Remember To Come Up For Air...

*This is another excerpt from my new book 'Juggle!'

You're busy. Leaping from one meeting to another, juggling different agendas. Then you have a call to make; you switch off Tweetdeck while you write that report your boss is waiting for. The day is destined to be back-to-back priorities with no time for anything else.

4 words of advice:
Come up for air.

Remember to resurface to:
- Take a breath and glance at your to-do list.
- Suddenly remember, ‘oops I said I'd call the client back by 4’ or perhaps, ‘oops, I forgot the card for our wedding anniversary tomorrow’.
- Have a breath of fresh air (literally).
- Grab a coffee.
- Take time out for that ‘eureka’ idea.

The trouble is that so many of us get embedded in our working lives, we throw ourselves headlong into our jobs, giving that inevitable 110%. And the better we do, the more stuff we get thrown at us. New responsibilities, new projects, new divisions to run, new people to manage. Which means we become very adept at running stuff, but not so good at thinking about stuff.

And in order to be get more out of life, you need to be good at the ideas bit. Coming up for air will free yourself from clutter and will give you the clarity to be open to new opportunities that if you had your head down in a panic, you may have missed.

Remember, you’re not going to have those ‘eureka’ moments at your desk.. Go for a coffee, go for a walk, go on an Inspiration Jaunt, do anything and everything other than sitting at your desk.

Coming-up-for air is really valuable on days when you are manic, because it's the last thing you think you have time for as you are so pushed for time. But if you didn't surface for air and stand back for a minute there'll be stacks of stuff you'll overlook or just plain forget.

So, whether it's for that 'oops' moment, to get a fresh perspective or to take 5 minutes out, get some air.