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We are in the era of movers and shakers. We are perpetually hustling, multi-tasking and overworking based on the perception that being busy can be equated to success. So we work the late hours, pursue side gigs, pack our weekends with activities and leave very little time to breathe it all in. More and more we are realizing that this constant busyness is actually negatively impacting our productivity and that mastering the art of doing nothing can greatly improve mental health.
The busyness we’re referring to isn’t only work related. It’s that if we aren’t working, we’re making plans, on our phones, at events, exercising or browsing the internet. Ray Williams of Psychology Today stated,
“The myriad of our activities and world of multi-tasking deludes us that we are actually being more productive. The problem is we have lost the knowledge of balancing action with reflection. And the result can be psychological burnout.”
Letting your brain take a break allows you to recharge. People who work creatively tend to practice mindfulness through things like meditation in order to keep their minds open and decluttered. Meditation, zoning out and naps are all excellent examples of ways to reset and allows your brain to explore uninhibited. This downtime is essential to consolidate memories, process experiences, regulate attention and emotions and boosts the creative process.
Letting your brain relax and do nothing can help you practice introspection. Manfred Ket De Vries of INSEAD has said,
“In today’s networked society we are at risk of becoming victims of interaction overload. Introspection and reflection have become lost arts as the temptation to ‘just finish this’ or ‘find out that’ is often too great to risk.”
If we are always busy and are never allowing our brains to process information, we are losing the ability to reflect on ourselves and become less self-aware, and without self-awareness there is no self-improvement.
Oct 06, 2017
the lost art of doing nothing
We are in the era of movers and shakers. We are perpetually hustling, multi-tasking and overworking based on the perception that being busy can be equated to success. So we work the late hours, pursue side gigs, pack our weekends with activities and leave very little time to breathe it all in. More and more we are realizing that this constant busyness is actually negatively impacting our productivity and that mastering the art of doing nothing can greatly improve mental health.
The busyness we’re referring to isn’t only work related. It’s that if we aren’t working, we’re making plans, on our phones, at events, exercising or browsing the internet. Ray Williams of Psychology Today stated,
“The myriad of our activities and world of multi-tasking deludes us that we are actually being more productive. The problem is we have lost the knowledge of balancing action with reflection. And the result can be psychological burnout.”
Letting your brain take a break allows you to recharge. People who work creatively tend to practice mindfulness through things like meditation in order to keep their minds open and decluttered. Meditation, zoning out and naps are all excellent examples of ways to reset and allows your brain to explore uninhibited. This downtime is essential to consolidate memories, process experiences, regulate attention and emotions and boosts the creative process.
Letting your brain relax and do nothing can help you practice introspection. Manfred Ket De Vries of INSEAD has said,
“In today’s networked society we are at risk of becoming victims of interaction overload. Introspection and reflection have become lost arts as the temptation to ‘just finish this’ or ‘find out that’ is often too great to risk.”
If we are always busy and are never allowing our brains to process information, we are losing the ability to reflect on ourselves and become less self-aware, and without self-awareness there is no self-improvement.
