How to make time for strategic thinking
You can't hold a gun to someone's head and say "Be Creative."
Jan 28, 2021
The best PM's don't come up with creative ideas and strategy all the time. They create space for creative thinking and optimize their process.
It feels like the stars have to align. The right environment, the right mood, the right spark of inspiration. Last month, I found myself sitting around for hours unable to focus. Since then, I've started to crack a formula to enter creative mode—a series of behavior changes, not a single epiphany.
Schedule
Creative thinking takes time. You can't just flip your brain into creative mode instantly. On a good day, it takes about 15 minutes for me. On a bad day, it can take hours.
I find one meeting can sometimes affect a whole day. A meeting commonly blows at least half a day, by breaking up a morning or afternoon.
Batch your meetings so you have large blocks of uninterrupted time. Select at least two days where you optimize your schedule for creative thinking. I like Wednesday and Thursday for creative mode; Monday for 1:1's, Tuesday for team meetings.
The movie Soul depicts flow as an alternate plane of existence.
Environment
The right environment can make the difference between fidgeting and deep focus. Choose a separate space for creative thinking—different than your typical work space. You want your brain to recognize this place and shift rapidly.
Sometimes the hardest decisions in life cannot be solved with more thinking. They require listening to something quieter.
Setup the space so it fades away: calming, well lit, comfortable. Remove every distraction. Close apps and tabs; turn on Do Not Disturb; put your phone on airplane mode. These may sound extreme, but every little bit helps.
An example starting point for a post.
Make it easy to start
Never start with a blank page. Throughout the week, jot down notes about your topic—words, phrases, links, or an outline. They don't have to be fully formed; they just need to give you a starting point so you're not starting from scratch.
You don't have to start at the beginning. Start wherever you feel comfortable. Let the ideas flow in any order they come; over time, your brain will connect them.
I'm Brad. I write about creativity, tapping into my intuition, and living life to the fullest. I send out a brief email whenever I publish a new video or blog post.