Do Less, Have More

"If we want our world to be different, our first act needs to be reclaiming time to think."

In almost every conversation about innovation, "lack of time to think" surfaces as one of the biggest barriers to being more innovative and creative.  And, there's every indication that this perception is real, created by a decade of downsizing and trying desperately to "do more with less."  However, this cycle can only go so far.  Once we've sucked all the "fat" out of the system, we're left with a "lean machine."

This sounds good on paper and in cost-cutting meetings ... the only problem is that machines don't create innovation.  Innovation comes from people and only from people who have the time to think, time to tinker, time to wander through new territory, time to explore their curiosities and passions.

Time to Think Policy?

It probably doesn't make a lot of sense to wait for our organizations to develop a "time to think" policy ... even 3M's famous "15%" is more a myth than a reality.  So what are you doing or what could you do as an individual to create thinking time for your self and for the people who work with or for you?

Add your ideas and suggestions in the comments section below.

Comments

[bhattathiri]

Your website is beautiful, informative and Excellant.
Article by M.P. Bhattathiri, Retired Chief Technical Examiner , to The Govt. of Kerala.


Humble request that it may be published in your website and magazine after editing if necessary.
The American justice Dept. have recently approved the power of yoga and meditation vide a recent judgement in the American court for a better family life.."Man Who Slapped Wife Sentenced to Yoga, It's Anger Management, Says Judge." First there was house arrest. Now there's yoga. A judge ordered a man convicted of slapping his wife to take a yoga class as part of his one-year probation. "It's part of anger management," County Criminal Court at Law Judge Larry Standley said of the ancient Hindu philosophy of exercise and well-being. "For people who are into it, it really calms them down. " Standley, a former prosecutor, said the case of James Lee Cross was unique. Cross, a 53-year-old car salesman from Tomball, explained that his wife was struggling with a substance abuse problem and that he struck her on New Year's Eve during an argument about her drinking. "He was trying to get a hold of her because she has a problem," Standley said after the court hearing. "I thought this would help him realize that he only has control over himself." The sentence came as a surprise to Cross, who was told to enroll in a class and report back to Standley on his progress. "I'm not very familiar with it," Cross said of yoga. "From what I understand, it may help in a couple ways, not only as far as mentally settling, but maybe a little weight loss." Darla Magee, an instructor at Yoga Body Houston in River Oaks, said she would recommend that Cross take a basic yoga class emphasizing breathing and including a variety of postures -- forward bends, back bends and twists. "Yoga can help us to get rid of many emotional issues we might have," she said. "It's a spiritual cleanse." Prosecutor Lincoln Goodwin agreed to a sentence of probation without jail time because Cross had no significant criminal history http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2365341 Yoga which is one of the greatest Indian co tribution to the world has got vast potential in all fields. In Tihar jail India Yoga is experimented among the inamtes and found successful. Their criminal mentality is changed. This study aimed at investigating the effect of Vipassana Meditation (VM) on Quality of Life (QOL), Subjective Well-Being (SWB), and Criminal Propensity (CP) among inmates of Tihar Jail, Delhi. To this effect the following hypotheses were formulated. 1. There will be a significant positive effect of VM on the QOL of inmates of Tihar jail. 2. VM will have a positive and significant effect on SWB of inmates. 3. Criminal propensity (CP) of inmates will decrease significantly after attending the VM course. 4. There will be significant difference in SWB and CP of experimental (Vipassana) group and control (non-Vipassana) group. 5. Male and female inmates will differ significantly in SWB and CP, as a result of VM. In the famous "Time" magazine the importance meditation and yoga, an ancient Indian system, is high-lighted that the ancient mind- and spirit-enhancing art is becoming increasingly popular and gaining medical legitimacy. It is a multi billion dollar business in US. In many Universities it is accepted as subject and included in the Syllabus. In the latest famous book "Inspire! What Great Leaders Do" written by Mr.Lance Secretan recently published by John Wiley and sons, the benefit of meditation is elaborately described for good corporate governance. By practising transcendental meditation, or TM, many people have got relief from back pain, neck pain, depression. The mind calms and quiets, . What thoughts you have during meditation become clearer, more focused. Anger, anxiety and worries give way to a peace. In the world exhorbitant medical expeneses one can definitely make use of meditation. Maharshi Mahesh Yogi and Sri Ravi Sankar are poplarising this. The Iyengar Yoga institute in US is famous. In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna has inspired Arjuna to rise from his depression by preaching Gita in the battlefield and to rise from the depression to do his duties. In Holy Gita we can see, being hidden by the cosmic overview of any institution beset with myriad problems, not the least of which is its lack of moral probity, there is a groundswell of educated