25 April 2013

Find inspiration when ‘freedom thinking’

The sea near where I live.
In yesterday’s blog I talked about some of the dos and don’ts when it comes to expressing ideas. Today I would like, if I may, to offer some basic practical tips for when you need to nurture your ideas in their early stages.

First you need to get your idea. That’s a whole other story, but some of the following might help with generating an idea too. What do I mean by idea? In the context of this blog it is something which will help you to generate an independent income so that you can leave your job. 


So, let’s assume that you already have an idea of sorts, and that if you have read yesterday’s missive you haven’t told anyone about it yet. Here are some things that I did when thinking my way out of my old job. I’m going to try a few scenarios on you and hopefully one will be a possibility. 


Scenario one: work – ‘the lunch break’

This is probably the most difficult as work tends to take everything you have to offer. But start by taking regular lunch breaks. Get out of the office/place of work for an hour. Stop eating a sandwich at your desk. In fact, stop that at once, immediately, cease and desist from this awful habit (rant over).

You are less productive in your job and less able to find your final escape from it if you allow it to totally absorb you during the standard 9 to 5 hours and beyond. You need a break. Read this article from my least favourite daily. It shows that you could end up doing 16 extra days a year for free just by halving your lunch breaks. That is not fair.

Once you have established a pattern of taking a lunch break find somewhere to go. This could be a park bench or at the very least a cafe. Sometimes it’s good to have a few places, depending on the nature of what you’re doing. Park bench for calm thought with a notebook, cafe for internet access allowing you to do some research. My ideal is a place that has an interesting view and a comfy chair but not all work places are located near inspiring locations for a spot of thinking. In this case you will just have to do your best.

Scenario two: after work – ‘the pub’
Sometimes you don’t need to get straight home after work. Sometimes it’s good to go with some friends for a pint. But for the ‘freedom thinker’ a trip to the pub after work needs to be solo. Buy a pint and sit in a corner where you can look across the pub. Get your notebook or laptop out and collate your thoughts. Write some notes on what you think about. Do some research into your idea and let it grow. Do a bit of day dreaming. Then after a slow pint go home and see your kids.

Scenario three: weekend – ‘the beach’
It’s the weekend, so don’t go shopping. Go somewhere nice instead. I like to go to the sea (I live by the sea). Find a peaceful spot, this might be in a cafe or a cliff top, or better, both. Otherwise go to the countryside or a historic town. Then – as above get yourself to a spot where you can think things out for a bit.

These are just a few ideas for locations where you can think about stuff in an environment other than home or office. I found that it helped me to formulate some plans, make some phone calls and do some research.

Now that we’ve found our places for thinking we can get down to working out how we can gain our freedom.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Saul! Just found your blog.. i never realised you had this here. Great blog, shall be trying to put some wise words into practice!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Scott. I appreciate the encouragement. S

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  2. Lunch break Joy
    I agree - workers feel happiest after lunch away from the workplace. Scientists at the University of Sussex found people felt best after a bite in the park or at the beach. Even eating on public transport was preferable to a desk lunch. So get out of the workplace at lunch and have a think & feel happier.

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