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“The greatest enemy of good thinking is busyness.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell from his book, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't (or Won't) (p. 32). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

And that is so true, isn’t it?

John says, “And if you’re a mid-level leader in an organization, you may be among the busiest people in the organization. If you find that the pace of life is too demanding for you to stop and think during your workday, then get into the habit of jotting down the three or four things that need good mental processing or planning that you can’t stop to think about. Then carve out some time later when you can give those items some good think-time, which may have to be after work hours. You may want to spend thirty minutes at home thinking every day, or you may want to keep a running list of ideas for a whole week and then take a couple of hours on Saturday. Just don’t let the list get so long that tackling it disheartens or intimidates you.”

He goes on, “I encouraged readers in Thinking for a Change to have a place to think, and I wrote about the ‘thinking chair’ I have in my office. I don’t sit in that thinking chair without an agenda, just hoping that a good idea hits me. What I usually do is think about the things I’ve jotted down because I was too busy to think about them during a busy day. I take the list to my chair, put it in front of me, and give each item as much think-time as it needs. Sometimes I’m evaluating a decision I’ve already made. Sometimes I’m thinking through a decision I will have to make. Sometimes I’m developing a strategy. Other times I’m trying to be creative in fleshing out an idea.”

He then says, “I want to encourage you to try managing your thinking in this way. If you’ve never done it before, you will be amazed by the payoff. And know this: a minute of thinking is often more valuable than an hour of talk or unplanned work. When you create a plan when your head is clear, it clears your path to do your best work.”

Please, will you try to manage your thinking?  I’m sure you are busy, but will you try? 

Yes, yes!
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