Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude

by Raymond M. Kethledge

Percolate beforehand. If you plan to use solitude to think about a specific issue, you should identify that issue in advance and briefly review any materials you think especially relevant. That will get your mind processing the issue beforehand, which often allows insights—sometimes analytical, sometimes intuitive—to come more quickly when you do think about it. Then you can spend your time in solitude thinking productively, rather than wasting time figuring out what, exactly, you should be thinking about. Moreover, if you’re doing analytical thinking and are not making progress, turn to something else and then circle back with a more open, intuitive approach later. Frequently you’ll find that your original analysis treated the issue as more complex than it actually is.