Time for an Intermission

In our book, Juggling Elephants, Jones Loflin and I talk about the importance of taking an intermission. Intermission is a chance for time away from the day to day. It is an opportunity to prepare for the next act. It is a time to reconnect with those you have been too busy to share your time with. What kind of intermission do you need right now?

• 15 minutes to clear your head, walk around the block, get some fresh air, and keep the blood pumping.

• 30 minutes to close your eyes and nap in the middle of a very full day of meetings.

• An evening to go to dinner, or a movie, or a walk. Just the two of you.

• A day off to work in your yard and clear out some flowerbeds - physical work rather than your usual mental work.

• A long weekend away. Solitude. A chance to read, think, plan, re-evaluate, set goals, sleep, relax, clear your head, walk, pray, listen, stretch, eat, be.

• A week of vacation with friends and family. A chance to make new connections, see new places and to remember why you work so hard.

Intermissions come in all shapes and sizes and should have different goals and intended outcomes. Plan them out. Block them out in your calendar. Look forward to them. Be spontaneous and take an “unplanned intermission” when you feel you really need one or when you feel like you don’t need one. You will come out relaxed, replenished and renewed.

Don't Worry

I woke up this morning to the Bob Marley song, “Don’t Worry About a Thing”.  Pretty simple lyrics repeated over and over.  The essence of the song, “Don't worry about a thing, 'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.”

What are you worried about?  Is your worry pushing you to do something or are you paralyzed as a result and afraid to move forward?  Are you using the initial concern to move you forward, to do something about the worry, to step out of yourself and do something positive?  Again, I like Bob’s attitude.  Every little thing gonna be all right.  It usually is.  Things work out.  

One of our favorite quotes in our home is, “Crisis + Time = Humor”.  Worry can be a waste.  Or, it can be a motivator to laugh and then achieve something new and powerful.  Maybe the first thing you should do is stop worrying?

Meetings with Purpose

Do you find yourself in recurring meetings that turn into the same ineffective meeting over and over and over where little is accomplished or decided?  You discuss the same topics, you rehash the same issues and then nothing is resolved, launched or progressed because you were inefficient and ran out of time.  So, the next meeting you try to remember what was discussed in the previous meeting, rehash the same information and try to come up with a solution again and again and again.  

Don’t hold meetings just to hold them.  Make sure that they have purpose, an agenda and desired outcomes.  Also be sure to leave the meeting with those outcomes or decisions documented.

Unproductive meetings are a huge time waster.  Having a purpose and working to achieve desired outcomes in a meeting can be an efficient tool – when done correctly.  Next time you have a meeting, at the conclusion ask, “What did we accomplish?”  If no one can answer the question, then you have some work to do. 

Dreaming

Instead of counting sheep to help me go to sleep at night, I like to daydream (night dream?).  It has been an effective way for me to forget the reality of life, calm my brain and help me sleep.  Call it a different type of meditation.  These daydreams are frivolous and far fetched.  Very little reality involved.  Candy for my brain.  

What kind of dreaming do you do?  Is it all brain candy?  Or, do you also do some deliberate dreaming?  Do you take the time to dream about what you want to do?  What you want to be?  What you want to accomplish?  I talk a lot about being intentional and feel that we also need to be intentional with our dreams.  Take some time to ponder what you want to achieve.  Write it down.  Sketch it out.  Create a collage of pictures to visualize it.  Tweak it.  Arrange it.  But then get to work on it.  

I just returned from a wonderful intermission (vacation) with my fabulous wife.  It was a great time to catch up and spend some time together walking and talking.  We took some time to dream about the next 10 years of our life and what we want to do.  It takes time to do this.  We came up with several drafts.  We started over a few times.  We rearranged it and are close to agreeing on it.  Once we agree on it, the fun begins as we work on it.  Our planning included work, our changing family, vacations, major purchases, home renovation, savings, and working towards retirement.  These were topics important to us.  It took a chunk of time just coming up with the topics.  Then we discussed scenarios.  It was so helpful just to talk and hear each other’s perspectives.  (As a side, perspectives change over time and you might be surprised to find your significant other’s views have changed since you last spoke.)

Take the time to dream.  Personally, with your partner, with your family, direct reports, boss, etc.  Dreams can and should turn into reality.  They should turn into goals and daily tasks.  Dreams shouldn’t be something that just help you get to sleep.

To Procrastinate or Not to Procrastinate. That is the Question!

Sorry Mr. Shakespeare.  But for me, that is a question that I believe we should be asking ourselves every day.  Do we put off doing something because we are lazy or because it is hard or intimidating?  Or, do we put it off because it is not the “best” thing for us to be focusing on right now?  It is passive procrastination versus active procrastination.  Being intentional about what you do and what you don’t do can determine what you be-come and what you don’t be-come.