When we allow ourselves to get lost in our thoughts and explore every inch of a subject we are able to find details that we didn’t know existed. Allowing ourselves this time lets our minds wander and learn, which is crucial to problem solving and critical thinking. To keep our heads down all day and not let our minds explore new topics will ultimately limit our creativity.
The term “going down a rabbit hole” is a term used to describe an individual or a group that blocks out all other subject matter and hones in on one topic with zero distractions. We explore that singular idea forwards, backwards, upside down, inside out, and from all angles. We find out new things such as how it works or how it might work, and what we would have to do to implement it. In the business world when going down a rabbit hole, we keep our heads down and neglect to see how our ideas/plans/topics fit in line with the rest of our strategy.
This term stems from Alice in Wonderland’s experience of following the rabbit down it’s hole for an unforeseen adventure. We can often do the same, not knowing what we are getting ourselves into. This can lead to major breakthroughs or it can lead to major wastes of time.
I go down rabbit holes quite often, and if you’re reading this you go on those journeys with me. Today for example, I wanted to explore this term since Travis and I use it frequently when discussing our work with Epic Day. When I allow myself to get lost and write on a particular subject I block as many distractions as possible, I reach back to my experiences on the given subject, and I explore as many angles of the topic I’m writing about. There is often research that is involved used to either reassure my thoughts or further explain them and this additional research adds to my knowledge on each given subject.
A rabbit hole usually has a negative connotation aligned with it because these obnoxiously focused bouts are not always planned and can be on unrelated topics to our work. However when we focus on the right things at the right times and block out unnecessary distractions, we are free to fall as far down the rabbit hole as time permits.
The key here being time.
It’s a disciplined stray, it’s allowing ourselves to go on these mental explorations but only when the time is right. I do my best to allot time in the early morning to fall down rabbit holes while keeping the rest of my day structured so I can focus and get things done. In my research for this post I came across another blog that explained how we need time to put our nose to the grindstone and we need time to have our head in the clouds to maximize our potential. I couldn’t agree more.
To stay focused on my work during the day I do my best to write out the most important task(s) for the day and get that done first, then prioritizing my tasks. Nowhere in my day-time work do I have scheduled “rabbit hole” time. However if I find myself on a subject I want to know more about I’ll clip it or write it down in Evernote and come back to it when I can allot the proper time – usually in the early morning or on the weekend.
Allowing myself this freedom of exploration has enabled me to stay focused during the day and still get into new and interesting subject matter in the mornings. If I didn’t have this time I would not be able to get work done and keep multiple projects afloat, I would go insane.
What is the most interesting rabbit hole you’ve let yourself go down? Was it applicable to the business?
