“You will be civilized on the day you can spend a long period doing nothing, learning nothing, and improving nothing, without feeling the slightest amount of guilt.” — [@talebBedProcrustesPhilosophical2016]
“If sleep represents the high point of bodily relaxation, deep boredom is the peak of mental relaxation.” — [@hanBurnoutSociety2015]
When you are doing absolutely nothing, the brain engages in what the researchers termed “random episodic silent thought (R.E.S.T.)” (also referred to as “Default Mode/State Network (DMN)”) [@andreasenJourneyChaosCreativity2011]. During R.E.S.T., the brain starts to actively seeking connections and associations; the mind will come up with connections of its own accord.
- DMN is best known for being active when a person is not focused on the outside world, engaged with doing mindless activities (such as walking, running, bike riding, taking shower ,1 driving, house cleaning, washing the dishes, sitting on the beach/couch/sofa, etc.), and the brain is at wakeful rest (such as during daydreaming and mind-wandering).
Our brain is a self-organizing system—default to creativity when it’s in a “wakeful resting state”—free of inputs/free to wander.
Creativity tends to arise in states of relaxation which are preceded by a long period of focused deep thinking.
For Warren Buffett, it’s a much more important practice to take the time for doing nothing and just sitting and thinking than filling out every minute of his day with tasks
Free time is nuclear fusion for creativity. Free time is a call option on pursuing future interesting/exciting opportunities.
Boredom Alpha
Your most creative moments come during bouts of boredom. Experiencing regular periods of boredom is a competitive advantage. When you’re bored, your mind wanders, and creative insight (洞察力) strikes.
Footnotes
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Shower Thoughts: Shower is an idea incubator. Keep Aqua Notes ready. ↩