A Clarity Break Confession

Clarity breaks are essential for business leaders to practice on a consistent interval. A clarity break is a scheduled time to get out of the office with just pen and paper to think. Henry Ford said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”

Normally I like to share stories of client sessions, but today I want to share my personal experience with clarity breaks. Something you should know about me is that I’m a doer. I love getting things done. And I have to confess that for a long time, I resisted doing clarity breaks and would skip them because I felt my time would be more valuable knocking items off my To Do list. Plus, taking time to just “think” made me feel like I wasn’t really getting stuff done—after all, “thinking”was never on my To Do list.

Seeing Clarity Breaks More Clearly

Now that I’ve been consistently taking weekly clarity breaks for 6+ months, I can’t believe I ever resisted them. I’ve never been so clear and confident on so many things. The ideas that have come to me and the awareness they have brought on so many topics have been incredibly instrumental to me, both personally and professionally.

Here are some things that came out of a recent clarity break:

1. Realizing that I needed to part ways with a client because they just didn’t “get it” and they are a constant energy drain.
2. Being reminded of a client I needed to reach out to that I hadn’t connected with in a while.
3. Identifying a new, more efficient follow-up process to manage speaking engagements.

Notice that some of these items are big and some are small. But if I hadn’t stopped and taken the time to sit back, reflect, and think, I would have missed each of them entirely.

And in the end, I would have had to play clean up, reacting to the problems that would have happened as a result. I’m certain that I saved myself from future headaches, loss of productivity, and wasted time down the road.

Making Clarity Breaks a Priority

Here are a few commitments that helped me to turn the corner to make clarity breaks a consistent habit:

• I made clarity breaks a scorecard item, with the goal of having one per week
• I scheduled a meeting with myself on my calendar at a specific time and place
• I shared my goal with my assistant to hold me accountable to doing them. Get an accountability partner!

Ready to start finding clarity? Schedule your next clarity break now!

Next Steps

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