Charlie Seymour Jr Writes - Find Time To THINK, Not Just DO

What is the old expression: MANAGEMENT is getting the ladder put up against the wall to see to the other side… LEADERSHIP is getting the ladder put in the correct location. (It's something like that!)

And one of the reason that so many people put the ladder in the wrong location is that they are so busy DOING things that they just don't take the time to THINK.

Each week, I have scheduled in my calendar TWO times I call DPS: Dreaming, Planning, Scheming…. 9 AM - 12:30 PM each Tuesday and Thursday… and I go to my local Borders, get the tallest coffee-chocolate-raspberry drink they make, and THINK. It's MY time for ME. (And thinking is hard work, so I know that when the time is up, I leave… I'll just have to pick things up again the next time if I haven't finished everything.)

It's time to dream about what I want to be when I grow up; plan how I want to get there; and scheme (even with myself) about how I will succeed at what I'm deciding to do. Sometimes my white paper tablet is blank, other times I have a full agenda, but still I THINK…

Right now I have several projects working at the same time. Though one may not be more IMPORTANT than another, their schedules dictate that I must concentrate very carefully on what has to be done NOW, and put off what can be done LATER.

The "Right Now" project is the release of a CD (see http://LizSeymour.com). From August 10 - 17 I was in Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, and the Grand Canyon with my family creating a music video to support this CD's release. We had some family time as well, but I knew that getting the correct images while we were out there was paramount. Taking a few extra moments then would be worth it - having to go BACK, would be VERY expensive.

But I could never have done all of this without having thought it through first.

So… if YOU work at home, schedule some time with yourself. Tell people that you have an appointment - that's true: you have an appointment with yourself and it's a real important one if you are going to succeed.

Spend some concentrated time thinking: you will be VERY glad you did.

Charlie Seymour Jr.
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Charlie Seymour Jr is the founder of RaisingGreatFamilies.com, FathersAndTheDaughtersTheyLove.com, and ILearnedItAllFromMyKids.com. He is also working with his daughter, Liz, as she publishes her own website and releases her first solo CD: LizSeymour.com. Charlie is a Social Marketer and Community Builder and often consults about marketing through his site, GetThemOffTheRaftMarketing.com. He's a prolific writer, including blogs on each of these sites, his book Dream Inc (32 Philadelphia-area Entrepreneurs and their Million Dollar Secrets For Success), and articles about Social Marketing for national and regional publications including NSA Magazine (for the National Speakers Association) and Spotlight (for the American Association of Community Theatre). He's the father of two daughters and lives in Wallingford, PA with his wife, Pam.