Look out the window first

Build moments of renewal into an ordinary day

When a spot of time appears in your schedule, what do you do?

During the work day, I suspect the most common answer is to look at your inbox. Sometimes there is something urgent there. But often it’s something that could have waited for at least a minute or so.

So if you’d like a little more tranquility in your days, here’s a suggestion: look out the window before you look at your inbox.

Seeing the world

It doesn’t need to be for long. Thirty seconds will do. But there are several upsides to this practice.

First, nature in general is a known mood booster. While being outside might be better, looking at a tree is still better than not looking at a tree. Windows allow for natural light, and there is some research that exposure to natural light in the office is associated with better sleep (compared to people in windowless environments). If you don’t have a window right in your cubicle, this habit will also nudge you to stand up more often — which isn’t a bad thing.

This habit will also nudge you to be more thoughtful with your work time. In my book Tranquility by Tuesday, one of the time management rules I explore is to do “Effortful fun before effortless fun.” When you’ve got the potential for leisure time, doing a few minutes or reading, hobbies, or connecting with friends before switching to screen time means you’re more likely to make space for the high quality leisure time that people often think is in short supply. When people made this one little habit switch, they were far more likely to agree with the statement “yesterday I didn’t waste time on things that weren’t important to me.”

Leisure during the workday

We don’t necessarily think of leisure during the work day — though I am pretty sure that traffic on many websites is higher during the work day than afterwards! But in many cases, quick email checks are the same sort of thing as checking social media, if maybe even more insidious, because they look like work. We want to see what’s in there, even if all we wind up doing with those moments is deleting email we don’t need. It’s an effortless activity that doesn’t do much beyond provide a quick hit of feeling like something has been done.

So here’s an idea — before you get to all that deleting, take just one minute to look out the window first. Yes, staring at the clouds can be a form of effortful fun in our distracted world.

My guess is that you might then feel more calm and able to go about your work — whether you look at your inbox or not. But even if you do then check email, the point is simply to change up the automatic flow of activities, and to build little spots for renewal into your day. I just looked up to see all the green of my yard after a spring rain. The deleting can wait for a little while.