives.
• It allows us to consider our opportunities and challenges, goals and dreams - away from.
• It frees us from needless worry and allows us to focus on more constructive pursuits. It's been said that successful people have as many problems as anyone else. What gives them such tremendous leverage over their lives is a simple, systematic method for analyzing and solving their problems.
• It's fun! There's nothing else like the "a-ha!" experience of creative illumination. It's equally satisfying to dissect a problem or challenge, only to realize that a simple solution lay hidden within it all along.

The lesson for us is clear: we can't do our best work while careening from one jam-packed day to the next. Like an artist creating an oil painting, we must take a few steps back from the canvas of our lives, to assess all of our activities and accomplishments - the individual brush strokes of our lives - from a wider, more holistic perspective.

While we can rarely afford to take the scenic route like the great artists and thinkers of the past, we can dedicate one or two hours per week to creative thinking and problem-solving time. For best results, block out two to three one-hour time slots on your calendar first, then try to schedule other priorities around them. Treat these appointments with yourself as seriously as you would any other key meeting. Make them a habit-knit part of your life, and you'll be astounded by the results.

Courtesy:

Take time "to think time" by Chuck Frey