I often have my most useful and unexpected ideas when I'm not trying to be productive. How many times have you seen an important connection or unravelled a stuck problem while in the shower, staring out the window, or taking a walk?
It turns out that I'm not simply justifying my lazy tendencies in believing this. There's a fascinating recent article by Brigid Schulte at CNN, talking about the new brain science that explains why our day-dreaming moments so often lead to breakthroughs. In it, she references the work of scientist Andrew Smart, who notes that when we're in a relaxed and positive state, the brain can turn inward, in effect, and access something brain researchers call the "default mode network":
The default mode network is like a series of airport hubs in different and typically unconnected parts of the brain. And that's why it's so crucial. When the brain flips into idle mode, this network subconsciously puts together stray thoughts, makes seemingly random connections and enables us to see an old problem in an entirely new light.
This makes complete sense to me. I see a version of it nearly every time I coach an executive. We initiate our coaching engagements with a two-day "catalyst session"; at the end of the first day I always encourage my coach clients not to go back to the office, and not to think too much about what we talked about and what they learned during the first day. If they do that, they almost always show up on the second day having gone deeper in their understanding of themselves, and very often having had big "ah-has" about how to improve or what's getting in their way. We call it the "overnight effect" - but now I know it's the default mode network in action.
I also notice that simply making a bit of unstructured time can have lots of additional benefits, as well: re-connect you to those you care about, make you feel less overwhelmed and tired, help you see your priorities more clearly.
Unfortunately, life and work in the 21st century (especially in America) aren't set up to provide much in the way of downtime: our lives are filled with to-dos and distractions, and our cultural ethos tells us that "idle hands are the devil's workshop," and "the early bird gets the worm." We brag to each other (disguised as complaining) about not having time to take vacations, see our friends, or work out. And when we have an empty moment, we whip out our smartphones.
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Given all that, what are some simple feasible ways to build in a little downtime and give our brains a chance to do this wonderfully creative magic they're wired to do? Here are some things that have worked for me and for our clients:
Find conscious moments: Even five minutes of non-task-directed time can yield benefits. For example, get up from your desk and go get a cup of coffee or tea - without also making it a time to catch up with a colleague or check your email. Just walking a block to the
Create "islands of silence": If you have a knotty problem to solve, or want to understand a tough situation better, holding the world at bay for even an hour or so can be hugely helpful. Think of someplace where you're pretty sure you can be undisturbed (the bath? your bike? the mall?) and steal an hour to just relax and let your brain do its thing.
Enlist support: If you let others know what you're trying to do, they can help you to create some private reflection time as well (both by not interrupting you themselves, and by keeping others away). Let your assistant, your employees and your favorite colleagues know that you're making the effort to carve out more thinking time. If they know that when you're staring out the window you might be coming up with the next great thing, they're less likely to interrupt.
Make the choice: This is the most important thing you can do to give your brain a chance to access its default mode network. Everyday, we each have dozens of chances to decide whether to bury ourselves in task or let ourselves reflect. Whenever you're standing in line, waiting at a red light, riding the elevator, walking to the subway: you have the choice to go into worker-bee mode (check your phone, make a mental shopping list, decide whether to stop at the dry cleaner, etc., etc.) or take a deep breath and let yourself just be - and dream.
And if you need something more to move you to doing these things - to convince yourself of the power of goofing off to drive innovation and success - here's a great example from Ms. Schulte's article: "Physicist Richard Feynman idly watched students in the cafeteria...spinning plates. For the fun of it, he began to make calculations of the wobbles - [which] led to developing the Feynman diagrams to explain quantum electrodynamics, which resulted in a Nobel Prize."
More goofing off might not net you a Nobel Prize - but it could help you solve your toughest problems, come up with new ways to overcome obstacles, or envision a more successful future. And, to inspire us, we'd love to hear other stories of goof-off-fueled breakthroughs...
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