#ThinkfullyHabit: Get busy doing nothing
When are you at your most productive? Many of us think that our brain activates when we ask it to do something and it is less productive when resting. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s fairly well known that our brains use 20 percent of our body’s energy consumption even though it accounts for only about 2 percent of our body mass. What we now know is that the amount of energy our brain uses doesn’t increase when we task it to do more. It even turns out that there are areas of the brain that are more active when we’re resting compared to when we’re doing more demanding tasks.
“The microscope and telescope opened up unexpectedly vast domains of scientific discovery. A similar opportunity has now been created in the study of human cognition by the introduction of methods to visualize the brain systems involved as we think.”
WHY?
Back in 2001, neurologist Marcus Raichle at Washington University in St Louis was one of the first to observe that when someone was having a brain scan and they weren’t tasked to do anything, there were parts of their brain that were more active than when they were asked to complete a demanding task. This led to the discovery that the brain is active all the time. The activity of neurons ‘talking to each other’ happens constantly.
Once we realise that our brain is fully active even when resting, it raises the question of why this is the case. It forces us to re-evaluate the benefits of those times when our minds wander freely, we mull over ideas and we are not over overburdened by tasks.
Mind-wandering, day-dreaming and mental time-travel have often been confused with being unproductive and lazy. While it’s not necessarily beneficial if we’re using this time to ruminate, have repetitive thoughts or replay the same events over and over again, it can be hugely valuable if during these times we start to daydream and imagine new ideas. It's this that can lead to flashes of insight, problem solving possibilities and the occasional ‘ah-ha! moment’. This is why creativity is associated with daydreaming. It’s not the only way to work things out, but it’s certainly a valid way.
So, what are the implications? This habit is about what to stop doing:
Stop filling up the spaces between tasks with other tasks.
Stop believing that completing tasks is the only way to be productive.
Stop feeling bad if you find your mind wandering off spontaneously.
Just stop, and be idle every now and then.
To put it another way (in case it's too hard to break free from being task orientated); start stopping more! If you give your brain the space and permission to do what it does naturally, this may be when you can get really productive.
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