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4 Places to Find Big IdeasNeed to stop fighting fires and find time to think deeply? Here are four activities that can help even the busiestpeople make space in their schedule for big ideas.Business owners face a conundrum: The day-to-day functioning of your company keeps you super busy, so busy ifact that you generally have little time for the type of deep, strategic thinking on which the long-term success of

your business depends.You have to fight fires now, but saving your business from the current flames can leave it vulnerable to a slowdeath by stagnation over the long term.So what can you do to find time in your hectic day to clear you brain and think deep deeply about the future of youbusiness? Author and entrepreneur Ben Casnocha has a few suggestions based on the psychological truth that weoften get our best ideas when our brains are engaged in minimally taxing activities. A reality many of us experiencin real life as the shower inspiration effect.A steaming bathroom is just relaxing enough, and remembering to put the conditioner on after the shampoo justmentally engaging enough, that the rest of your brain is free of tension and self-policing chatter and can rangewidely to come up with your most creative ideas. (If you want the details of the neuroscience, this post is for you.)It worked for Archimedes and no doubt it's worked for you. Plus, even the busiest entrepreneur definitely finds tim

to squeeze a shower into their schedule now and then.4 Ni tm thy nhng tng lnBn ang cn tm ngng chin u v c thi gian hn suy ngh chnh chn? Di y l bn hot ng c thgip ngay c nhng ngi bn rn nht c c khng gian trong lch trnh ca h to iu kin ny sinh ra cc tng ln.Ch doanh nghip phi i mt mt conundrum: cc hot ng hng ngy ca cng ty ca bn gip bn siu bnrn, bn rn nn trong thc t m bn thng c t thi gian cho cc loi su, suy ngh v s thnh cng lu di cdoanh nghip ca bn ph thuc m chin lc.Bn c chin u chy by gi, nhng tit kim kinh doanh ca bn t cc m chy hin ti c th n d btn thng mt ci cht chm bi tnh trng tr tr trong di hn.V vy, nhng g bn c th lm tm thi gian trong ngy bn rn ca bn r rng b no ca bn v suy ngh

su su sc v tng lai ca doanh nghip ca bn? Tc gi v doanh nhn Ben Casnocha c mt vi gi da trs tht tm l rng chng ti thng xuyn nhn c nhng tng tt nht ca chng ti khi b no ca chngti ang tham gia vo ti thiu thu hot ng. Mt thc t, nhiu ngi trong chng ta kinh nghim trong cucsng thc hiu ng cm hng vi hoa sen.Mt phng tm hp l ch cn th gin , v ghi nh t iu ha kh sau khi du gi u ch v tinh thn hpdn , phn cn li ca b no ca bn l min ph ca cng thng v self-policing rng nghin v c th rng rin vi tng sng to nht ca bn. (Nu bn mun cc chi tit ca khoa hc thn kinh, bi ng ny l dnh chbn.) N lm vic cho Archimedes v khng c nghi ng n lm vic cho bn. Thm vo , thm ch l cc doannhn bn rn nht chc chn tm thy thi gian sit cht mt vi sen vo lch trnh ca h by gi v sau .V vy, mt s cch khc c c vo p lnh ra nhng hi tham gia suy ngh l g? Casnocha giy gi thng thng ca tm di ("bn l min ph t phn tm, bn ang tham gia vo mt hot ng n iu m khngcn tp trung hot ng, v bn ang trong mt mi trng khc nhau. m thanh nh l ni hon ho cho mtsuy ngh sng to,"ng vit) v sau cung cp bn hot ng thm m thc s ph hp vi lch trnh ca bn vbn c th re-imagine khng phi l cng vic hoc mt thi gian nhng l c hi cho cm hng:

So what are some other ways to get into that chilled out but slightly engaged mindset? Casnocha seconds the usuasuggestion of the extra long shower ("Youre free from distraction, youre engaged in a monotonous activity thatdoesnt require active focus, and youre in a different environment. Sounds like the perfect place for a creative

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thought," he writes) and then offers four more activities that actually fit into your schedule and which you can re-imagine not as chores or lost time but as opportunities for inspiration:

Drive to and from the office. Driving a familiar route = good thinking time. When Joan Didion moved fromCalifornia to New York, she realized that she had done much of her thinking and mental writing during the long

drives endogenous to the Californian lifestyle, Steve Dodson once noted. Im the same. I cant tell you how manydecent thoughts Ive concocted in my head while driving on the 101 or 280 freeways in the Bay Area.

Take your dog for a walk. Same as driving, but safer.

Stare out of airplane windows. Travel journeys of any sort are the midwives of thought. Few places are moreconducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships, or trainsIntrospective reflections that mightotherwise be liable to stall are helped along by the flow of the landscape, says Alain de Botton.

Organize your office/room/house. Tidy up documents, pick up around the floor, rearrange books. Its an excellentfoil to serious thinking.

What activities double as deep thinking time for you, and should you make better uses of these pauses in your dayLi xe n v i t vn phng. Li xe mt tuyn ng quen thuc = thi gian suy ngh tt. "Khi Joan Didionchuyn t California n New York, c nhn ra rng c y lm nhiu suy ngh ca mnh v tinh thn vn bntrong thi gian di a ni sinh sng California," Steve Dodson mt lu . Ti l nh nhau. Ti khng th chobn bit lm th no nhiu phong nha nhng suy ngh ti pha ch trong u ca ti trong khi li xe trn ngcao tc 101 hoc 280 trong vng Vnh.

Mt ch ca bn cho i b. Tng t nh li xe, nhng an ton hn.

Nhn chm chm ra khi ca s my bay. Du lch hnh trnh ca bt k loi l n h sinh ca t tng. Nhng "vni l thun li cho cuc hi thoi ni b hn di chuyn my bay, tu, hoc o to...Introspective phn x c thnu khng chu trch nhim ng c h tr dc theo bi dng chy ca cnh quan,"ng Alain de Botton.

T chc vn phng/phng/nh ca bn. Dn dp ti liu, chn xung quanh sn, sp xp li cun sch. l mt ltuyt vi suy ngh nghim tc.Nhng g hot ng i khi suy ngh su sc cho bn, v bn nn thc hin tt hn s dng cc tm dng trongngy ca bn?