The Value of Silence

Talking with a friend about a project management meeting he chaired recently, the overriding concern expressed by those involved was about overlapping deadlines, and one project ending and another beginning immediately.

His team was concerned about the lack of any meaningful down time for rest, and the absence of space for mindful thinking and creativity before the next sprint.

To me there are different types of silence and all of them involve some form of noise. It is impossible to have pure silence; there is always a breeze; a buzzing bee; the wings of a bird; or a flitting thought that makes pure silence impossible. Even the act of mindfulness involves focusing on the here and now; the wind in the trees, the smell of cut grass, the heat of the sun to enable calm. If like me, you have a tiny squeak of tinnitus in an ear there will never be true silence.

But if we think of silence as a feeling rather than a sound it takes on an altogether different quality. In this sense it evokes calm, a quieter space to just be. This sort of silence is a free and yet increasingly scarce commodity in our harem scarem world.  But when we harness silence there can be no doubt about its value to us mentally and physically.

How often have you experienced this feeling of silence in the workplace of late?

We must create pockets of silence at work where we can calm our minds at the end of one project and refresh our creativity and focus for when the next project begins. The length of this silence should be significant; enough time to allow us to break from the pressure of endless video calls, email tennis, paper drafting, and deadline meeting. It will vary depending on the individual and the circumstance, but we need it as a good friend that visits regularly.

How much more effective would we be and how much more impactful would be the outcomes of the projects we lead if we built in silence to our schedules?

In the times in which we live we cannot underestimate the value of silence.