Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Learning to be idle

For those of you who know me well, you know I hate being sick. I don't mind deliberately lazing about with a good book for an afternoon. I do mind the enforced sitting about when my body isn't keeping up.

Know that I'm home for the next 2 weeks. While I don't mind staying in my jammies, I am already wondering if I should re-arrange my livingroom.

It's not that we should be busy every minute of the day - solving problems, talking to everyone, getting 'out there'. It's that when you've already built thinking time into a schedule, suddenly having a surfeit is uncomfortable.

Ah, I thought, and why would the luxury of time to do more thinking and wondering be uncomfortable? Because I think I already have a plan and now it's time to DO? Because I'm afraid to question my past decisions? Because I'm worried my reputation/personal brand will suffer and folks will think I'm merely goofing off?

Planning and execution are iterative. A plan is what you hope will create the future but of course it's not a reality today. Executing is an immediate activity that must respond and bend to the obstacles (forseen or unforseen). Sometimes that means you have to plan some more. Some times it simply means you have to wait.

I realised today my reputation should rest more on my flexibility than my output. That is a very different way for me to start approaching my daily work, my communities and my career.

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