I had a conversation with someone this morning about how we tend to get so busy that we don't even get a chance to ‘look up'. The conversation reminded me of one I had last week with a colleague who sent me a photo of an orchard in bloom with a comment that even though they knew I would be driving by that same view on my way to Fresno, I would be so focused on the road or my train of thought that I would completely miss the opportunity presented by a beautiful drive through the valley. This afternoon the same opportunity presented itself – so this time I took advantage of it and preserved the view.

The fact that this topic has come up twice in the span of a week has me wondering how often I (and, likely, we) miss opportunities that might actually result in something more efficient, more impactful than whatever is compelling us to keep our head down. Are we so busy we completely pass by opportunities that might find us time or capacity? I recall a discussion with a group of educators in Michigan that were hesitant to submit a grant proposal that would propel their program to a new level. Their hesitancy was that they didn't have time to do the work yet the grant offered a funding mechanism to hire a program coordinator thus increasing their capacity to focus on content and their other programs. The intent of the proposal wasn't to increase their workload but to reduce their stress and focus their contributions on their content expertise. As soon as they had a chance to really look up at the opportunity, submitting the proposal became obvious.

When I recall the situation, I realize how important it is to take that step back and look at how I use my time and make sure I leave space for new ideas, approaches, and partnerships that ultimately allow me to be more effective and efficient. Finding that space isn't easy, especially when it seems that the calendar runs me. As a result, today I took a minute to stop along the way without deviating from the planned route.

Tonight I am staying in ‘The Raisin Capitol of the World' – not exactly a long-awaited dream, but I have nothing to complain about. Tomorrow it is off to visit Kearney and West Side RECs – also part of my planned route for reaching my goal of better understanding all of UC ANR so that I can best identify mechanisms to give us all a chance to look up.