Pretty regularly (typically once a month) I stop what I’m doing, get away from everything and reassess the current path of action. We get so engrossed in what we’re doing, sucked into the present and singularly focussed on the chosen path of action that we often miss opportunities or don’t make course corrections when necessary. That is — if we don’t stop and take a long, hard look at things from time to time.
I start these sessions by putting all the pieces I’m working on and thinking about onto paper — less because I want to work on them but to get them out of my head. And then I ask myself the question: What would I do differently if I were to start fresh? What has changed since I embarked on the chosen path? What is not true anymore? What is true now?
It’s an incredibly powerful exercise and often yields some pretty significant breakthroughs.
You can’t see the forest for the trees when your nose is always to the grindstone.