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White Space - The Necessity Of Downtime For Leaders At All Levels
I recently lamented to a colleague that I spent an entire day cleaning my home. He said he thought cleaning was a waste of time, that I should really consider hiring a cleaning person and use my time to invest in writing, research and other things pertaining to my profession. Surprised by his comments, I decided to give them some serious personal consideration. Was I wasting my time? Should I really be outsourcing the cleaning of my home? It certainly would free up a great deal of time for me to invest in my work. After careful reflection, I realized this: I really enjoy the satisfaction I receive from cleaning. The results are tangible. I start with a messy, disorganized home, and at the end of the day, it is tidy and organized. It smells like Mr. Clean and it looks staged, like no one actually lives here. Oh, the satisfaction! It is a kind of concrete result I rarely see as directly in the work that I do (which is probably one of the reasons why I find cleaning so personally rewarding). It energizes me.
When I next ran into my colleague he asked if I had hired a cleaning person. “No, but I have not tried” I replied. He rolled his eyes as if I failed to follow through on something so obviously necessary. “You have made an incorrect assumption,” I proceeded to enlighten him. “Oh ya, what is that?” he asked. “You have assumed that the more time I have to work, the more effective I will be. I do not believe this to be the case. Some of my best ideas come to me when I am cleaning, not when I am sitting at my computer, researching and the like. The downtime is a necessity for my professional advancement. The fact that I also end up with a clean, tidy house is simply a bonus.” My colleague rolled his eyes again. However, he is not alone in his belief that the more time spent working yields more results. Indeed, it would seem to be the North American way. However, we might learn something from our friends in
In order to be truly effective at any endeavor, we must have time away from it, time when our mind can be free and engaged in an entirely different way. This is when our subconscious mind can work on the issue, challenge or opportunity ahead (also called The Incubation Period). It is in moments of downtime when we are frequently most creative and resourceful. It is one of the reasons why so many will “sleep on” a difficult problem.
The further you climb up the organizational ladder, the greater the need for white space in your days. As an organization leader, you must have time to reflect upon what is happening, where you are going, and perhaps most importantly, where exactly you need to lead your people. This creative, strategic, big thinking process requires you to get out of the day-to-day. And, just as with physical exercise, you must schedule this thinking time - and then protect it with your life - otherwise, it is sure to never occur.
You will not be effective swimming in the river day in and day out. At various points, you must get out of the water, stand on the ledge and look at where the water is taking you. Personally, my preferred method of white space is to clean my home or to go for a run. What is the most effective white space activity for you? And, are you doing it with sufficient frequency?
“Time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time.” – unknown.
Susanne Biro is a Senior Leadership Coach at Bluepoint Leadership Development and co-author of Unleashed! Expecting Greatness and Other Secrets of Coaching for Exceptional Performance. She can be reached by email.
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