Carve Out Time for Reflective Thinking, then Forge Ahead
toward Goals
By Marceline Bunzey
Originally published in Dartnell's First Line Supervisor
If you could save from three to 10 minutes in work time for
every one minute you spent planning ahead, would you take
the time to make plans? Mark David of The Mark David
Corporation, San Mateo, Calif., says that manufacturing
supervisors who take time to reflect on issue and problems
could use the information to plan ahead and see exponential
return on the use of their time.
"In the manufacturing world, I hear people say that they
are always in a reactive mode, not proactive," says David.
"They are moving so fast that they don't have time to be
reflective; they say it's the only way to move ahead."
David maintains that spending time each week or month to
write down what's working - and not working - in your area
doesn't cost anything and can reap a significant return in
productivity.
"Look at your list. Ask yourself, 'What adjustments can I
make? How can I leverage what's working? Not working?'
Making decisions can eliminate problems, make you seek
help, shore it up," adds David.
In addition to spending a block of time, such as an hour,
on a weekly or monthly basis, for reflective thinking:
- Develop a regular reflective habit every night
or morning. If you choose the evening, briefly reflect on
the day before you leave, and make a list before you
leave work. "This allows you to leave work at work," says
David.
- Be self-disciplined. "Being reflective often
means facing tough issues head-on. But if you're reactive
instead of reflective, at some point you stand to lose
much more, if not everything," add David.
- Don't spin your wheels. "Reflective thinking
is not going over the issue in your head over and over
again, causing stress and 'choke and freeze'," says
David. "It has a beginning and an end. Don't sit in front
of the mirror forever, just for a momentary period of
time." For Scott Davidow, a vice president with Lucent
Technologies in Homedale, N.J., that period of time means
carving out six hours a week. "I give Mondays and Fridays
from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. to my folks to either do coaching
or do reflective thinking on their own," he says.
- Tweak and adjust. Reflective thinking
shouldn't always result in major change. Use the time to
make the minor changes that you need so you can stay on
course toward your overall goals.
- Be patient with reflective thinking. "You grow
through reflective thinking," says David. "Think of
reflective thinking as a huge muscle that needs to be
developed to build strength. I do a lot of reflecting
between 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning," says David. "I'm a
Rolling Stones fan. Keith Richards tells a story about
waking up at 3:00 in the morning and recording a guitar
riff. He woke up the next day and there was the riff to
'(I can't get no) Satisfaction'. Take advantage of those
situations."
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