Here in Melbourne, as in most of Australia, we are in the grip of a record drought. As a result, water restrictions are in place and watering the garden has to be done with a hose; no sprinklers allowed.

So there I was this morning, watering away, when I had a great idea. I’m not going to tell you the idea now (that will be a later piece of writing) but it did occur to me that if I hadn’t had to resort to ‘manual’ technology, maybe this idea wouldn’t have happened.

We often talk about the lack of time to think in the modern age. Time waits for no man and time moves fast – particularly when so much of what we need to do can be done on autopilot at any time or place. Maybe what we need to force ourselves to do is to get back to more manual means.

This is relevant at work too – perhaps even more. It’s why I often advocate the use of old-fashioned whiteboards for communication. The process of completing them is slow – but it allows you to think as you work.

What else could you do to ‘water the garden’ while you work?