At a meeting this morning, colleague Kandy Weaver of Assessment Leaders of Idaho brought up the notion of reflecting. Then she said something that resonated with me more than I care to admit: “People don’t take enough time for reflection.”

Ouch.  Mea culpa.

As the owner of a business, it’s all too easy to let upcoming projects take up residence on every neural pathway. The result can be a semi-permanent mental rush hour.

So of course, when I got home I had to Google “reflection.” Interestingly, our friend Bill Gates has become famous for taking a few week-long “retreats” each year, with the sole purpose being reflection. He doesn’t even check email.

And Fast Company’s new book, The Rules of Business: 55 Essential Ideas to Help Smart People, says that reflection is necessary to allow people time to process and share whatever knowledge they gain during the course of their work.

Essentially, by not taking time for reflection, we set ourselves up for burn out and all the negative consequences—including health problems—that surround that.  Our projects and production at work suffer, too.

So what to do? Reflection is important enough, but it’s not urgent, so it gets bumped off the calendar quite easily if someone’s wheel starts squeaking.

It appears that this is one of those areas that just needs more attention. My approach for this type of dilemma is to think through the benefits gained from doing it.

But personally (in addition to the above),  I think it might help to look for where I can use “hidden” time — such as waiting for a bus or waiting to board a plane. Or waiting in a doctor’s or dentist’s office. And yes – even a purposeful “sleep-in” on Saturday mornings.

 Why not contribute here — let us know how and where you find time for reflecting and critical thinking.

PS. Thanks, Kandy! I appreciate that you caused me to reflect on the importance of reflecting.  :-)

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Filed in Work, Business, Opinion, Motivation, Management, Leadership, Health Care, Workplace