Monday 27 May 2013

NOISE IS KILLING CREATIVITY

Where has all the silence gone?

Have you noticed lately that our world is becoming more noisy by the minute?  From computers, ipads, people, twitter and cars, it just goes on and on...

Most humans are now wasting up to 2.5 hours per day being distracted by some noise or other.  How productive and creative are we really in the workplace in 2013?

I think it's time to stop and take a rain check.  Fast and noisier is not always better.  If you look behind any extraordinary achievers, you will find silence is one of their daily practises where they practise their skill when no one is watching.  As we merge the old and new in business, extraordinary shifts are happening.

Take 37 Signals, Jason Fried the co-founder noticed that their offices had become full of interruptions and noise, so he decided to implement changes.  One change was 'No Talk Thursday' in which employees do not talk to each other, so they have time to be creative and work on projects in silence.  Some companies are starting to understand the value of silence and are creating flexible open-plan offices with a mix of quiet zones, reading rooms, solar workplaces and computer hubs.  Similarly at Microsoft, many employees have their own office hubs, yet they come with sliding doors, movable walls and many other features that allow them to collaborate when needed.

Sometimes the real work gets done in silence and the space between the gaps.

Make time to think; create the space to be creative...

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