When did you last create space to think?
Not to answer emails, prepare for a meeting or work through a list—but to step back, make connections and consider what really needs your attention.
For many leaders, that kind of time has become difficult to find.
You may move from one meeting to the next, responding to messages in between. Each task demands a shift in attention. By the end of the day, you have been busy throughout—but may have made little progress on the issue requiring your best thinking.
One leader I work with calls this ‘Wonder Time’. He schedules it in, otherwise it doesn’t happen. One of his coaching goals was to create more Wonder Time.
For senior leaders, this matters because good leadership requires more than responding to what is immediately in front of you. Strategic thinking also means noticing patterns, making connections and considering what may matter next.
Why does focus become harder?
Concentration requires energy. When we spend long periods filtering distractions, absorbing information and switching between tasks, the quality of our thinking can decline. The use of AI increases this further, as we move between different agents, messages and sources of information.
You may notice that:
You keep rereading the same information
A decision that should be straightforward feels unusually difficult
You become more reactive or impatient
You default to familiar answers rather than exploring new possibilities
You struggle to see the wider picture
This isn’t necessarily a sign that you need to try harder. It may be a sign that your attention needs something different.
If the problem is less about distraction and more about the sheer number of choices competing for your attention, How many decisions really need you? looks specifically at decision fatigue.
When I work with leaders, I often see how helpful it can be to step away from the usual environment. A conversation in a different setting creates space to be more proactive, think aloud and look at an issue from another perspective.
Sometimes, the change of setting matters almost as much as the questions we explore.
How can leaders create better conditions for strategic thinking?
We need to be real. You may not be able to redesign your working week, but small changes can still make a meaningful difference.
1. Protect your best thinking time
What time of day are you most able to concentrate? Use some of that time for work requiring judgement, creativity or careful thought—not only for meetings and messages.
2. Reduce the switching
Constantly moving between emails, conversations and complex tasks places pressure on your attention. Even a short period focused on one issue can help you think more clearly.
3. Change your environment
Move to another space, work somewhere different or take a problem outside. A new setting can interrupt familiar patterns and help you approach the issue afresh.
4. Build in moments without input
A break doesn’t always mean replacing one screen with another. A few quiet minutes, looking into the distance or spending time outside, can give your attention an opportunity to recover.
5. Think with someone else
Some problems become clearer when you explain them aloud. A colleague, coach or trusted peer can ask questions, test your assumptions and help you notice connections that are difficult to see alone.
What could help you think more clearly?
Thinking time can feel like a luxury when demands are high. In reality, it is part of doing senior work well.
Your role doesn’t only require you to respond quickly. It also requires you to make sound decisions, recognise patterns, anticipate problems and create direction for others.
Some of that work needs space.
What small change could help you think more clearly this week?
If you would value an independent perspective to step back from the immediate demands, explore a challenge and find a clearer way forward, explore our Executive Coaching work or contact me to discuss what would help.
Kate Jennings