“Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens both worked four to five hours a day and on that schedule wrote 19 and 21 books, respectively.”

Pauses can benefit performance by allowing for cognitive recovery.

“We need permission to pause – and to do so during business hours, not on our own time like a public school teacher going broke to buy their own clay and markers.”3mind-sets drive toward constant busyness:“Insatiability” – People never feel they’ve done enough – . “Conformity” – People unconsciously mirror their colleagues’ behaviors, resulting in feedback loops.“Waste” – Tolerance of wasted time and effort places huge burdens on workers, who pay the price in decreased wellness and happiness. Meanwhile, businesses suffer in terms of employee engagement and retention.

People need to take strategic pauses because overload has become prevalent.

<ul><li>A strategic pause means taking a moment – or longer – to think, plan, create or just breathe.</li><li>People need to take strategic pauses because overload has become prevalent.</li><li>Pauses can benefit performance by allowing for cognitive recovery.</li><li>Four attitudinal culprits work against taking time to pause.</li><li>Free up time for strategic pauses by asking four questions – and apply “the Wedge.”</li></ul>

A Minute to Think

“If only activity and productivity were the same – but they are not.”

A strategic pause means taking a moment – or longer – to think, plan, create or just breathe.

Four “time thieves” lead people to overload themselves – The thieves have a positive side, but they create dysfunction when taken to extremes:<ul><li>Drive transforms into overdrive – The push to do more can cause people to load themselves with work beyond their capacity. </li><li>Commitment to excellence turns into perfectionism – </li><li>The pursuit of information becomes overload –  </li><li>Dedication to activity turns into frenzy – The need to feel busy occurs when people conflate activity with productivity. </li></ul>“There are some thoughts you just can’t have while hustling down a hallway.”

Four attitudinal culprits work against taking time to pause.

<ul><li>To apply white space thinking to digital messaging, reduce the number of times you check your email, the amount you send, and improve your composition skills.</li><li>Applying strategic pauses to communications can benefit teams.</li><li>To improve meetings, do less inviting and accepting, and take strategic pauses both between meetings and during them.</li><li>Use white space at home, too, to ensure your time, and your children’s, is well spent.</li></ul>

A Minute to Think (cont'd)

Reclaim Creativity, Conquer Busyness, and Do Your Best Work

“You’re going to want to share copies of this book with your overbooked friends and colleagues, but before you do, take some time to read it yourself. Funt’s wisdom around making space is priceless.” —Seth Godin, author of The Practice Do you wish you could stop the mayhem of work and life and just take a minute? Do you sense you could contribute more if there were a little more room in the day? Does busyness deprive you and your burnt-out team of the oxygen your talents need to catch fire? Many have felt that way, yet taking a pause has seemed impossible—until now. In A Minute to Think, Juliet Funt, a globally recognized warrior in the battle against busyness, provides a powerful guide that will give you the permission, framework, and specific direction you need to do the following: Regain control of your overloaded, caffeinated, inbox-worshiping workday Liberate yourself and your teams from burnout and busywork Reclaim creativity and focus despite the chaos around you Bring thoughtfulness into designing your next work norms Tame the beast of email and escape the mire of meetings Find your precious minute to think You’re not alone in your yearning for freedom from constant reactivity. The global workforce today is so fried that it belongs in the food court of a county fair. We’re relentlessly behind the curve, dousing fires everywhere, and our 3 a.m. insomnia provides the only unscheduled thinking time of the day. What we need reinserted in our lives is the missing element of white space—short periods of open, unscheduled time that, when recaptured, change the very nature of work. White space is the stepping back, the strategic pause, the oxygen that allows the sparks of our efforts to catch fire. White space has the power to radically—and simply—reinvent the way we approach work in this maxed-out, post-COVID 21st-century world. With Juliet’s memorable stories, easy-to-use tools, and razor-sharp instruction, she carves for us an escape route from the overwhelming amount of low-value tasks and the daily avalanche of e-mails, meetings, decks, and reports. Using research, client stories, and a relatable voice, Juliet shows all of us how to reclaim time for thinking and make room for what truly matters. Whether you are an individual trying to build a more sane and humane flow of daily work, a team that wants new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, or an entire organization changing your culture toward thoughtfulness, this book will lead you there.

communication

Communication

creativity

Creativity

“You’re going to want to share copies of this book with your overbooked friends and colleagues, but before you do, take some time to read it yourself. Funt’s wisdom around making space is priceless.” —Seth Godin, author of The PracticeDo you wish you could stop the mayhem of work and life and just take a minute? Do you sense you could contribute more if there were a little more room in the day? Does busyness deprive you and your burnt-out team of the oxygen your talents need to catch fire?Many have felt that way, yet taking a pause has seemed impossible—until now.In A Minute to Think, Juliet Funt, a globally recognized warrior in the battle against busyness, provides a powerful guide that will give you the permission, framework, and specific direction you need to do the following:<ul><li>Regain control of your overloaded, caffeinated, inbox-worshiping workday</li><li>Liberate yourself and your teams from burnout and busywork</li><li>Reclaim creativity and focus despite the chaos around you</li><li>Bring thoughtfulness into designing your next work norms</li><li>Tame the beast of email and escape the mire of meetings</li><li>Find your precious minute to think</li></ul>You’re not alone in your yearning for freedom from constant reactivity. The global workforce today is so fried that it belongs in the food court of a county fair. We’re relentlessly behind the curve, dousing fires everywhere, and our 3 a.m. insomnia provides the only unscheduled thinking time of the day.What we need reinserted in our lives is the missing element of white space—short periods of open, unscheduled time that, when recaptured, change the very nature of work. White space is the stepping back, the strategic pause, the oxygen that allows the sparks of our efforts to catch fire. White space has the power to radically—and simply—reinvent the way we approach work in this maxed-out, post-COVID 21st-century world.With Juliet’s memorable stories, easy-to-use tools, and razor-sharp instruction, she carves for us an escape route from the overwhelming amount of low-value tasks and the daily avalanche of e-mails, meetings, decks, and reports. Using research, client stories, and a relatable voice, Juliet shows all of us how to reclaim time for thinking and make room for what truly matters. Whether you are an individual trying to build a more sane and humane flow of daily work, a team that wants new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, or an entire organization changing your culture toward thoughtfulness, this book will lead you there.