No time to think？

No time to think? 

 

By Alan Connor
BBC News Magazine 

When Barack Obama met David Cameron, the pair got around to discussing thinking time - and the lack of it. It's not just potential leaders of nations who are short of opportunities to reflect on the bigger picture. How can any of us grab thinking time during the working day?

"These guys just chalk your diary up," lamented Cameron. "We call it the dentist's waiting room."

"The most important thing you need to do," mused Obama, "is to have big chunks of time during the day when all you're doing is thinking."

Apparently unaware of the large fluffy boom mic accompanying their outdoor stroll, David Cameron and Barack Obama swapped fears of getting bogged down in the detail.

If either politician realised he was being recorded, he couldn't have chosen his words better, Obama coming across like the chess-loving contemplative President Bartlet in The West Wing and Cameron balancing work and life more delicately than the workaholic stereotype associated with Gordon Brown.

The political class, being "on" 24/7, may feel in special need of moments to step back from the everyday. But few of us complain of having too much time, whether at work or at home. As a public service, the Magazine asks how to grab yourself some thinking time - from those who've had time to think about it.

CHOOSE YOUR MOMENT
No more lunching "al desko"
The most common advice boils down to something that might seem obvious: only work when you're being paid to work. The rest of the day is yours to do with as you wish - and you may wish to devote it to thought.

Obvious, perhaps, but not obvious enough that we do it: various surveys conducted on behalf of food outlets suggest that between 50 and 80% of us skip an actual break for lunch, let alone using the hour for quiet contemplation.

You might not have heard the unspeakable expression "eating al desko", but if you've been in an office, you've probably witnessed the sorry spectacle of a workstation becoming a dining table for seven minutes and a hastily-chomped panino.

"We have to make sure that people in offices go out at lunchtimes," says David Hunter, chief executive of Lifelong Learning UK. "If you leave your desk to wander up the street, you come back refreshed and more able to work." 
Chomp chomp

Tom Hodgkinson, editor of The Idler magazine, speaking from a medieval garden, recommends getting away from your workplace and finding nearby places that will afford you some calm.

"People don't take an hour off for lunch any more. But you can eat in a quarter of an hour and then walk somewhere. Churches are great for this."

He also suggests reclaiming your travel time as an opportunity to take stock rather than worrying about the work that you're either approaching or leaving. "It's good to get off the bus earlier and walk - in London, you can give yourself an hour of pure pleasure."

 

CHOOSE YOUR LOCATION
It doesn't have to be atop a mountain
For the truly dedicated, a dedicated space awaits thinking time. Visuddhimati, a teacher at North London Buddhist centre, says that many non-Buddhists want to study how to be aware and set aside "a little space at home" for meditation: "it could be a corner of the room or a dedicated meditation room."

But what if you're space-poor as well as time-poor?

Tony Buzan, the inventor of graphical "thinking tools" MindMaps, says: "I've asked people where they are physically when they have great ideas, paradigm-shifting epiphanies, or a flood of memories they've been trying to remember. 
Take your time at the basin

"Regardless of continent, age, gender, education and race, the answers are the same."

The list that follows is reassuring for those who crave some repose without the need for an ashram. The "oases of thought" Buzan hears about are commonly: the shower; the bath; the loo; shaving; walking in nature; in bed (before sleep, in the middle of the night, or first thing); looking at water; listening to classical music and long-distance travel, such as running or driving.

Happily, these are situations you might find yourself in during your everyday life - and thought may come as long as you're not multi-tasking while you do them. Also, as Hodgkinson points out, adding gardening to the list, "they don't cost anything."

HAVE YOUR PROPS TO HAND
Aristotle or Moyles?
In Proust's In Search Of Lost Time, the narrator is prompted to unlock the secrets of memory after some quiet time contemplating a biscuit. 
For Proust, a madeleine - you may prefer choccy

Serendipity is nice when it happens, but you may not wish to risk your precious thinking time hoping for random inspiration.

