With overscheduled calendars and the push to be more and more productive, how do we create space for greater awareness and new thinking that can inspire positive change?
In the fast pace of the modern world, our brains are now wired to jump quickly from one thing to the next, without breaks and without time for rest or processing. The cost of this harried relationship with time is lost access to key insights we need to creatively solve the challenges we face in our work and personal lives. The cost is also exhaustion and burnout.
Fortunately, we all have access to a power we seldom allow ourselves to tap into: unstructured time – time when you release your brain from your usual agendas, tasks, and active problem solving and, instead, invite your mind to wander outward and inward, where you synthesize your thoughts, feelings and imagine the future. When we do this, we actually tap into a different neural network in our brains called the Default Mode Network, where we have access to greater creative thinking and reflection.
But, despite the many benefits of unstructured time, most people don’t know what it is or how to create the right environment for it. Some may even feel guilty for carving out the time.
In this engaging talk, Allison Holzer helps us change this perception and start embracing unstructured think time as essential for not only our best performance in work, but also our wellbeing in an ever-distracted, ever-changing and multi-tasking world. She offers three concrete tips for how to intentionally build unstructured time into your personal or leadership practice.
Where do you come up with your great ideas? In the shower, perhaps? Watch this TEDx to find out more.
