Time to Think

by Henry Kaestner

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Entrepreneurs are frenetic sources of energy and action.  We're always very, very busy.  We're usually behind on our email, and we bemoan that there are only 24 hours in a day.  I've talked about Sabbath before, and I'll talk about it again I'm sure, but this post is about something related and yet different.

It takes about 6 minutes to read this article on taking time to think strategically, and it's worth every second.  Want to go a little deeper in to the neurology, the strategy and the studies that have been done on "Deep Work" by taking non-distracted time to focus on key issues? I recommend the book by the same name.  I read/listened to it over a series of runs this past Fall, and it changed the way I think and work.  I wish it had been written 20 years ago.

As Faith Driven Entrepreneurs, it's not much of a stretch to think about how we might bring our faith to bear in this new discipline of deep work.  Intentional and non-distracted prayer, should accompany any period of meditation and reflection on the key issues in front of us, as well as some time spent thinking about what issues aren't in front us now, but should be.  Any number of Scriptural references point us in the same direction, of course.  The aforementioned verse from Romans is a great one.  Another one I like is in the first part of Proverbs 15:28 which tells us that "The heart of the righteous ponders...."  I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I ponder enough.

I'm going to be more intentional about scheduling non-distracted time over the coming weeks to renew my mind.  I'll think, meditate, pray and ponder on where God is leading me, and how I, in turn, need to lead.  Maybe you'll do the same?

Quick postscript:  

I found the referenced article from Max Anderson.  Max is a friend who serves as a Venture Partner at Praxis Labs, founder of a super interesting new fund/studio model called Saturn V and the author of my favorite bit of weekly reading, "The Weekend Reader."  I'll likely reference articles and thoughts that he surfaces from time to time and I recommend you check his newsletter out as well.

Photo by Kornél Máhl on Unsplash