http://www.theinnovationdiaries.com/2008/04/08/working-with-patient-boredom/ Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:15:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.theinnovationdiaries.com/2008/04/08/working-with-patient-boredom/#comment-1214 Jen Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:37:21 +0000 http://www.theinnovationdiaries.com/2008/04/08/working-with-patient-boredom/#comment-1214 In contrast to your plane exercise, I actually practice the opposite. As a big talker (or so my husband tells me) I like to converse at regular intervals about everything & anything. For those topics of conversation which are not urgent or topical, but feel important enough to warrant time & attention, my husband will often say "Put it on the plane list". You see, we have a list of conversation topics which we want to explore in discussion when we have time & headspace and the plane is the perfect vehicle for such conversation! What you may ask? Well, there is inevitably a list of questions which pop into my mind as I go about my daily business . . Do I think there's enough grace in the world? Where is the line between being content & settling & how do you know when you've crossed it? Can you choose to be content rather than achieve it? And so for us, time spent millions of miles in the air as we travel from one place to another is often spent deep in discussion about life, the universe & everything, but because we're removed from our daily grind, we tend to think & articulate ourselves differently which is refreshing. Anyway, try it on a long journey yourself, think back to your university days when you had all the time in the world to sit in coffee shops & debate philosophical questions. It's sometimes nice to play at that again and just let your mind wander with a small map, unrestricted by time, deadlines or business problems that need to be solved. In contrast to your plane exercise, I actually practice the opposite. As a big talker (or so my husband tells me) I like to converse at regular intervals about everything & anything. For those topics of conversation which are not urgent or topical, but feel important enough to warrant time & attention, my husband will often say “Put it on the plane list”. You see, we have a list of conversation topics which we want to explore in discussion when we have time & headspace and the plane is the perfect vehicle for such conversation! What you may ask? Well, there is inevitably a list of questions which pop into my mind as I go about my daily business . . Do I think there’s enough grace in the world? Where is the line between being content & settling & how do you know when you’ve crossed it? Can you choose to be content rather than achieve it? And so for us, time spent millions of miles in the air as we travel from one place to another is often spent deep in discussion about life, the universe & everything, but because we’re removed from our daily grind, we tend to think & articulate ourselves differently which is refreshing. Anyway, try it on a long journey yourself, think back to your university days when you had all the time in the world to sit in coffee shops & debate philosophical questions. It’s sometimes nice to play at that again and just let your mind wander with a small map, unrestricted by time, deadlines or business problems that need to be solved.

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