#153: Planning for Spontaneity
Rob's piece gave me flashbacks to my childhood when my friends would come over and it'd seem we had the world at our fingertips. What to do? Play basketball in the driveway, make up a game with chalk, build forts in the basement, play school with my huge whiteboard, make up a dance routine, go night swimming...? The possibilities were endless! And the course of action was rarely discussed beforehand through a phone call or text. I definitely see what Rob is noting here - how technology has seemingly reduced the will for spontaneity because everything can so easily be planned or communicated with such little effort.
I also love the notion that spontaneity is linked to creativity. This actually reminds me of something that happened to me recently. I am doing an internship right now working with young adults with disabilities out in nature. My co-interns and I struggled last week to all meet up to plan out our next lesson, step by step, like usual. So we showed up to the event with a very short lesson plan. But we found that because we didn't over-plan, the environment and structure of the event was actually slightly more relaxed and therefore more enjoyable. We instead used our creativity to fill the gaps in the lesson and the rest of it came together on its own, with participants picking up pinecones and flowers and using their senses to just observe and be fully present. Engaging conversations and meaningful teachings even came up which we did not at all foresee. This was awesome. Thank you for bringing these ideas to light, Rob!
- Amanda
Planning For Spontaneity
I can remember, not that long ago, when the phone rang at your house, it was lottery time. There was no caller ID, no text messaging to deliver “I’m calling you now” alerts. The phone rang. It could be anybody – your sister, your mother, your best friend, a telemarketer, or even a prank caller (“Is your refrigerator running”). But you’d always answer it. You picked up the handset and said, “Hello?”
I remember, back when I was a kid, when my family would just pile into the car and go for a Sunday drive. We’d stop, get ice cream, end up at a park, or catch a movie. There was no plan. Today, that just seems weird.
Today, you never just call someone. I saw a Facebook post from someone who was so shocked when one of their friends called them without warning, that they were annoyed to learn it wasn’t an emergency. Some of us rarely answer the phone with “hello” anymore. We look at the caller id and ask, “Why is X calling me?” The assumption there is no reason anyone would call today without having arranged it or warned us first.
Technology has squeezed so much spontaneity from our lives. When was the last time you went to a new restaurant without studying the Yelp reviews or analyzing the menu first? Choosing a new restaurant used to be a risk. It might be bad, but that was part of the adventure. You might stumble upon the best sushi no one knew about.
Now, you’d think that technology *would* enhance spontaneity. We could text people just to let them know we’re thinking about them. We could click the “I’m feeling lucky” button on Google as we search “Italian restaurant”, and then just go to the one that Google recommends. We actually can make last-minute plans, which was exceedingly different before cell phones. But we don’t. Why?
I don’t know. I really don’t.
But what I have discovered is that it infects our professional life even worse. And spontaneity has real value in developing creativity and innovation in business. I read this John Hopkins research study that found that when jazz musicians improvise, the part of the brain linked to highly planned actions slows way down. The research suggests that this lowers inhibitions and allows for creativity and free-flowing thoughts.
In my work with businesses, it’s not uncommon for me to work with companies where every single aspect of a team’s time is accounted for. Calendars are filled with back-to-back meetings – and managers use the “free time” between those meetings to do the work that someone else has planned (or requested) from them.
I’ve, literally, watched amazing ideas get squashed in meetings because they can’t “fit” into the planned activities.
I’m not suggesting that these businesses should just shoot from the hip and act on every impulse that we (or any of the team members have). Plans and benchmarks are important. But I think planning some improvisation or spontaneity into our activities can help.
When planning our teams’ activities, why not plan for 85% utilization and leave 15% headroom for spontaneous activities or ideas. I know that seems weird. But having to make a business case for spontaneity seems weirder.
I think some of the most enjoyable experiences happen when we allow the unexpected to happen rather than simply making the planned happen.