Do you crave time to do your deep thinking work during the work day, and not on nights and weekends? Too often workdays are filled with demands for back to back meetings, dozens of emails, IM’s and slack messages–that our days feel out of our control. Even when you set aside time to think, you are likely to give it away. Yet, investing time in strategic planning, writing, innovation, process improvement, or learning helps us shift from reactive to proactive. And go from working hard, to working smart.
The key is to BLOCK the time regularly, and then PROTECT it so that you use those blocks as intended—for strategy, creative problem solving, and looking ahead. That is how you will make your unique contribution. The solution is all in the planning.
BLOCK TIME DAILY
Habits are built on daily or weekly practices, not erratic ones. Begin by claiming 1-2 hours per day for your high level thinking time, at an ideal time of day. For many, it’s the first hour or two of the day, when your mind is fresh, and you still have the rest of the day to deal with same day crises and urgencies.
For others, it may be some time between 12-2, when it’s perfectly reasonable that one could be at lunch. You still have the morning and rest of the day to be available for meetings and reacting.
Occasionally, it works to do quiet time at the end of the day, but usually only if you are working across time zones, and the hours between 3-5pm are quiet, because your colleagues in another part of the world have left for the day.
PLAN YOUR DELIVERABLES FOR EACH TIME BLOCK
To protect thinking time, decide the day before exactly what you are going to do in that “legato” hour. This works well combined with another strategy I’ve written about, Plan Tomorrow + 2. At the end of each day, look ahead at tomorrow, and decide specifically on a deliverable you’ll produce in that time.
review last year’s strategic plan to identify what was accomplished
write rough first draft of a blog
Find 3 studies that support your opening argument
Once you’ve defined the deliverable, you can identify how to prepare physically and mentally for that thinking time. When you show up to your thinking block the next day, it’s not to decide what to do, it’s all about implementation.
SAY NO TO MEETINGS AND EMAILS DURING YOUR LEGATO TIME.
In the absence of a concrete alternative, it’s always tempting to say yes to last minute meeting requests, and the distraction of constant emails. But, when you become more concrete with your deliverables for your legato time, it’s easier to defend it from external derailers. You can ask yourself, “What is the highest and best use of this time….checking my email, or completing the first draft of the report”? Knowing that you have only carved out 10-20% of your time for deep thinking means that you are available 80-90% of the time. This knowledge can help you stand in the courage of your convictions that the company and your team are counting on you to do the deep thinking work, and ward off distractions with consistency and grace.
SHIFT YOUR MINDSET
Legato time is valuable time on your calendar. It can make a huge difference in your job performance giving you time to make your highest and best contribution to your team and your organization. Protect and use this precious legato time for work that will advance your productivity and help you succeed.