A Walk in the Park

As the weather warms up, your eyes may wander more often towards the window and the bright sunshine and azure blue skies. When my brain refuses to focus and problems clog up my thought process I take a walk through the park and let the ideas free fall. There is something about the fresh air, bright sunshine, green spaces and exercise that together release something in my head; allowing my thoughts to start to take shape again.

If you are reading this and thinking that such an activity would be seen as a waste of time in your office, consider this, how much time do you waste whilst in the office? Try releasing some time and giving yourself some space for quality thinking.

Here are some ideas:

1. Tidying the email in box - do you really need to read all of your emails! Learn to keep only the important stuff in your inbox and introduce sub files for other emails. Emails which are sent to everyone and not tagged as URGENT should not be top of your reading list! 
2. Not attending all the meetings you are invited to - when did you last kick back and say no to a meeting, be more picky!
3. Train others to respect your thinking time, it is ok to ask people if their interruption is urgent and if not then suggest you talk later.
4. Take the urgent reads on a walk with you. Often if you escape from your desk you get less interruptions and more quality time to think, also every interruption requires you to take time to refocus to get started again. The less interruptions you allow, the less time you will need to get the job done. Also remember that you don't have to be at your desk to be working effectively!
5. Take a colleague with you and bounce ideas as you walk. It is amazing how two people can resolve problems when they are walking and all other distractions are removed.

Now get out your walking shoes and off you go!