5 Business Lessons Learned from Adult Dot to Dot Books
Move over adult coloring, the new stress reliever is dot to dot.
You remember dot to dot books, right? There’s an image and you must connect the dots in sequence to draw in the lines. I’ve started seeing articles about the emergence of adult dot to dot books, both as an alternative to adult coloring and in addition to.
So, I decided to try this and bought Dot to dot for Grown-ups by David Woodroffe. I purchased a copy for less than $10 and it has over 100 puzzles including landmarks of the world, iconic buildings, classic vehicles, works of art, the animal kingdom, and iconic scenes from history and literature.
While I was test driving dot to dot, I learned a few things that I wanted to share. Not only about the dot to dot activity but great business reminders.
- Mindfulness is important and takes different forms. I’ve talked about my fascination with mindfulness several times. I’m often frustrated that I just can’t get into guided mindfulness sessions. But dot to dot has made me realize mindfulness is a personal thing. The important part is to find a way to practice mindfulness that you can embrace. Whether that’s deep breathing, guided sessions on your smartphone, or dot to dot books.
- Counting provides a good thinking exercise. This book isn’t a counting dot to dot up to the number 10. The counting goes up to 400. You can download pages from the internet that go much higher. Some of the puzzles were combinations of numbers and letters. So, you do have to think a little, but not think so much that it creates stress. It was a good reminder for when I’m focusing on a project to stay calm.
- Stay in the present, but remember to keep looking forward. Dot to dot requires you to not only look at where you are right now in creating the image, but where’s the next number. If we assume that we know the direction of the next number and we’re wrong…well, we have to dig out the eraser. Or if we were confident that we couldn’t possibly make a mistake, then we have a wrong line in our drawing and must figure out how to deal with it.
- Sometimes the answer is right in front of you, but you can’t see it. This happened to me with the first dot to dot puzzle. I finished the connecting the dots, but I didn’t see the image right away. It took me a few moments to come into focus. This happens in business all the time. We have to remember to keep looking until we find it. And sometimes, we might need others (who do see the image) to help us.
- There’s more than one right way of doing things. Some people will love dot to dot and others will go back to adult coloring. And I’m sure there are a few people who think both are silly. The point is all of us should find ways to relieve stress and have a little fun. Find what works for you. There’s a way to share ideas without passing judgement. We should let employees find their right way of doing things.
Every single day in our professional lives we’re asked to see the plan, think, focus, and consider the future. We want to be ourselves. And we should let others do the same. I’m enjoying my dot to dot book and the lessons it’s teaching me.
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, NV
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