This past week I joined Michael for our KZN Coffee Stop Moments, which was a great success. This was my first Coffee Stop Moment ‘apprenticeship’ since joining the company this year, so I was eager to lap the information.
I wouldn’t be able to cover everything we spoke about in one blog post, so you’re just going to have to join us for the next one if you’d like the full experience, but here’s a taster:
Introducing the P‘s :
If you look closely you’ll see that the words
are divided into 2 columns. The left column has words with more of a ‘just do it’ kind of behaviour, while the right seems to be way more of a pause and ponder.
One word mentioned here in particular tends to have a negative connotation: procrastination. Which is interesting, because if we delve a little deeper we may find some hidden treasures. . .
In his book Originals, Adam Grant says, “Procrastination may be the enemy of productivity, but it can be a resource for creativity.”
With this in mind, perhaps we can say that procrastination is then an enemy to the task that is structured and straightforward. But, when it comes to a problem solving or creative task, procrastination can be our friend.
So, could this be true?
Well, let’s ask Google. Literally, the Google company has a rule called “20% Time”, which allows their employees to spend 20% of their work time being in a creative and relaxed space.
As a result they’ve brought you Google News, Gmail and AdSense.
I think it worked.
Adam Grant also cites another study that was done by Jihae Shin with students, which supports this hypothesis.
Grant wrote about the study saying,
“It was only when they first learned about the task and then put it off that they considered more novel ideas. It turned out that procrastination encouraged divergent thinking.”
IMPORTANT: Procrastination will always need time management so that we can stay efficient in what we do.
We don’t need to aim to achieve things in lump quantities in order to be successful with it.
There is a belief that says marginal gains in a wide range of areas can result in greater success.
So, what if we could put even 5% of our time towards a space of pausing and pondering?
Looking at the image above, we can see the importance of being able to shift between the mindfulness and creative mindsets. I’m sure most of us draw the conclusion that we would rather aim to avoid the frustrated and mindless spaces.
So, next time you find yourself sitting at a coffee shop, sipping on a good cappuccino, drop a thought into your mind; perhaps it could be, “Who do I want to be in pursuit of my goals?”
Then, let the thought slip away as you sip away, watching the people around you living life, feeling a deep breath gather in your chest and the ponder enter your mind.
– Gabriella Ivey
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