Tony Buzan recommends that once the time and place are right, you "immediately listen to music you associate with relaxation," preferring piano and baroque. Your musical mileage may vary, even to the CDs of The Smiths, Radiohead, Gorillaz and Lily Allen which Mr Cameron gave to Mr Obama during their chat.

Dr Nigel Warburton of the Open University agrees, again citing the commute as a golden opportunity. "Headphones help people remarkably. You can shut out the distractions on public transport in a way that was impossible a generation ago.

"Podcasting allows people to make far more effective use of their travel - what might have been dead time becomes valuable reflective time."

As good as his word, Dr Warburton offered a series of philosophy podcasts last year and saw them beating Chris Moyles in the iTunes chart - and other contemplative 'casts are, of course, available.

For those who prefer output to input, David Hunter recommends writing down what's on your mind.

"You can gain possession of a problem by writing about it, and looking back over past issues to see how you've dealt with them. That way, you progress your learning as you go along." 
Not necessarily the best way to think

And, of course, the prop that prompts your thought doesn't have to be inanimate.

"It's not a given that thought is a solitary rather than a social activity," says Dr Warburton.

"People you disagree with are what gets you going, rather than idly going through an unchallenged stream of consciousness. I think more clearly when I'm challenged."

GIVE YOURSELF LESS TO THINK ABOUT
Your mobile has an "off" switch
You may have let a Japanese doctor "train your brain" in a computer game and then filled your brain with the world's knowledge courtesy of Wikipedia - but proper thinking may require you to put these to one side.

"There's a tendency in large organisations to keep us busy," says Hodgkinson, "and when we're not busy, to distract us with a never-ending stream of media like e-mail, Facebook and TV." 
...and go out and do something less boring instead?

Sometimes, even your favourite prompts for thought may get in the way.

"I can say that all great creators, without exception, have taken breaks," says Buzan. "A minimum of two a day." "Leonardo Da Vinci had a bed in his studio and when patrons accused him of wasting time, he said 'If I don't do this, you don't get the work.'"

If your boss might raise an eyebrow or more at the sight of you installing a futon in your cubicle, you can still capture a little of the Leonardo spirit by dedicating time to avoiding the incoming memos, texts and Post-It notes - and the same goes for the homestead, says Hodgkinson.

"You have to disconnect from what stops you thinking - just stop the flow for a bit, not to a hermetic extent. You could unplug the TV or not get a daily paper for a few days."

HAVE THE DESIRE TO THINK
You can get it if you really want
"The first step," says Hodgkinson, "is to have an understanding of the importance of thought. Thinking is what makes us human."

These "oases of thought" are not, of course, as scarce for everyone. If your work and life are in perfect balance, if you think that everyone else should work smarter, not harder, or if you can't understand why the rest of the world seems to think it's so busy all the time, you may be one of the lucky ones.

Dr Warburton talks about Open University students who use any means necessary to find the time for thought, getting up two hours before the children or forcing themselves not to nod off at the end of the day.

"Someone who's desperate to do something will find the time," he says. "Everyone can have an hour's less sleep. It's staying alert that's the difficulty." 
Someone who forgot their oases of calm

However, says Hunter, the less tenacious can still reap the benefits. "Everyone needs to make time to think," he says, "not just potential leaders of nations."

Tony Buzan expresses the same idea in the form of an ultimatum.

"If you don't give the brain breaks, it will take them", he says, "in the form of loss of concentration, or what we call a mental breakdown."

Think about that.

