John Cleese on creating boundaries

John Cleese on creating boundaries

Today is a Throughput Thursday - a day to consider how we can get better at whatever it is we're doing.

And while I don't normally turn to John Cleese for my deep-thinking inspiration, I probably should. The man's brilliant, hilarious, and knows a thing or two about creating and getting products to market.

The video below is 10:37. Enjoy.

If you don't have 10 minutes right now, here are the take-away points. (but it's worth the watch - come back when you have more time.)

1. Learn something new every day.
2. Put aside uninterrupted time for creativity.
3. Ideas come from deep within ourselves, not our laptops & cell phones.
4. Racing full speed all day, checking off items from a list, you won't find any new ideas.
5. Create boundaries of space and time - allow yourself a space & time without interruption to think and reflect.

The unfortunate thing is, I'm trying to watch a video which will help me become more productive, but then the youtube playlist loads dozens of other John Cleese and Monty Python videos, and the next think I know I've lost an hour of my day! Doh!

* NOTE - these same points hold true for fitness. There's enough to do and enough distractions to fill more than 24 hours in your day. You have to allow yourself time for your health, even if it's just a 20-minute workout 3-4 days a week.

-Chris Butterworth

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