A Handful of Tips 58 – Thinking Time

The best five tips on ways to think and plan

The way you think determines the way you act and  the way you act will decide not only your future but also the future of your business.

Thinking time is essential for solving problems and hatching new ideas. Good ideas need to be well thought through – they need ‘incubation time’.

1. Get organised

If you set up good communication systems and learn to delegate certain jobs to others, you will have time to read and think.

Decide to set aside this precious time and guard

it intensely.

2. Find a quiet place to get away from distractions

Inform assistants you do not want to be disturbed.

Avoid interruptions.

3. Turn off your personal communication devices

Transfer telephone calls to an assistant.

Refrain from reading emails. (Emails should be read and answered at specific times, not when you get bored.)

4. If possible, plan your “thinking time” the previous day

On the day, arrive at work early before the other workers. It is amazing how much you will achieve in your first hour. Do your urgent work first, then slow down and relax.

Concentrate on problems, the plans and the people.

5. Make use of your travel time

Travelling gives you time to think.

Visiting different environments lets you to see things through new eyes, gives you new ideas and a new perspective.

-Geoffrey

“We all have one thing in common – a 24 hour day. It’s how we use that time that makes the difference.”

Source:“Time-Savers”, Moss Associates Ltd, New Zealand and “Time Management Secrets” Cengage Learning Asia, Singapore. Also available as an E-book from Amazon.com.