The Case for U Time
Today I went on a walk in nature. It was tough to pry myself away from the demands of work; from the incessant incoming emails, phone calls, social media ... all begging for a response.Forget proactive, I have become a reaction machine. Boing - incoming Facebook message. Bing - Gmail. Bong - Mac mail. Ting - Twitter ... the mobile, the land line, Skype ...Are you a slave to the beeps, buzzes and whirs of the internet and mobile world?
Wait! This is still in your control. It's not too late. Take that U-turn. Turn inward. Take "U" Time.__________________With all of the incoming, I had no space. I had no room to think or just be. I needed time to step back and give myself an opportunity to process, mull over, and to make thoughtful decisions ... I took "me time."I threw on my hiking clothes, left my "to do" list behind, set out on my hike and let my mind and body wander. What were the results?Fabulous! The meanderings of my mind produced this:
- Three creative solutions for a pressing issue
- I realized that two actions needed to move to the top of my priority list
- I resolved a vexing problem
As a bonus, I felt exuberant and refreshed. All I did was allow nature to permeate my senses. I took in the beauty around me, felt the sun on my skin, listened to fresh rainwater gushing down the torrent, and had no agenda other than to get my body moving and to be outdoors. The cool thing was, I wasn't trying.However, somewhere in the background of my mind, the processing was happening. And I realized, again, the importance of Me Time.How does this work? Instead of intense focus, our brain moves into:
High alpha rhythm, which signals mental relaxation, a state of openness, of daydreaming and drifting, where we're more receptive to new ideas. This sets the stage for the novel connections that occur
-Psychology Today, The Brain and Emotional Intelligence: Insight and the Creative Brain
It's not too late. If you must, bring your mobile with you but put it on "airplane mode" so it's not transmitting. No calls. No emails.Give yourself a real break. Take a U-Turn and prepare to be amazed by the results.