people seeking answers to deeply personal but universally asked questions. Chie Executives taking lessons from yoga, meditation and learning how to deal with human resources equations in an enlightened manner. Individuals from every walk of life can get ideas of how to be better human beings, more balanced and less stressed out. Medical studies continue to show regular meditation working magic in reducing blood pressure and stress-related illnesses, including heart disease. Brain images show that regular meditation helps calm the most active sensory-assaulted parts of the brain. The ancient Hindu sage Patanjali who had mastered the secrets of the human mind has written a book "Yogasutra".In this book we can see how super powers can be achieved by meditation. It has both cosmic relevance and cosmic resonance. In spite of its universal appeal, for most people total control of mind remains an elusive goal and daunting task. From time immemorial, there have been many attempts throughout the world to unlock the mysteries of the mind and to achieve total control over it through a variety of techniques. One of the most powerful of these techniques is meditation. Many spiritual leaders, sages, saints, and holy people such asSri. Buddha, Sri Ramakrishna, Madam Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda have practised this. One of the ways to control physiological reactions to psychological stimuli is meditation, Yoga, Zen Buddhism etc. The scientists take Transcendental Meditation (TM) as the uniform technique, and base their observations on the study of the subjects engaged in this form of meditation. In summing up the results the scientists have come to conclusion that the effect of meditation is a "wakeful, hypo-metabolic state". They have found that: 1) Yogis could slow both heart rate and rate of respiration, 2) Yogis could slow the rate of metabolism as confirmed by decreased oxygen consumption and carbon-di-oxide output. 3) Electro-Encephalo-Gram (EEG - recording of brain activity) in Yogis showed changes of calmness in the form of "alpha rhythm" during both eyes closed and eyes open recordings. 4) Th ir skin resistance to electric stimulation was increased (indicating increased tolerance to external stimuli). Our usual 'defence-alarm' reaction to emotional and physical stress is in the form of "fright, flight, and fight" mediated through over-secretion of certain neuro-transmitters and neuro-modulators, namely adrenaline and dopamine by way of stimulation of sympathetic nervous system. Under the influence of these chemicals and hormones, we reflexively become panicky or aggressive, our blood pressure rises. Thus stress and anxiety is the end result if we allow our natural age-old sympathetic reactions to act and to come to surface. We try to run away, become fearful, or fight the situation. But today these 'defence-alarm' reactions have no place in our lives. Rather, they should be replaced by more calm and serene reactions of equanimity and fearlessness. The need is to just 'face the brute, and it will go away'. Such desirable reactions of non-aggression and peaceful attitude are generated by Y ga and meditation. EEG Studies on Yogis and The Zen Meditations: Yogis practising Raja-Yoga claim that during the state of samadhi they are oblivious to the internal and external stimuli, and they enjoy a calm ecstasy during that state. A study was undertaken to record the electrical activity of their brain during this state by means of a regular and useful test known as electroencephalography EEG. Physiological and experimental studies have demonstrated that the basis of conscious state of brain, among other things, is due to activation of "reticular system" in the brain-stem in response to internal and external stimuli. These stimuli bring about various changes during sleeping and wakeful states of the organism and these can be studied by EEG. The study was carried out on four subjects during the state of concentration and meditation. Effects of external stimuli, like a loud gong, strong light, thermal simulation, and vibrations were studied. The results were compiled and analyzed. It was observed that two Yogis could keep their hands immersed in extremely cold water for about 50 minutes (raised pain threshold). During state of meditation, all of them showed persistent "alpha activity" in their EEG with increased amplitude wave pattern, both during 'eyes closed' and 'eyes open' recording. It was observed that these alpha activities could not be blocked by various sensory stimuli during meditation. It was also observed that those, who had well-marked "alpha activity" in their resting EEG showed greater aptitude and zeal for maintaining the practice of Yoga. Similar observations and results were obtained when EEGs were recorded in persons adept in Zen Meditative technique. Can we say that only those persons who exhibit such recording of "alpha wave rhythm" in their EEG are fit for Yoga? and be designated as right candidates for meditation and Yoga practices? (Such experiments are indeed very few and the number of yogis examined is also very small. Therefore, scientifically and statistic lly these observations have only a tentative importance. Further research is definitely called for, albeit it will have its own limitations.) Let me bow to Indian Maharishi Patanjali with folded hands who helped in removing the impurities of the mind through his writings on Yoga, impurities of speech through his writings on grammer, and impurities of body through his writings on Ayurveda. It is said that in the unknown period of Lord Jesus Christ , He was under meditation.
Ref. Yoga magazines
Newyork times
Time magazine

