How do you stay inspired in your daily work environment? We are all busy. Too busy. It is so easy to focus solely on our our day-to-day tasks; sometimes we need step back and see at how what we do impacts the entire organization.

Sometimes I think it’s beneficial to change where/how/when we work, even for a couple of hours or a day. An unexpected view can trigger our synapses in unexpected ways. Being fortunate to often work from home, if I am stuck on a problem or have writers’ block, answers often come to me when I step away from the computer, begin working out or walking the dogs. I will voice record my thoughts, so they don’t vanish before returning to my desk.

I can be extremely productive working on my deck, surrounded by beauty–with no distractions. Can you hold a meeting on an outside location, no cost? Did you ever have a teacher who took class outside–I loved the freedom, and there was no clock watching on those days.

Occasionally I meet with clients on neutral territory–a library, a coffee shop, so that I can train someone or work on a list of projects with virtually no interference. Sometimes we clear items off our to-do list trying to reach out by phone or email on open issues, and sometimes we add to our list.

The photo here is from the inspiring views I had while writing for several hours, just a few weeks ago. On a lovely Friday afternoon, my friend Patti invited us to work on her boat, where we were amazingly quiet and productive.

Yes, there are times for meetings and conference calls and cleaning out that in-box, but occasional time away from you regular workspace can be enlightening, inspiring, and productive.  Note that it will be awhile until I get to work here from a boat again, as autumn in in full gorgeous color.

The journey continues.

C