Have you ever heard the advice, “You should strive to do the most productive thing possible at any given moment?”

But what if the most productive thing that you can be doing is recharging your personal battery by sitting on a bench with a friend or family member, or maybe even just by yourself and staring at the clouds while imaging the different images and characters you see as the white puffs float lazily on by?

You see some of us, and I include myself in this group, spread ourselves very thin and commit to getting so much done that we get overwhelmed at times. And if each decision we make regarding the most productive and best use our time is purely weighted against work related projects and activities, ignoring our personal health, we will certainly find out that in the long run we will lose valuable time as we recover from stress or burnout.

Throughout my childhood, my youth, and my business career I have had some little league and high school football coaches as well as supervisors and managers tell me, sometimes even shout at me, to get my head back in the game. And many times this was extremely sound advice and a much needed wake-up call from my daydreaming. But there were other times where I knew that the best and most productive use of my time was to get my head out of the game and into the clouds.

At this time of year there will be children moving ahead from elementary school to middle school and middle school to high school. We will also celebrate with our high school and college grads as they prepare for their next adventures in life’s journey. And I hope that regardless of where we all find ourselves at this very moment, whether we are the individual moving on or graduating or if we are a proud parent or supporting friend or family member of a graduate, we remember that a strong work ethic and positive, energetic attitude will certainly propel us forward, but taking the time to reflect, recharge, and re-energize our mind, body, and spirit will increase our chances of sustainable long term success.

When we take the time to meditate, write, pray, read, smell the roses, take walks, or just simply rest on a bench and watch the clouds go by, we give ourselves a chance to become inspired, and in turn really think about what the most productive thing is that we can be doing when we do decide to reengage in life and in our studies or our work.

Tell me about the last time you took some time for you or just stared up in the sky as the clouds rolled by, maybe even what you saw at msnorton@comcast.net and let’s make it a better than good week.

Michael Norton, a resident of Highlands Ranch, is the former president of the Zig Ziglar organization and CEO and founder of www.candogo.com.