What Would You Do With An Extra 300 Seconds?

What would you do if a genie suddenly appeared and gave you an extra five minutes today?

Watch an extra scene from your favorite reality show? A quick game of Madden? Tweet? Sneak in a Lady Gaga track? Me ... I'd think. Again, not in Pooh "Think. Think. Think." mode, but in the way in which I would sit back, unplug and give myself 300 seconds of something I rarely have time to do during the day -- take a break and let ideas come to me. The ideas are swirling around in your head and connections are being made all of the time. But unless you're in a position to receive these gifts, ideas will always be drowned out by the white noise that is the soundtrack of our lives (apologies to the great Swedish band).

We're all in need of an idea -- whether it's a marketing campaign, a thesis topic or a new dish for dinner. Set aside five minutes a day for personal idea time. It can be while driving, walking, exercising or just closing the door at work with a metaphoric back-in-five-minutes sign. It's a small investment with a big upside.

Agree?