Thinking: The Missing Responsibility

We sometimes bemoan the lack of time for reflection. Jerry D. Campbell calls it "thinking," or at least we think it's the same thing:

Unfortunately, in failing to emphasize thinking in the workplace, we risk losing its potential. Thinking must be nurtured and facilitated. It is not so easy sometimes to get into the thinking mode. Those “to do” lists in our Blackberries are always stalking us. We feel like we are wasting time if we are not doing something tangible: making calls, answering e-mails, starting the next assignment or project. Nonetheless, it is critically important to develop the discipline of turning off the ringer, putting away the Blackberry, moving aside the laptop, and turning mentally to the challenges in our work.

But again, this is hard to do. Without institutional encouragement, we start to feel guilty, like we’re wasting time. Just sitting and thinking—isn’t there something “real” we should be doing? And even with encouragement, making the time to think takes practice, especially for those of us who have been out of school for a while. Thinking—especially useful, creative thinking—must be cultivated.