Over Labor Day, I went to San Francisco for a weekend away, prepared for the “coldest winter ever spent is a summer in San Francisco”, and it turned out with record-setting temperatures over 100 degrees! Thus, after doing a walking food tour in the thick of the heat on Saturday in the Mission District, I thought my first visit to Muir Woods might provide some relief on Sunday, and it did. Muir Woods was beautiful and calm. It can be a great way to get away from the rat race by going somewhere where you can hear the babbling brooks and be a small speck with the majestic trees. Are you able to get away where you can hear beyond conversations, traffic, phones at the like?
One tip to implement this week:
How often would a day – or even an hour – away to a place where you can hear yourself think be valuable? I find that most of your BEST ideas show up when you empty your mind. Unfortunately for us, we try to force them to come out when we are in brainstorming sessions, talking with our manager or on the phone with a key customer, and they are not likely to play by our tune. Instead, when we least expect the amazing idea, it shows up.
Have you ever kept working because you had to finish a critical project or report but the information just wouldn’t come out? 30 minutes away, whether on a walk, playing with the dog or escaping into a TV show might do wonders. If you are at work, you could walk to the other end of the building to check in on someone you haven’t seen in quite a while or you could go to the conference room or empty office and think. It doesn’t have to be elaborate to be effective. Give it a try, and let me know how it goes.
September 8, 2017