We’re all so busy these days. A typical weekly greeting exchange usually goes something like this: 

“Hi. How’re you’re doing?”

“Busy, thanks!” It seems to be the standard fare these days. Almost as if being busy is what we should be aiming for. It’s head down, focus on what we need to do to get through the mountain of work as soon as possible, because no doubt there will be more piling on your plate tomorrow. Better make sure nothing is unfinished today!

But while we’re so busy being busy, we don’t reflect. We don’t stop to look back on what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been doing it. Single loop learning is hard enough, but without adequate reflection, double-loop learning is all but impossible. We’ll continue to stumble forward hoping that we’re pointing towards the right direction and using the right tools for the job.

We cannot afford to stop learning and adapting. A few decades ago it was still adequate enough to go to university, learn a skill or profession and apply it for the rest of your life. The world has moved on. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find jobs that cannot be automated. This shouldn’t scare you into simply becoming even busier to prove your relevance, but rather convince you that you should be figuring out, and then focusing on, skills that are unique to you to make your contribution to this existence as valuable as possible.

Carve out enough time in your day to reflect. It could be meditation, writing a jounal, or posting thoughts to a blog. Writing generally helps formulate your thoughts well and allows you to also look back on previous writings to follow your own trends, but it isn’t the only way. Find the time of day when your creativity is at its peak – you need your creativity to find solutions to difficult problems. Make your time-out a regular practice – don’t sideline it because the world is throwing all sorts of challenges at you. The world will always do that. Challenges will always be there for you to face, but without adequate preparation, you’re not going to overcome. 

Put your tools down, take a deep breath, and take the time to take some time.