Innovation and creativity are so important to performance, especially these days. Having recently come back from vacation, I feel I can approach work with a bit of a fresh slate. There are many articles that demonstrate how many high profile individuals take time to reflect on work and digest the rapid onslaught of information we deal with daily.
One of these articles is one written by Cait Murphy, FORTUNE assistant managing editor, on March 16th entitled "Secrets of Greatness: How I Work" http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/02/news/newsmakers/howiwork_fortune_032006/index.htm This article provides an interesting look at how many successful individuals manage their time to optimize productivity. Some of the common threads in the approaches taken by these leaders include: starting the day early, taking time to exercise and taking time to reflect.
I think the value of taking time away from our regular schedule is that we can get outside of our normal circumstances and look at things from another perspective. This is accomplished when we travel, when we speak to others with a different perspective and even when we visit different departments within our organization to understand their viewpoint more clearly.
How do we build time into the workday/workweek or even year to reflect upon our work? Can a too tight focus on deadlines and goals sabotage this type of creativity? Does a shift to a focus on measuring results help ensure we allow time for this type of reflection?
How is the need to take time to reflect incorporated into your performance management practices?
