Last year, I took on a new freelance project and was out to lunch with my new colleagues. Because this group travels quite a bit for work, we were discussing how/where we do our best work. Both of my colleagues described a quiet room with few distractions where they could put their head down and work. My answer was entirely different; I do my best work wandering the aisles of Target.
I often like to start things, walk away from them, think about them when I’m driving in my car, wandering the aisles of Target, or other free-thinking spaces, then come back to the assignment to edit and finish. I couldn’t explain why this worked for me until I was recently reminded of Adam Grant’s book Originals and this excellent TEDTalk. Procrastination is valuable. Stepping away from a big idea or task can make it better. He talks about it better than I ever will; so watch this video. And if you only have a little time to procrastinate; start at 1:42.
The surprising habits of original thinkers | Adam Grant
Jenn Uhen (Pronounced Genuine) 