If nothing else, the past few months have caused many of us to slow down.  I’ve found myself scrambling to save our business, yet with a calendar that is void of many of the commitments and events that used to fill it.  I’ve spent less time commuting and meeting face to face, and more time exercising and reading.  Breakfast with the kids and family dinners are now almost a daily occurrence as opposed to once a week.  The conversations I’ve had with family, friends and acquaintances have been more meaningful than ever.  And the potentially most valuable thing that has come from slowing down has been the time I’ve spent allowing myself to think.

I saw a sign the other day that said; “Time spent thinking about doing something takes away the time you have to actually do it.”  Pre-COVID I probably would have said; “Yep that’s right, let’s get shit done!”  But seeing it now made me pause and question if that’s really the best advice.  I don’t want to downplay the importance of taking action, but I do think we need to highlight the importance of time in thought.  Many of us rush from one thing to the next, packing our schedules to give us a sense of accomplishment.  We measure ourselves by how much we squeeze into a day and wear it like a badge of honor.  A friend of mine, Julia Gentry told me; “Busy is the new drug” and it’s so true.  That adrenaline rush we get from alerts, moving at a fast pace, checking things off a list and the instant gratification that comes with immediate responses, prevents us from slowing down and allowing ourselves time to just think. It’s important that we take time to sit quietly with our own thoughts, not those of others’ that show up in our social media feeds or on the news. 

I realize that time in thought may feel like a waste of time and if you’re taking a short term view of the future, it probably is.  But if you are really trying to do meaningful work that will change your long term outlook, you will start to see that a step back is what you need to take two steps forward. In contrast to the quote above, Warren Buffet said:

“I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day to just sit and think.  That is very uncommon in business.  I do more reading and thinking and make less impulse decisions than most people in business.”

The problems I’m currently faced with solving are new to me and challenges I never dreamed of having to tackle.  They require a lot more thought since I don’t have a historical frame of reference to look back on, and the consequences of a poor impulse decision are severe.

So, if you haven't given yourself permission to spend time just thinking, I challenge you to make it happen starting today.  Time in thought is our mind’s opportunity to assess how we feel about things going on in our lives and to recharge.  It gives us clarity on who we are and who we want to be.  We gain a heightened level of creativity, we become more innovative, and we are better able to respond when put on the spot or faced with a crisis.  Time in thought can bring us a level of much needed peace in our lives and allow us to make a bigger impact - which is a much better measurement for life than how busy we are.

*Each week I share a leadership message with our team and we are honored to share it with you via MIBE Tribe.  MIBE (the acronym for Make It Better Everyday) Tribe delivers education on heart leadership and intentional culture building for the hospitality industry.