Clarity? You Can’t Be Serious! I am. And quitting calling me Shirley.

“Thinking is the hardest thing we do.  It’s a shame so few people do it.”  -Henry Ford 

Do you feel like you’re constantly putting out fires?  Overwhelmed by your never ending to do list?  Burning the candle at both ends just to keep your head above water?  Spoiler alert… that cycle is never ending unless something changes.

Well have I got a tool for you!!  It’s called a Clarity Break.  It involves you slowing down so you can speed up.  Wait what… a Clarity Break???!!! You Can’t Be Serious!  I am.  And quitting calling me Shirley.

That’s not a typo.  I want you to take Clarity Breaks.  It involves slowing down so you can speed up.  It is all about you spending time in thought working ON the business instead of being IN it.

When things are unclear, often times as leaders it can lead to a lack of confidence.  We owe it to our teams to be at our best.  In fact, one could make an argument that the busier you are, the more important clarity breaks are so you can stay sharp.  It also gives you the opportunity to take back control of your calendar.  When you’re clear on the bigger picture it is easier to see simpler solutions and create efficiencies.

Here is what a clarity break looks like…

1. Pick a one hour block of time that works for you and put in on your calendar (make it recurring for at least monthly)
2. Guard the time.  Make it a priority.
3. Get out of the office so you don’t get pulled into anything and your mind is free to think.
4. Sit down with a pen and paper.  Think and write about the business.

If you want a prompt to think and write about, it could be regarding people stuff, process efficiencies, goals, the vision, priorities, or something that seems too complicated.  If you don’t know what to write about just take the first 15 minutes and do a brain dump.  From there a topic typically surfaces.

What you’ll find is you’ll be able to get ahead of some of the fires.  You’ll be less overwhelmed.  You’ll bring up more strategic issues in your L10s instead of tactical things.  You will be more confident.  And you’ll be able to show up as a better leader for your team.

Running a business is hard.  You and your team deserve the best version of you as a leader.  So take the time to think and deliver it.