If you ask pretty well any CEO, executive or entrepreneur, he or she will generally admit that their best ideas come when they are away from the office.   Either in the proverbial bed, bath or bus (car, motorcycle, powerboat), strolling, fishing, or relaxing at the beach in a peaceful state of mind.   Personally, my best ideas come while I am in the shower.

Something happens when we are away from the office or our work.  We feel more relaxed, our minds settle down, our thoughts are free-flowing.  If something happens, we are less likely to overreact “why be concerned, I’m on vacation”.

When we get back to work, stuff is happening, the phone is ringing, emails are popping and people are interrupting.  It would seem that the environment is the source of distraction, requiring us to ramp up our thinking to handle all the extra sensory overload.

What we haven’t understood up to now is that busyness does not come from outside circumstances.  Busyness and overwhelm come from within – namely in the form of a lot of extra thinking.   When our thinking gets busy, we feel pressured and burdened.

Try dialing down your thoughts rather than trying to control the outside world.   When you bring your holiday mode to work, everything feels less urgent and more manageable.  A fresh perspective, creative solutions and innovative ideas have a place to emerge and catch your attention.   Working in a flow-state feels easy and effortless, like being on vacation.