0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

Time and Personal Management Ideas ● 233
not an option. I don’t recommend working while you are seriously ill, but
sometimes work has to take priority.
Do the work. Then get into bed and sleep for a few days.
GREAT
Spend an Hour a Day Thinking
Too many entrepreneurs lose track of what’s important
because they are mired in the muck of mundane
IDEA
tasks and to-do’s. At the end of the day, you feel like you have been pecked
to death by chickens and wonder what you accomplished.
No matter how busy you are, please give yourself permission to spend
one hour each day thinking, not doing. I promise you will make better decisions
and avoid making serious mistakes.
Devoting one hour a day to thinking or meditating can improve the
quality of your life. If you can’t sit still, take a walk. Try dividing your
thinking time into three 20-minute segments.
Start with a walk in the morning, with or without a dog. I start my day
with a series of stretches and think about what I need to accomplish. At
lunchtime, eat lightly, then take a walk around the neighborhood or the
mall; or, if you prefer, find a private place to take a nap. Great ideas will
float around your mind before you fall asleep. At the end of your busy day,
try to take another brisk walk, a jog, or a swim.
People joke about having brainstorms in the shower, but it is the perfect
place to think big thoughts. When I’m soaking in the tub, I let random
thoughts float through my mind.
I do my best thinking while hiking around our property. We live in a
former summer camp located on several hundred acres in rural Vermont.
I’m fortunate to have access to miles of scenic gravel roads and trails.
Walking to and from the mailbox down the road gives me 20 minutes away
from the phone and the computer.
By the time I collect the mail and inspect my garden in the spring or
animal tracks in the winter snow, I’m feeling refreshed (especially in the
winter, when it can be 10 degrees during January and February).
So, please move away from the phone and computer. Fresh air revives
the spirit.