 

没有时间思考？

 

 

 

巴拉克·奥巴马和大卫·卡梅伦见面时，两人抽出时间专门讨论思考时间以及缺少思考时间的问题。不只是新任国家领导人面临缺少思考时间这个问题。我们中的任何一位在每个工作日中又如何抽出思考时间的呢？

“这些伙计只知道记下你的日程，”卡梅伦抱怨道。“我们可以堪称牙医的候诊室。”

“你要做的最重要的是，”奥巴马沉思了一下，“思考的时候你需要一天中的大块时间。”

显然，奥巴马和卡梅伦没觉察到伴随开门声而来的隆隆的麦克风音乐声，他们相互交流陷入到细节的忧虑。

如果任何一位政治家意识到他本人正在被记录，他只能选择他的话语的话，那么，奥巴马很像一位令人印象深刻酷爱象棋的西方总统巴特来（Bartlet），而卡梅伦比与工作狂形象联系在一起的戈登·布朗更善于巧妙地平衡工作和生活的关系。

每周七天，每天二十四小时（24/7）从事政治工作的人士，可能更需要从日常事务中抽身出来。但是，无论我们工作还是在家，我们很少有人抱怨时间太多。作为公众服务杂志，Magazine做了一些如何为自己抓住思考时间的调查——从那些能够抽身思考的人身上获取一些经验。

 

学会选择时间

不再在“桌前”（al desko）吃午餐

 

最常见的建议可以归结为看时很显然的东西：只有你要为工作付出时才去工作。其余时间如你所愿是你自己的——你可以将它用于思考。

可能，很显然，但是还不够明显到我们实施起来，以食物小册子名义进行的各种调查表明50%到80%的人都会跳过午饭时刻，更不用说用这段时间去思考了。

你可能没有听过这句没听过这个说法“桌前吃饭”，但如果你在办公室，你可能见过这样的情形，工作站变成了七分钟的餐桌，以及匆匆咀嚼的奏鸣曲。

 

图2  咯吱咯吱（Chomp chomp）

“我们应该确保办公室的职员午饭时间出去，”英国长寿研究的总裁大卫·昏特说。“如果你离开办公桌在马路上散一会儿步，那么你会来的时候精神振奋，也更能够投入工作。”

Idler杂志的编辑汤姆·霍其金森从中世纪的花园谈起，建议从工作场所走出来，找一个附近能够让你安静下来的地方。

“午饭时，人们不再花一小时出去吃了。但你可以花一刻钟吃饭，其余时间在周围散步。教堂就是个不错的去处。”

他还建议，散步的时间可以作为一个清查存货的机会，而不是忧虑饭前离开、饭后工作的内容。“早点下公交车走路不错——在伦敦，你可以给你完全快乐的一小时。”

 

选择地点

不必选在山顶上

 

对真正专注思考的人，专注的地点正等着思考的时间。伦敦北区佛教中心的教师Visuddhimati认为，很多非佛教人士想研究如何去认识，以及如何“在家里留出一小块空间”来思考：“这可能是陋室一角或者专门的书房。”

但如果你的空间很紧张，时间也很紧张呢？

图形化“思考工具”思维地图（MindMaps）的发明者托尼·布赞认为：“我曾经问过一些人，当他们有个很不错的想法，情景复现范例，或他们想回忆起一些事情时，从自身来说，他们在什么地方。”

“无论哪个大洲，年龄，性别，教育和种族，答案都是相同的。”

 

图3  在浴盆里找到时间

这个地点的列表可以让那些渴望寻求安静的人得到慰藉而又不必寻求专门的修行之地。布赞听到的“思考的绿洲”是相同的：淋浴；浴池；厕所；刮胡须；在大自然中散步；在床上（睡前，午夜，或第一件事情）；盯着水看；听古典音乐和长途旅行，如跑步或开车。

令人高兴的是，这些地方都可以在日常生活中找得到，只要你思考时没有进行多个任务时都可以进行。同样，正如霍其金森指出的那样，再将花园也列入其中，“这些地方真正不需投入太多。”

 

将工具攥在手中

亚里士多德或莫伊乐思？

 

普鲁斯特的《寻找丢失的时间》一书中，讲述者主张在经过一段时间的安静思考之后开启记忆的秘密是一块饼干。

 

