July 27, 2005
Thinking Time
We all need more of it. Steve Green told me today about a major CEO he knows who schedules one hour of thinking time every day. I like that.
I'm feeling over-e-mailed. I find that I often let e-mails control my time (it is there...therefore, it must be answered). There's always an e-mail to answer, and - then - rarely enough time to think. But WE can and must control that.
A recent survey found that e-mail distractions have reduced workers' effectiveness by the equivalent of 10 IQ points.
Beware!
Those Vanity Stamps Have Been a Success
Some time ago we were talking about how you can create your own personalized postage stamps. They cost 84 cents for a 37-cent stamp. Would people do it? Well, a 50-day trial generated 2.7 million personalized stamps. Not bad...certainly shows the appetite for personalized communications.
And I always thought that postage stamps were a commodity!
posted by David Rawle @ 8:34 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I just ordered a sheet of the "vanity" stamps for my daughter's birthday with a photo I took of her daughter. But I love stamps because I think of them as tiny works of art.
I wish I made/took time to let my mind wander. I find that the projects that mean the most to me, that are most personal and fulfilling always take a back seat to answering emails from strangers. Sadly enough, I suspect that answering emails gives me an illusion of having accomplished something.
you are assuming an awful lot David! you think people want time to think. i can't live without it, but i know plenty of people who hate it.
ready for a generalization?
the majority of american adults can't handle spending time alone, don't know how to spend time alone and if they do, they are uncomfortable (& definitely not productive).
point being - "the distract me to the point i don't have to think for myself" mentality is everywhere. it plays directly into human nature and if you run from yourself, you never have to answer the intensity of "am i happy?" or "what am i here for?".... just keep watching tv, playing video games, surfing the web, talking on the phone....then you never have to stop and think.
how do you think W. got his blank check? to do whatever the hell he wants without being accountable?
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unrelated to above - i've realized there is a great untapped place advertisers should "get involved!"
i've been on hold waiting for a delta agent - we all know the drill - and it's been 15 minutes of dead air. occasionally delta has their own ad pop up - but once is enough. if i had an option of what i could listen to, i'd be much happier holding- like new starbucks releases or the news or what's new in technology. the list is endless.
Claire, that is such a great idea...why can't these giant corporations pay a famous actor, artist or musician about how what inspires them? The list is endless...but corporations are so big and dumb and self important that they actually think we like listening to their self promotions. Or else they're so arrogant they don't care how much they piss off their customers...because we're a captive audience.
It's a sad but true commentary that we have to schedule time to think. Unlike the majority that Claire mentions, I like some time to be alone, but get very little of it. Society seems to demand that we be more,do more,experience all that life has to offer and in doing so,we lose ourselves.
I'm taking a course on spirituality - studying different cultures, methods of meditation, etc. and it's helping me. I have to schedule time to study and then practice. I continue to have a difficult time in quieting my mind - letting my mind wander, as Nikki mentions. It sometimes makes me feel nervous because I'm not "doing something" productive - not at all the desired result of meditating.
I recently returned from a trip to the west, where the majesty of the Tetons, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon allowed me to free my mind and touch my soul. I'll use that mental image the next time I schedule a time to be alone.
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