The more successful we are, the more pressing this question becomes.
How do I find focus-think-reflect-get organized time when there simply never is ENOUGH time?
For many of us, time is our most precious commodity. And on any given day there never seems to be as much as we would like.
I have a 30-minute proposition for you. Think of it as luxury time .
I cannot take credit for this term. Last week I received an email from Morris Baxter, the European GM for a US-based Fortune 500 company. Morris is a member in one of my Mastermind Groups. Morris and I have been communicating a lot. In this email he describes a new morning habit that is serving him well. Luxury time. Morris’ term.
A few weeks ago, Morris writes, I changed my start of the day so I can take roughly 30 minutes after enjoying my breakfast to check what is popping up on my own internal radar screen. Or I go through last night’s emails which come in from US colleagues, with some extra slowness. These are 30 minutes of pure luxury. They calm me down before my daily race begins.
Pure luxury. To check our internal radar screen. To create the space for doing so.
For a little while now I have been more open to those little signals around me which want to tell me something, Morris elaborates. I was a bit worn out for a good six months after switching jobs and finishing my MBA at the same time. I didn’t see these little signs anymore.
Luxury time. Leadership wisdom. Let’s connect a few dots.
When we barrel through our days without reflection time, our decisions become primarily transactional. Rushed. At times just fine. More often than not, routine and uninspired.
The internal radar screen - that’s where unexpected and surprising insights originate.
The little signals – they’re what Buddhists call prajna wisdom. A way of deeper knowing that shows up in the form of signals. An inner voice. A strong hunch. A symbolic interpretation of a seemingly random cue. Sometimes, quite literally, a sign.
These signals talk to us all the time. We like to ignore them with persistent willfulness.
No time.
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No way can I take 30 minutes in the morning and just do nothing. I have too much on my plate already!
I hear you. I get it. But let us be clear: Morris is like you and me. He never has enough time. Nobody gave Morris luxury time. He claimed it.
Here’s the beautiful paradox.
Luxury time facilitates a better jog through the daily race.
It keeps us centered.
We notice the little wisdom signals. Notice them when they come from others and when they come from within.
We make better decisions.
I know you know.
So really, why are you NOT claiming your luxury time?
Dump the story that you don’t have time for luxury time. Go ahead, claim it. Experiment. See what happens.
And don’t negotiate this time away.