Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Productivity of Silence


Those monks were onto something.

This modern, ultra-connected, world with a multitude of interruptions creating an attention-deficit culture is not an environment that is conducive to deep thought. All of the emphasis on communication and meetings overlooks the need to hide.

I await the day when companies will have sound-proof work capsules that provide a zone of thought and productivity. No e-mail. No phone. No Facebook or Twitter.

Just focus and flow.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Micheal, this post is the definition of short and sweet.

I think this is something that is easily forgotten in our busy, go go world today.

This is definitely something I need to keep in mind for myself when trying to get things done!

Thanks for the great reminder!

Michael Wade said...

Jay,

I'm glad you liked it. We all need these reminders. I know that I have gotten to deeply appreciate the work-enhancing power of silence.

Michael

Rob said...

I often work early, late or on weekends for this very reason....

Start at 5.30am, finish at 2pm miss all the traffic, it's like magic you get an extra hour or more in the day.....

People used to have offices, little caves where you could work and/or hibernate, a door that could be opened or closed. With open plan there are so many distractions. I think the introduction of a "library type work space". If you need silence you can go into the space, cubicles with no phones, cell or otherwise and no conversations, either directly or in the back ground, a zone of productivity, where you can come and go as you need, that is respected.....I think it would be worthwhile and a good place to 'escape' so you can concentrate.....