“Idle” and “work” are not completely opposites.

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Editor’s note: Great ideas often arise when the brain is free. If our life is like an unstoppable spinning top, it is difficult to create conditions for the generation of ideas. The key to thinking freely is to achieve a state of alertness and laziness, not drowsy boredom. “Idle” and “laziness” are two very different concepts, and there is almost no overlap between the two concepts. A person may also be working in his free time, but laziness means unwilling to work. When you encounter a problem, don’t pick up your phone to scan your Moments or reply to an email or two in order to avoid the problem. This will divert your attention away. We can choose to do some mindless things, such as walking and bathing, etc., let our thinking roam, and new ideas will come across unexpectedly. The author of this article Laura Vanderkam, the original title is “The Perfect Conditions for a Great Idea”, I hope to inspire you.

I’m a person who can’t take time off, it’s hard to do nothing. It can be said that I am an expert in time management and efficiency. I have five children and almost no free time. But recently I realized that if you want new ideas to enter your brain, sometimes you have to create a little leisure time. On a beach trip, I was sailing on the sea, the vast ocean, the waves blooming, all of which did not need my attention, so I lost my mind. As a result of the distraction, I directly thought of a solution to a problem. In fact, I have been thinking about this problem for several weeks. This question has been lingering in my mind, clearly engraved.

I accidentally created the perfect generating environment for a great idea, and what I did on the sea just stimulated my brain.

Chris Bailey, author of “Super Focus: How to Manage Your Attention in a Distracted World,” said: “Recall that when your perfect ideWhen a appears in front of you, your brain may not pay attention to anything. “After studying the patterns of the brain, he coined the term “scatterfocus”, which means deliberately distracting the brain. He said that doing so “makes us significantly more creative and even more Efficiency”.

The key is to arrange more free time in your life, knowing that doing nothing is not the opposite of completing tasks. Shorting is also a way of doing things.

“Idle” and “Lazy” are two different things

“Idle” and “laziness” are two very different concepts, and there is almost no overlap between the two concepts. Celeste Headlee, author of “Doing Nothing: How to Get Rid of Overwork, Overwork, and Lack of Life” said: “Think of it this way, fishermen tend to be relatively free when they work. Status, the same is true for toll gate operators or security guards. Idle means inactivity, and laziness means unwilling to work. Will a person be idle because of laziness? Of course. But one can still keep working when idle and not working Remain active at the time.”

This distinction is important because purposeful idleness can lead to “distracted focus.” Headley said: “Broadly speaking, our thinking is divided into two different types: analytical and profound. When we actively solve problems or focus on a task, analytical thinking is necessary . But when we allow our thoughts to dissociate, we will have more profound thinking. At this time, our brain will filter the information learned recently, memories and impressions, and create new ones that are even beyond your expectations. Connection. Allow your thinking to roam, innovation and surprises may come as promised.”

How to free your mind

The key to thinking freely is to achieve a state of alertness and laziness, rather than lethargic boredom. The problem with boredom is that we tend to stop prematurely before we get great insights. Your brain will wander and stare at a wall, but few people can hold on for an hour. A better option is to do the things you are used to and effortlessly, such as driving, bathing, walking, listening to music, or even playing a video game that does not require brainstorming. These activities are enough to keep your thinking activities moving forward.

Bailey said: “Sampling studies show that whenever we wander, we spend half of our time thinking about the future. This is why we plan a whole day in the shower. In fact, one study found that when When our brains are distracted, we are 14 times more likely to think about goals than usual, which will make our work and life more meaningful.”

Unfortunately, few of us use “leisure” as a tool for insight. When things don’t go well, we tend to be distracted, such as picking up a mobile phone, reading an email or two, and focusing on the issue instead of continuing to think carefully about the problem.

In the book “Do Nothing”, Hayley proposed some ways to deal with this situation. One is to cultivate a time-consuming hobby. When you are sticking shingles to the dollhouse or weeding the garden, you won’t call. Filling up your free time with purposeful things will crowd out your time to pick up your phone.

Haydley also suggested: “Don’t make calls or listen to podcasts while driving, don’t wear headphones when walking, or don’t even bring your mobile phone. I believe you can do it.”

Let your mind drift until you touch a great idea. I can’t see my cell phone on the vast ocean. In fact, I left my phone in the beach rental house that day. Without the temptation of a mobile phone for a long time, I had nothing to do. And it is this leisure time that produces the highest efficiency.

Translator: Jane