Pillow Guts & Productivity

How a gutted Pillow led to a Great New Idea
Rip….Rip…Rip
 
It was a heads down afternoon. I blocked out time to “go dark” and work undisrupted on upgrading our Innovation workshop. I set up camp in our dining room. I had papers, notes, my tablet and laptop all sprawled out – I was ready to go.

Rip…Rip…Rip….
 
What is that noise? Annoyed, I saved my document and got up to follow the sound.
Rip….Rip…Rip
 
I walk into my family room only to find our golden retriever surgically gutting a pillow. Fluff was EVERYWHERE—not sure even with CPR this pillow was going to make it. I bellow his name…BARKLEY!!! He paused glanced up with those cute puppy eyes that has saved him on numerous occasions, and gave me a look like “What’s your problem?”
 
At that moment I knew I had a choice. I could chastise him, or I could hold the mirror up and ask what did I do to cause this behavior? As I glanced down at my watch, I realized I had been heads down over two hours. It also dawned on me that he’d given me several warning signs – nudging my arm with his snout, coming in and sitting next to me, even hitting me with his paw.
 
I had to take part of the blame. He’d given me several signs that he wanted some of my attention and a bit of time. With his eyes on me, he anxiously waited to see what I was going to do next. I then spoke one of his favorite words “Tennis!” He ran to the door, leaping in circles, yelping with glee. I laced up my sneakers, grabbed the tennis racket and headed outside for 10 minutes of fetch.
 
As I settled back behind my laptop, I was more awake and had a great new idea percolating in my head, he curled up happily at me feet. As a bent down and rubbed his ears, it struck me, “He’s smarter than he acts (well most of the time – he’s a handful)!”. 
 
Now more than ever, with so many of us working from home, do we ignore the signs to stop, take a break or spend some time doing something we enjoy?
 
In our jam-packed and uncertain world, I think it’s more important than ever to sneak in these micro moments. They are the key to our sanity, health and can hold our next great idea.
 

TAKE ACTION
What are you doing to come “up for air” and take a few moments to yourself? How are you setting a good example for your team to focus on their wellness and balance during this stressful time?

-Stacey