I used to take lots of photographs of dragonflies. There is a knack to it. Patience is rather important and so is stillness.

The dragonflies whiz about all over the place. They zip off and do what they need to do. Maybe they are hunting, or competing with a rival, or looking for a mate, but they've got stuff to do! They get the job done and usually come back to the same perch. And so your patience and stillness are rewarded.

Dragonflies are fast, agile, high-energy creatures. I imagine if they behaved like that all the time they would soon burn out. But they don’t. They zip off, do what they have to do, zip back, and then they perch. And here’s my question. Do you take the time to perch?

In most jobs the work doesn't stop. There is always something else to do. Leaving the office and going home is just a time-out. The whistle goes and you are right back in the game. So we need to force ourselves to perch from time to time. Stop, take stock, survey what’s going on around you. It’s hard to be strategic when you are rushing from one task to the next.

One idea is to plan your perch time. Book a meeting with yourself in your calendar. Try one hour a week of protected time with yourself to reflect and plan.

Pause every now and then and stay as sharp as a dragonfly.

Does the photo stimulate your thinking in a different way? Do you have ways to help you pause for thought?