THE PRINCIPLE

Pretending to be busy gives you time to think

Thomas Edison is one of the great heroes in the annals of creativity, a man tireless in his pursuit of inventions and breakthroughs. He was also an avid fisherman and (naturally) invented a fishing rod.

James Newton, who knew Edison personally, wrote: ‘When Mr. Edison ran into a particularly difficult problem, he took his constantly expanding knowledge, a pole, line and hook down to his dock and fished.’

Edison often came back without any fish and only later revealed why. He wrote: ‘Because it was my fishing time, my staff did not disturb me, and as I used no bait, the fish did not disturb me either!’

Why bother with the fishing equipment? Why not just sit quietly somewhere and think? Because if anybody sees you just sitting around apparently doing nothing, they will assume you are fair game for a chat or free to solve one of their problems. The idea that you might be thinking never occurs to most people.

Therefore, come up with a cover activity. Sitting with a notebook open before you and a pen in your hand may be enough to do it. Otherwise, ponder a portable chessboard or pretend to be texting on your mobile. Then you’ll be left alone to do the real work – in your mind.