图4  对普鲁斯特，这是一块玛德琳蛋糕；对你，可能更喜欢一块巧克力

意想不到的事情降临的话当然不错，但你可能不希望宝贵的思考时间用于天马行空上。

托尼·布赞建议，如果时间地点一旦合适，你可以“立即收听适合你的音乐来放松”，尤其是钢琴和巴洛克。你的音乐范围可能不同，可能是The Smith，Radiohead，Gorillaz和Lily Allen的CD，这是卡梅伦与奥巴马交谈期间推荐的音乐。

电视大学的尼格尔·瓦布通同意这一点，再一次指出通勤车也是一个很不错的机会。“耳机能更人们带来很大的方便。你可以躲开公共交通的干扰，而这在一代人以前是不可能的。”

“播客让人们可以更有效地利用他们的旅途——这些不可能的时间都变成了很有价值的思考时间。”

实际上对于他所说的话，瓦尔布斯博士推荐了去年一系列的哲学播客，认为他们在iTunes频道击败了克里斯·莫伊乐思——其他的思索对象，当然也使具备的。

对那些喜欢输出而不喜欢输入的人来说，大卫·昏特推荐将自己所想的东西写下来。

“写下来的时候你可能抓住了问题，你也可以回过头来思考是如何解决问题的。这样，你可以边做边学。”

 

图5  不必最好的方式去思考

当然，能够促使你思考的工具不一定是没有生命的。

“不是这样的假设，思考是孤独的，不是社会性的活动，”瓦尔布斯博士说。

“人们不同意你的所行，而更可能懒散地进入一个没有多少挑战的意识中。当我受到挑战时，我想得很仔细。”

 

让自己少回想

你的手机有一个“关机”键

 

你可能让一个日本博士在计算机游戏中来“训练你的大脑”，接着让Wiki百科的世界知识来充满你的大脑——但正确的思考可能需要你把这些放在一旁。

“在一些大机构中让我们保持忙碌，”霍其金森说，“当我们不忙的时候，将我们从永无休止的诸如e-mail、Facebook和电视等媒体流中引开。”

有时候，甚至你最喜欢的的思考提示也会受到妨碍。

“我可以说，所有伟大的创作者，毫无例外地，都有休息时间，”布赞说。“每天两个中的最短者。”“莱昂纳多·达芬奇在工作室内有一张床，当资助人指责他浪费时间，他说‘如果我不休息，你就得不到我的工作。’”

 

图6  ……出去做点儿不怎么无趣的事情如何？

如果你的老板扬起眉毛，或者更甚看你在你的工位内安装一个蒲团，你还可以拿出莱昂纳多的精神，抽出专门的时间来回避备忘录、正文和发送邮件的便条等——同样对于田产也一样，霍其金森说。

“你必须和阻止你思考的事情断开——只是把这个流程阻止一点儿，而不是与世隔绝的状态。你可以拔下电视插座，几天内不去拿日报。”

 

有思考的欲望

如果你真想思考的话，你就可以思考

 

“第一步，”霍其金森，“是理解思考的重要性。思考是我们之所以成为人类的原因。”

这些“思考的绿洲”当然不是每个人都可以缺少的。如果你的工作生活不能很好地平衡，如果你认为每个其他人应当工作地更灵活，而不是更辛苦，或者，如果你不能理解为什么其他人似乎认为一直都那么忙的话，那么你可能是其中幸运的一员。

瓦尔布斯博士谈到了函授大学的学生，可以用任何必要的方式来找到时间思考，在孩子起床前两小时起床，或强迫他们在每天结束时不要打盹。

“不顾一切完成某件事的人会找到时间的，”他说。“每个人可以少睡一小时。但要注意，这很困难。”

然而，昏特说，不怎么顽强也可以得到收获。“每个人都需要找到时间思考，”他说，“而不仅仅是国家领导人。”

布赞以最后通牒的形式表达了同样的想法。

“如果你不给达到休息时间，那么大脑就会一直被占着，”他说，“但注意力会下降，或者我们成为精神崩溃的代价。”

 

图7  忘记自己内心宁静的某人

想想这一点吧！