Over Labor Day, I went to beautiful San Francisco for a weekend away, prepared for the “coldest winter ever spent is a summer in San Francisco“, and it turned out with record-setting temperatures over 100 degrees! So, after a food walking tour in the thick of the heat on Saturday in the Mission District, I thought my first visit to Muir Woods might provide some welcome relief on Sunday – and it did. Muir Woods is beautiful and calm. It can be a great way to get away from the rat race by going somewhere you can hear the babbling brooks and be a small speck among the majestic trees. How often are you able to get away where you can hear beyond conversations, traffic and phones?

Majestic Muir Woods

One tip to implement this week: 

How often would a day – or even an hour – away to a place where you can hear yourself think be valuable? I find that most of the BEST ideas show up when you empty your mind. Unfortunately for most of us, we try to force ideas when we are in brainstorming sessions, talking with our manager or on the phone with a key customer. And many times, they are not likely to play by our tune. Instead, when we least expect an amazing idea, it shows up.

Have you ever kept working because you had to finish a critical project or report but the information just wouldn’t flow? Thirty minutes away, whether on a walk, playing with the dog or escaping into a TV show might do wonders. If you are at the office, you could walk to the other end of the building to check in on someone you haven’t seen in quite a while or you could go to a conference room or empty office and think. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate plan to be effective. Give it a try, and let me know how those ideas start flowing.

If you enjoyed this article, read more about how important getting a new perspective can be…