During a 2016, annual shareholder meeting of a company that Charlie Munger, the legendary business partner of Warren Buffet owns, someone asked him a question about avoiding errors.
He is what he said:
There are two things Warren and I have done. One is that we spend a lot of time thinking. Our schedules are not that crowded, and we sit around and think constantly. In a way, we look more like academics than businessmen. My system has always been to sit quietly for a few hours. I don’t mind if there are long periods where nothing happens. Warren’s the same way. He’s sitting on top of an empire now. Sometimes he clears his schedule for a haircut. His calendar will say ‘Tuesday: Haircut day.’
I have noticed it myself that I get great return from the time I spend on thinking. I am not looking for any return from it, but it just gives.
If you are interested in developing a thinking habit then I can recommend walking enough. Walking is meditative, kickstarts ideas, and also a great way to get off the hustle train.
You can use your thinking time for anything, to think about life, what you have done, projects you want to work on, and anything that matters to you.
If you give it a try, I’d love to hear from you, how you made it part of your life and what it did for you.