Having worked as both a HR and OD professional and in consultancy for many years, I understand the importance of clear communication, quality documentation and supporting people well. This could be in the development of a communication plan, an organisational change paper or a policy rewrite/ development. Explaining complex issues in clear and straight forward language helps processes run smoothly and employees feel understood and assured.

Sometimes there are areas of insight the a business would like to explore further, or gauge how a change of approach might support improving culture. Below is an example article that I wrote around the importance of thinking time and how taking a step back from an issue might actually be beneficial.

Thinking time

Modern life eats into thinking time, people become overwhelmed and end up in a tailspin. From

worrying about mortgages, supporting the challenges your staff face, becoming side-lined, whatever

it might be.

People often say they don’t have the time to think. There is a modern-day perception that thinking

time is somehow wasted time, or that it does not have any critical value. There are many historical

examples (whether you believe them to be true or not!) where the best ideas have arisen from that

time that we don’t give attention to. Simply pausing, taking the time to reflect, plan and ponder

helps us to make sense of complex issues and identify longer term solutions. When we enter this

mindset, we move from simply reacting to strategizing.

Not convinced?

Many of you will recall from your school science lessons, Archimedes leaping from his bathtub and

running down the street shouting Eureka! at the top of his voice. Perhaps one of the great scientific

discoveries for accurately measuring mass and volume arrived at whilst having a nice relaxing bath.

Isaac Newton, a mathematician, arrived at the universal theory of gravity not, as legend would have

it, by an apple falling on his head. It was true however, that due to the plague (the only point I will

mention anything close to pandemic, promise!) his school had been closed and this created some

down time at home. It was in the orchard of his fathers’ farm that he arrived at this theory.

We should not relegate the benefit of thinking time to history, however. Many of us have hectic lives

which are difficult to switch off from and must deal with constantly competing priorities. There are

plenty of modern-day examples of people achieving phenomenal success where these principles are

applied. Bill Gates, a moderately successful computer programmer, is well known to take up to two

weeks uninterrupted thinking time out of each year to consider the direction of his company and

reflecting on his current position. That’s the multi-billionaire Bill Gates.

You may be wondering what people are doing with this thinking time. Of course, if the benefit is all

of us having just a tiny bit of the success that the like of Gates and Warren Buffet have achieved,

then it warrants some further investigation. There is a purpose and structure to thinking time and it

is not as simple as just chilling out for a bit. It is a practised habit and approach to dealing with our

workplace issues and getting the best out of ourselves every day.

We must first learn to dispel the common myth that only by being active are we doing something

valuable and by converse the outward appearance of inactivity is not useful or productive at all. The

truth is, much of how you use this time is up to you, because everyone’s brain operates differently.

For many people the best place to start is with the space you are occupying. Perhaps it’s about

getting out of the office, or the house and certainly away from the technology. Going for a walk or a

swim are also common ways for people to actively think. Some people find it useful to keep a

notepad handy so they can write down the things that pop into their head. Probably best not to try

the notepad when swimming though! Next, it may be useful to start with concentrating on just one

single issue or problem that you are facing. This will allow you to focus for a short period and not be

distracted by the wider things going on around you. Take the time to measure the impact, reflect on

what you learned and how you dealt with the problem. You may well be surprised by your

conclusions, and it is worth highlighting those surprising moments. Remember these are small steps

on retraining yourself to work differently and don’t be too hard on yourself if it doesn’t appear to

achieve much straight away. It will take time to adapt and build your skills like in any other activity.

Other more involved activities may be things like engaging a coach who is objective to your issues

and concerns and can help you to find ways to unravel the complexities of the issues you are dealing

with. Thinking time is about focussing on specific tasks without distraction, so you can engage your

brain in creating order, and developing new ideas. There are some excellent resources available

through the leadership academy website which support this methodology.

So how long do you need? This really can vary from person to person - typically it is useful to start

with just fifteen minutes or so. Close the laptop, put down the pen and start thinking! It may be

difficult to get used to at first. There may be nagging doubt at the back of your mind thinking you are

just slacking off or worry about other peoples’ perception. This is normal and, if it helps there is

some serious science behind it to help alleviate any worries you may have.

It starts with understanding your brain and how it functions. John Dewey, the philosopher, and

teacher states we don’t learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.

This is what you are doing. You are reflecting on all the things you have learned. Imagine your brain

as a filing cabinet, having created many thousands of documents throughout the day, you need to

find a way of putting them in order and making sense of them all. You need time to be creative.

An obvious question comes next, asking me whether I apply this in my own role. I can be honest and

say not as much as I would have liked. A lot of what we do in staff culture and experience requires

forward planning and thinking about what interventions can have the biggest impact on the widest

number of people who work for us. If you want to know how it went, this article arrived out of taking

some time away to think about how we could integrate this approach.

Deep thinking is not wasted time, you are not doing nothing. In fact, you are working hard and

learning. Making regular time to reflect on events rather than merely reacting to them is the

hallmark of an agile worker and an effective leader. Why not put fifteen minutes in your diary this

week and see if you can find your own Eureka moment?