It's true: I do some of my best thinking on my bike. Or while swimming laps. Or sitting on a snowy chairlift during a powder day. And one of the great advantages of workshifting is, I can do all those things while I'm supposed to be working--because, while I'm doing them, I usually am working.Here's the thing: Most of us don't spend enough time thinking at work, at least not about work. We spend plenty of time doing things, or asking others to do things. We spend plenty of time procrastinating, and thinking about other things (like what to have for lunch, or who to invite to our child's first birthday party). We certainly spend plenty of time talking, discussing, reviewing, brainstorming and otherwise "meeting." But we really don't spend much time at all just thinking. And that's a problem, because the only way any of us can come up with new, better ideas is to think about them.
But then again, the fact that we don't think nearly enough is not really surprising. After all, with the exception of highly-trained academics, who among us can really think while sitting in an office chair, staring at the wall? No--don't check your e-mail, don't tweet, don't post a status update to Facebook ("I'm trying to think!"), don't check your favorite web sites for news and information... just sit there and think. It's pretty much impossible.
On the other hand, there's not much to do but think when you're riding a bike for an hour, or swimming back and forth in a pool, or staring into deep, drifting snow banks from 15 feet up. And that's why I consider my time out of my office chair to be some of my most productive. I use it to analyze new research data, to formulate ideas for client presentations and PowerPoint slides, to evaluate where vendors and markets are and where they're going, and, yes, even to come up with ideas for blog posts.
Of course, there are downsides to thinking on the go. For one thing, there's no guarantee that the ideas that pop into your head will be work related. For that, you need to focus on business--I've gotten pretty good at it, and I liken it to yoga, where you try to clear your mind of everything but your mantra. In this case, you're clearing your mind of everything but the business topic at hand. Also, there's usually no way to write down your ideas, so you have to get good at remembering them on the fly. That, too, takes discipline and practice, but the skill is one I've found useful in many other areas of my life, so I'm happy to hone it.
The great thing about work shifting is, most of us can sneak out of the "office" for an hour of uninterrupted thought. But don't feel guilty about it--you're probably being more productive than your cubicle-bound colleagues. And, you're getting some exercise, to boot!
Where do you do some of your best thinking?
Photo by: mtsofan
