Consider Trying Quiet Time
The other day I mentioned on Twitter that the “in-between” time where you are in a waiting pattern can be the most non-productive. @pinwheelgirl shared her perspective and it inspired this post. To see our conversation, take a look at the picture to the right. The most recent comment is on top and historical follows.
Do you experience quiet time? Do you experience thinking or “percolating” time? Non-activity time?
Business owners need quiet time to reflect and think. To be a visionary, you can't be going all of the time. Sometimes professionals think they need to be go-go-going in order to be productive. In fact, if you are going all of the time and not thinking, you are not as productive as you could be.
I'm sure that you have heard that in order for your business to be successful that you need to spend time working “ON” your business, not “IN” your business. Do you make sure you do that?
Schedule some “percolating” time today. 🙂
What do you do? Are ideas “percolating” during your in-between times, or do you have thinking time in another way?
To your easy and joyful success!
Stephanie
P.S. Let this settle and notice what is true for you. Every moment offers the opportunity to create the life you want with grace, ease, and joy. Let me know when you’re ready to explore possible next steps.
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DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS POST DOES NOT CONSTITUTE BUSINESS ADVICE. NO RELATIONSHIP, INCLUDING ADVISOR/CLIENT, HAS BEEN FORMED AS A RESULT OF THIS POST.
Allowing percolating time for me was hard at first. For anything. But it is so necessary. Now I give myself quiet time in the morning and evening to just be quiet and grateful. ideas flow during those times and my productivity increased.
Cathy –
It was hard for me when I first started as well. Do you have anything specific you have done to make sure that the quiet time happens?
Car time … but as I do more by telephone I’ll need a new method! Car time is when nobody can reach me unless I want them to. Like a bubble I own.
Sue –
I know a number of people that use their car time as quiet time. I often do as well. At one point I switched to using my phone more on the road, but ultimately, I found that I was not as focused (plus I couldn’t take notes) as I would like, so I keep my conversations dedicated to the office most of the time. Before you lose that quiet time, make sure you have an alternative. It is so important!
Hi Steph! How cool is this that I inspired a post! Wow! Thank you for including me!
I have to admit that quiet time is one of the most rich and ripe times for me, as I said in my tweet. So much is “percolating” — sometimes I refer to it as “forming, storming and norming” — and a lot is really working its way through and out. I find that my creativity and productivity is not necessarily one constant steady stream of output — it’s more like fits and starts with periods of fallow time, quietness, and not much “giving.” I have come to see that it is in the quiet time that so much under the surface is actually seeding. If I dampen the quiet times in my life and focus only on a constant “do, do, do” attitude I eventually have nothing left to offer. Thanks for writing this post as a great reminder for all!
Hi Kendra – Thanks for coming over and sharing your perspective here too. Productivity is often misunderstood by people as constant action and I do talk of action quite a bit here on the blog. For some, they spend too much time in fear and do not take action. However, the reverse is also often true – especially with business owners – of acting too much, constantly DOing. Just because we are constantly on the move and doing does not mean we are productive.