Sometimes it helps to put some effort into soul searching or personal
planning to really flush out our life goals as well as overall purpose.
But the never ending distractions of the office as well as at home
(noise from kids, TV, music, etc.) can be quite restricting to the quiet
time needed for such inner reflection
So this is why I have five great places outside of home to do any
deep soul searching, personal planning or even business planning that
requires focus away from annoying distractions.
Peaceful Place
A peaceful place like an outdoor garden, park, pond or an indoor
place like a church or temple during quiet hours can provide the ideal
atmosphere to do some soul searching. Of course, you would have to
catch such places when there are few people around and that there are no
excess noise such as construction or traffic right next door.
Natural Scenery
A larger version of the above would be a place of natural scenery
outdoors such as by a body of water like a lake or ocean. Mountain
ranges or canyons would also fit into this category. Again, you want to
access such places where there are no tourist crowds around.
I sometimes go to places right by Lake Ontario but only during
weekdays since there are too many people on the weekends. During the
week, hardly anybody is around which makes a lakeside spot ideal unless
things get too windy. Having said that, I have sat on a ridge
overlooking a barren tundra during a trip to the Arctic and even though
it was freezing cold, the quietness there did allow me to have a nice
soul searching session.
Airplanes
I personally really like airplanes as another place to do any work
that requires focus. When the onboard movie is boring and the other
passengers are not very social, the white noise of the airplane actually
puts me into a productive mindframe. This is why I always carry notes,
pen and paper onboard with me whenever I fly. The same can be said of
the airport terminal if you have earphones to drown out the noise while
you wait for flights.
Hotel Rooms
Also connected to travel, I find hotel rooms to be a great place to
do work as well. They are already equipped with a desk and if you have
any down time during travel, a lot of productivity can result right in
your own hotel room where it should usually be quite quiet.
Public Library
Airplanes and hotel rooms are two of my favorite places to do soul
searching in despite their non-scenic atmosphere. Of course, I cannot
book a trip each time I want to be super productive. So my all time
favorite place to go when I really want to focus is my pubic library.
Libraries are often underutilized by many people. In addition to
many of the resources available in the form of books and other
materials, most libraries have study areas. Some libraries have private
study rooms which in my mind, is the best place for me to get any real
work done whether on a personal or business level.
There are zero distractions in these study rooms since they are often
just plain rooms without anything interesting on the walls to look at.
You really go there on a mission and that is exactly what I do. If I
am stuck on a certain part of my soul searching, I always plan to do
some time at a library study room.
Sometimes I will spend two hours in such a room and sometimes I end
up being there all day with a packed lunch. Regardless of the duration
of time I will spend at the library, I always come out of there with a
lot accomplished both mentally and on paper. I come out with a renewed
sense of direction.
The tips you read here on Pick The Brain are great but sometimes we
need to sit down and think about how we are going to use some of these
tips and insights we read about. If home is too noisy, one cannot
really put in the right effort to think and reflect.
This is why it is important to be able to access other places where
you can go to that will be more productive for you. I have presented my
five best places here. What other places have you used successfully
for soul searching and focus?
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