Tag Archive for: Thinking

Don’t just do something, sit there!

“Don’t just do something, sit there!”- is a phrase I have stumbled across several times recently.

It’s extremely difficult NOT to do something these days. In the frenetic pace of life, whether it is a work task, an urgent assignment, homework, something needs fixing, the school run – taking time to “sit there” and think, rarely (if ever) tops the list of things to do.

We think far too seldomly. Conversely, we tell ourselves not to think, by saying “don’t just sit there, do something!” In several coaching sessions and workshops recently, this theme has been a topic of some healthy conversation. Ultimately, our discussion peaks at the realisation that we need to think, before we act. The lesson is that we need to put the thinking in before the doing.

In my own life, there have been many times that I have felt a bit harried, time poor and harassed. Then, some years ago, I decided and chose to change. I realised that I needed to simply “sit there” for a while every day and declutter my noisy mind. As an early riser, the first hour of every day is my precious contemplation time. Those 60 minutes of thought and study are a daily gift to myself.

A little time set aside daily to think about what really matters makes all the difference.

When will you “sit there?”

Thinking!

“What do I want to do from here?” said the small voice in my head – then the wacky thoughts started to explode!

In preparation for a virtual creative thinking session with a work colleague (thanks Paul – it was fun!) – I worked my way through some of Edward de Bono’s six creative thinking hats.

I started to think about the thinking – Blue
Next, I considered the facts of what I knew – White
I was mindful of my feelings and hunches – Red
The wacky, pie in the sky ideas surfaced – Green
Lots of useful positivity emerged – Yellow
Together, later in the day, Paul and I would discuss the risks – Black

My thinking complete, I emailed Paul with a number of my zany ideas. I carefully couched the descriptive language of my nutty thoughts, followed by some more traditional models and rational group exercises.

I was a little apprehensive, but curious too, as to what he’d make of my thinking! For over an hour, we bounced around a whole range of ideas together and what emerged, was a smorgasbord of creative concepts that were extremely satisfying to digest! It was great fun!

Working together – we created more in a balanced way. We both know that all of the thinking isn’t complete, but we are well on our way.

How do you brainstorm new ideas?

Thinking Time

“Don’t just do something, sit there!”- is a phrase I have stumbled across several times recently.

It’s extremely difficult NOT to do something these days. In the frenetic pace of life, whether it is a work task, an urgent assignment, homework, something needs fixing, the school run – taking time to “sit there” and think, rarely (if ever) tops the list of things to do.

We think far too seldomly. Conversely, we tell ourselves not to think, by saying “don’t just sit there, do something!” In several coaching sessions and workshops recently, this theme has been a topic of some healthy conversation. Ultimately, our discussion peaks at the realisation that we need to think, before we act. The lesson is that we need to put the thinking in before the doing.

In my own life, there have been many times that I have felt a bit harried, time poor and harassed. Then, some years ago, I decided and chose to change. I realised that I needed to simply “sit there” for a while every day and declutter my noisy mind. As an early riser, the first hour of every day is my precious contemplation time. Those 60 minutes of thought and study are a daily gift to myself.

A little time set aside daily to think about what really matters makes all the difference.

When will you “sit there?”