My dog gave me the answer I was looking for

Yesterday I spent most of the day doing strategic planning for a massive project I am working on at the moment. I made great progress capturing all the information I needed and putting them into the right category then I hit a brick wall. I needed to finish the structure but I couldn’t put the final pieces of the puzzle together.

I had spent so long working my brain just wasn’t working effectively anymore. I, however, didn’t listen and kept working. The more I worked the less effective I became. The more I looked for the answer the more elusive the answer became.

In the end I conceded defeat and took my dog out for a walk.

It was a lovely evening and I always enjoy walking her. As a German Shepherd she needs lots of exercise and interaction. It was about 20 minutes into her walk when a thought popped into my mind. It was the solution I was looking for for my project and it seemed so obvious.

By not spending time looking for the answer and not thinking about it directly, I had given my brain the space it needed to think.

I wonder whether this is useful for me going forward. As I grow my business it can be easy to ‘just work’ and think you are being effective. But sometimes it takes a break to be more effective. Give your brain a chance to ‘think’ without having to think!

That’s one of the reasons I love walking my dog. It gives me that time to think without thinking.