Today I had to renew my passport. With such tight security at the embassy, I was asked to leave my cellphone and computer behind at the front desk.

I was horrified! What will I do while I wait? Fuming, I grudgingly took out pen and paper and started making notes. In 90 minutes here’s what I achieved:

1. A clearer vision of company directions, products, status and next steps
2. A revised PR and Marketing plan for the next 30 – 60 days
3. Two blogposts written
4. One press release written
5. Most importantly, clarity on the bigger picture.

I’ve been stuck on a few things and having the time away without distractions of emails, calls, Twitter and my kids running afoot made space in my mind for ideas to come through and connect in a different way.

In terms of boosting productivity and time management, I learned sometimes the office is NOT the most productive place to get things done, especially as a WAHM.

I’ll be scheduling a “get out of the office day” with just pen and paper at least twice a month and looking forward to letting my brain “work out of the box”.

Won’t you join me?