Lakes Shower Cubicles

No time to think?

No time to think?

No time to think? By Alan Connor
BBC News Magazine

When Barack Obama met David Cameron, the couple had time to discuss time thinking - and lack thereof. This is not only the potential leaders of countries that have little opportunity to reflect on the whole situation. How can we take thinking time during the workday?

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

"The most important thing you should do", said Mr. 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 accompanying their outdoor stroll, David Cameron and Barack Obama exchanged fears of getting bogged down in details.

If the politician has realized he was being recorded, he would not have chosen his words better, Obama coming across like chess lovers contemplative President Bartlet of The West Wing and Cameron balance work and life more delicately than the workaholic stereotype associated with Gordon Brown.

The political class, to be "on" 24 / 7, may feel particularly need moments of decline of daily life. 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 bring yourself some thinking time - from those who have had time to think.

CHOOSE YOUR MOMENT
No more lunch "al desko"

The most common advice boils down to something that may seem obvious: work until you are paid to work. The rest of the day is yours to do what you want - and you can devote to thinking.

Obvious, perhaps, but not so obvious that we do: various surveys conducted on behalf of food outlets, between 50 and 80% of us skip an actual break for lunch, much less with the hour of silent contemplation.

You may not have heard the unspeakable expression "eating al desko", but if you've been in office, you have probably seen the sad spectacle of a workstation becomes a dining table for seven minutes and a panino hastily chomped.

"We must ensure that people in offices go out at lunchtime," said David Hunter, managing director of continuing education in the United Kingdom. "If you leave your desk to wander the streets, you come back refreshed and able to work."

Chomp Chomp

Tom Hodgkinson, editor of the Idler magazine, speaking of a medieval garden, recommends getting away from your workplace and finding nearby places that you will spend a little quiet.

"People do not take an hour for lunch, no more. But you can eat in one quarter of an hour, then walk somewhere. Churches are perfect for this. "

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

Choose your location
It need not be at the top of a mountain

For the truly dedicated, a dedicated waiting time for reflection. Visuddhimati, a professor at North London Buddhist Centre, said that many non-Buddhists want to study how to be aware and set aside "a little space at home" for meditation, "he said.