While typing the title of this article, grammar correction wanted me to change ‘When do you think?’ to ‘What do you think?’. I knew what I wanted to write, what I wanted to ask. Yes, when do you think, is a question we are exploring today. It is about time. While we allocate time for everything in our routine, for breakfast, lunch and dinner; for office and gym; for social engagements and professional meetings – but do we earmark any time for thinking? No, it is not done in our routine.

Some readers might ask why we need to separately decide a time to think. We are always thinking. Our mind is never at rest. So no need for scheduling a time to think. That’s our common approach, but it seems we need to re-think about time for thinking. What happens if we allocate a specific time to think in our day? Just like any other activity, we should decide a time to think – and follow it.

Insistence in deciding when to think is for various obvious benefits. Thinking at specific times also helps in having a full schedule for thinking only. We can also decide what to think at that time. This will be a fully managed process, undisturbed by any other activity. Guided and well-directed thinking can give us better outcomes. It could be like planning to plan something. It could be just sitting ideally and allowing thoughts to direct our thoughts. Watching our thoughts during the thinking time can make them more clear and result oriented. Having this as the central thought in her book ‘Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind’, Nancy Kline emphasises that it is an extremely elegant process and condition to improve the quality of thinking. She gives various reasons and methods for the same.

Amusingly, George Bernard Shaw wrote, ‘Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.’ We can’t deny the fact!