[ed bernacki]

I have been thinking about the issue of "lack of time to innovate" for a while. It is ironic that millions of people have had "time management" training yet they fail to do the one thing that people are supposed to do better than machines - that is be creative in solving our challenges. Perhaps the problem is that we are too busy managing our time, instead of managing our ideas over time.
As a speaker on this theme, I have found that people lack the basic skills to manage ideas over time. Artists manage the creation of their ideas (eg paintings and books) over time. When is the last time you saw a painter start an idea on a post it note, continue on the back of the envelope, etc. This is silly but that's what many managers do. As such, they can not harness their even 2, 5 or 12 minutes a day into something larger. I have written a 12 month calendar on this theme - you have 12 months, set 12 challenges that require 12 ideas, but you must invest 12 minutes per day. As such, 12 12 12 12. It also provide room for 12 pages designed for one idea on each.
No is paid by their employers to "manage time". They get paid to produce results. In a world suffering from a "failure of the imagination", we need to rethink the notion of time. Any comments?

[David Waller]

Good discussion - a lot of common ground. I would add:
1. efficient does not necessarily mean effective. We definitely need to take the time to ensure that we are only working on projects that fit the strategic plan (forcing us to have one and review it!). I estimate that approx 1/3rd of projects caould be cancelled without negatively affecting a company's future - quite the opposite. This action will "free up" time and resources.
2. We need to embed continuous improvement and idea generation in our company values and beliefs so that the "free time" is invested well. e.g. Toyota
Keep up the good thinking!

[Steve]

Einstein, Da Vinci, Henry Ford all took the time to think meditatively. Perhaps bigger issues require big think time and smaller 'shop' issues can be dealt with in smaller real-time although Toyota's cut the silliness and come up with some answers policies provide a time definate advantage for pushing continious improvement along.

[Hal]

The message to get lean is the way slack is created. Just take a look at the most lean company of them all, Toyota. Their record of innovating sets the standard for us all. The employees in the Toyota Kentucky plant are innovating at the rate of more than one adopted improvement per person per week. (Anyone from Toyota able to provide the exact number?)

The big reason we have no time to think is that we are running around cleaning up after what didn't go right. Efforts to get more reliable through our processes and practices will yeild plenty of time for thinking and innovating.

[Nick Duffill]

You can take advantage of the fact that your brain is thinking even while you're doing something else. If you have the choice, and if it is appropriate, don't go from trigger straight to action. Spend a short amount of time acquainting yourself with the issue (pre-exposure) and then let it simmer for a while. Subconsciously, your mind will be evaluating possibilities, and when you return in a couple of day's time you will have clearer ideas and insights, without trying to create the time to force these through. As an extension to this, maintain notes or mind maps on "stuff I am thinking about", to keep the process ticking over. Browse them occasionally for a short break from other activities.