Hello friends — I am back from Spain (36°C) to the glorious English summer of clouds and rain. Certainly I am very, very rested and relaxed. I did no work except on the first two days, and for the majority of the holiday I didn’t even know what time it was as my watch and phone were out of sight!

A year ago after my summer holiday I said I felt re-envisioned, which was just before we launched Like Minds. This time, I feel like I’ve got a bit more re-prioritised.

Getting perspective, getting away and seeing things with fresh eyes, is a wonderful byproduct of a holiday. I find that month-on-month, we add things into our life that often are very unproductive, but we take them on because they demand our attention, and we get into the tradition of doing things for the sake of doing them. Many times we don’t even see this happen.

Or we find we are putting disproportionate amounts of time into the things that don’t yield the return that we should be putting more time into.

What I’ve found is that because a holiday STOPS you doing the little things like this, you are forced to reconsider what the priorities are.

Your Leading Thoughts

  • I’m keen to know how you get perspective and how you find holidays help you.

Archived Comments

  • http://www.robertpickstone.com Robert Pickstone

    Good to hear you enjoyed your time away!

    Gaining perspective is often done by taking myself out of a situation for a while, or quite simply by someone being blunt with me and giving me their point of view, which forces me to look at things a little differently. We all get wrapped up in things we don’t need to so surrounding yourself with people who will provide their honest viewpoint can be a great way of getting perspective.

  • / Scott Gould

    Thanks Robert – certainly was very refreshing.

    I agree – having people who can be blunt helps. Do you have a few ‘mentors’?

    Scott

  • http://www.robertpickstone.com Robert Pickstone

    Yep, I have a few who I turn to. Some friends, some family, some work colleagues. Sometimes the people that know you very well and that you speak to regularly can deliver good advice, but on the otherside some of the best advice and perspective can come from someone who is quite often on ‘the outside’. They don’t get caught up in the details, they focus on the basics (that is what I have found anyway).

  • / Scott Gould

    Good stuff Rob. Please do share your insights more please – I’m sure you’ve got more to give than you do : )

  • http://www.robertpickstone.com Robert Pickstone

    Thanks. All about finding the time (which links back into this very blog post!) but will try my best :-)

  • Diego A Serrato

    Nothing like time away to help you re-focus on your life and work.

    Its hard to focus sometimes when you’re so caught up in your daily routines with work and life and taking that time to step back, reflect on what you’re doing and prepare for that next push is vital to achieve your final goal. Agree with Robert P on the importance of having someone that can be blunt to you and make you see things in a different way.

    Stephan Sagmeister has a great video on TED about the ‘The power of time off’ which I think, if you haven’t seen it Scott you will find very interesting.

  • / Scott Gould

    Hey Diego

    It’s important. Already I’ve found being back at work how unfocussed I feel with all the junk in my face.

    I need to really re-assess some stuff!

    I will check out the video – sounds good!

    Scott