How Will Entrepreneurs Solve Their Problems in 2016?
Give a curious entrepreneur a Rubik’s Cube and he will use every minute of his downtime in order to master it.
He won’t get it out in investor meetings and it certainly won’t be visible during the morning email onslaught. He may not even bring it to work some days, but it will be waiting for him when he gets home – a mix of color waiting to be unified.
No, he will decide to sacrifice a few minutes of aimlessly flicking through television channels in the evening. He might wrestle with it instead of watching some random YouTube videos or scanning his Twitter feed for interesting content. Time “wasted” daydreaming can now be put to better use – he will get to the bottom of the puzzle, and nothing will get in his way.
This is not only a “Big Idea” for entrepreneurs in 2016 (#BigIdeas2016), it should be considered by anyone, who has a lot on their plate.
We need to use our downtime to grapple with our problems.
Some may say that after a long day in the office, the last thing that we want is to sit obsessing over our worries. Surely vegetating in front of the television is perfect for giving our brain a well-deserved break?
Well, yes and no…. Those problems aren’t going anywhere, and unless we address them, they will pile up until we throw in the towel and forget about them entirely. That is never going to end well, so rather than “waste” two hours in the name of relaxation, why not take 20 minutes to work through a pressing issue every evening? You will be all the more relaxed once the problem can be filed in the “I’ve got a solution” drawer, and you will sleep that little bit sounder that night.
I am not suggesting that entrepreneurs don’t get any downtime, they simply get in the habit of working through their problems and organizing their lives when us mere mortals are already comatose on the sofa.
Entrepreneurs have a second habit when it comes to problem solving – they will always attempt to solve a problem in its entirety before moving on to something else. Many of us are guilty of jumping from one activity to another without fully finishing what we started. When problems are concerned, they only tend to grow if they are left unattended, so proactively (and fully) “ticking” them off the to-think-about list is crucial if you want to progress.
Critical thinking is crucial for any entrepreneur, but it is my view that it almost needs to happen in those moments of quiet when a person might otherwise be “wasting time.” Much has been written about the power of creative thought in the shower, on your commute to work, or simply when out for a walk with the family.
Do you let your mind wander aimlessly at such times, or do you seek to dedicate at least part of that time to addressing something that is bothering you?
I can tell you what the best entrepreneurs will be doing with some of their “free time” in 2016.
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