A couple of weeks back I talked about how reframing your day in some way can help you bring a fresh perspective to your work.
That post was about giving yourself a nudge to get out of the rut of your daily routine.
Today’s message is related, but not the same.
This is about finding a place and time to think about the bigger issues. It’s about addressing and answering questions like:
– Where will my business be a year from now?
– What is working really well in my business, and what isn’t?
– Do I have skills or assets I’m not taking advantage of?
– Are there other streams of revenue I could create for myself?
And so on. These, and other questions like them, are essential to the future of your business.
The trouble is, these bigger questions are very hard to address when you are sitting at your desk and staring at your monitor. Your desk draws your attention to what is important right now – today’s phone calls and tomorrow’s tasks.
In other words, your desk is simply the wrong place for when you want to look at the bigger picture.
For myself, I tend to let my mind wander over the bigger issues while I’m out kayaking. And yes, I’m hugely fortunate in that there is a river at the end of my garden. So I can get out on the water pretty much at any time. (Excluding the winter months, as I live in Montreal!)
Once I’m out on the water I am not only physically far removed from my desk, I’m mentally removed as well. No email, no social media, no phone. Just me, my kayak and the open water.
It’s by disconnecting myself from my day-to-day work that I am able to view the bigger picture and ask the more interesting questions.
Come to think of it, when I made the decision to move from print copywriting to online writing, I was stand on a boat off the coast of Monterey, California. It was a whale-watching tour, but the weather was terrible, so I was one of only four or five people on the boat, and the only one standing outside.
For me, it looks like I do my best and biggest thinking while out on the open water.
How about you? Where do you do your own “big” thinking? And don’t tell me you do it at your desk, because I won’t believe you.
Big thinking needs distance.
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About the author: Nick Usborne is an online writer, copywriter, author and coach. Read more…