Staring out the Window Time

There’s a kind of design that happens without screens, without slides, without tools. It’s quiet. Slow. Unseen. And honestly? It’s some of the most important work we do. I call it the “staring out the window” time, where ideas can breathe.

It’s the kind of time where you’re not cranking out deliverables or sitting in meetings. You’re not pushing pixels. You’re not performing. You’re thinking. Wandering. Letting it gel.

The noise of work ≠ the quality of work

• We’ve all felt the pressure to look busy.

• To sit at our desks.

• To bang on the keyboard.

• To keep Slack and Figma open so no one thinks we’re slacking.

But let’s be real, just because you’re “working” doesn’t mean you’re creating anything of value. Sometimes, all that movement is just noise.

• The real work?

• The deep work?

• It often happens when we step away.

Creativity needs space

Sometimes I get my best ideas when walking the dog. Or when I’m driving. Or doing something completely unrelated to the work in front of me. And I’ve seen it with my teams, too.

One person goes for a run and comes back with a breakthrough idea. Another works through a complex UX challenge while folding laundry.

This isn’t magic.

Your brain needs downtime to make connections, to digest, process, and solve. When you step away, you give yourself the room to actually think, not just react.

Trust your team

I’ve led design teams of all shapes and sizes. And one thing I’ve learned? You’ve got to trust your people.

I don’t care if someone wants to take a walk in the middle of the day or go to the gym to clear their head. If we’re meeting our deadlines, doing the work, and showing up for each other, then who cares where or how those ideas are born?

• I’m not in the business of micromanaging.

• I’m in the business of building creative teams.

• And creativity requires trust.

Process is personal

One of the worst things you can do as a design leader is force everyone into the same creative mold. Everyone’s process is different.

• Some people sketch.

• Some people build slides.

• Some people need to talk it out.

• Others need silence and a notebook.

And for a lot of people? That process includes a blank stare out a window while everything starts to click.

We need to normalize this. Not just for ourselves, but for our teams. Especially in this era of remote work, back-to-back Zooms, and pressure to produce every second.

• Make room for the pause.

• Encourage it.

• Protect it.

Tell your teams that “thinking time” is not wasted time. Tell your clients that silence doesn’t mean we’re stuck , it means we’re working.

So yes, stare out that window.

• Let your mind wander.

• Take that break.

• Build that space into your day.

• And let your teams do the same.

Because the next big idea?
The real breakthrough?

It might not come from the wireframe. It might come when you least expect it, quietly, while you’re just staring out the window.