Do you believe that daydreaming, goofing off, spacing out or doing nothing are ways of wasting time?
Well, if yes, this is because we are made to believe this by most of the experts on productivity. They have given us piles of information, books, and advice on how to stay focused on a task in order to succeed.
Well, focusing on your goal or target is required. But however, great ideas don’t come up with focus alone.
If we look at Newton’s life, he worked so hard in his life, but when he sat down totally relaxed under a tree, that is when the idea of gravity came into existence.
Most successful people come up with the most brilliant and innovative ideas when their mind is relaxed. In today’s day and age where everyone is over-scheduled and over-focused, creativity is more and more prized. It holds the key to never-ending joy and happiness.
We’re all born creative and innovative but over time we have lost access to it.
Here are four ways for heightened innovation and creativity:
1. Engage in a variety of activities:-
Instead of focusing on a single task, you do a variety of things. Research suggests that in order to get a new perspective on something, you actually need to disengage from it. Take frequent breaks between tasks and engage in mindless activity like taking a shower, or a quick walk without your phone, or doing some stretching or gazing at the sky.
Note: We tend to mindlessly use the phone during our breaks so keep away from the phone during these conscious breaks.
2. Yoga, in particular, is suggested by a number of research scientists to boost your creativity and innovation.
3. Make time for stillness and silence.
In today’s fast-paced life where everyone is in constant motion, choosing stillness is a conscious choice.
Rather than rushing from one place to another, you choose to be still. Rather than doing something, you choose to do nothing. Rather than focusing on things, you choose to unplug.
Research on ‘silence’ elicits that taking silence breaks had the most profound, relaxing and calming effects. Other studies have found that “silence despite being void of content can help develop new brain cells.”
Pico Iyer, author of The Art of Stillness has found that removing himself from the bustle of society is the key to thinking outside the box.
“We can choose to step out of the constant buzzing in our heads.”
Most people notice that they are drowning in it. Choosing a way back to stillness is fundamentally an internal process and choice.
Pico Iyer believes that his best work comes when he can hear something deeper other than the clatter of the world. He says, “When you stand too close to the canvas of your life, you can’t catch the larger patterns in it.”
Take the time to be silent, still and quiet.
It may be uncomfortable and unpleasant in the beginning, but just like any exercise, your idle time will become more natural and enjoyable, the more you engage in it.
4. Make fun your priority.
Albert Einstein famously said, “To stimulate creativity, one must develop the childlike inclinations for play.”
Although we adults may have lost the skill of playing with the innocence of a child, we can easily regain it.
You can reconnect with the joy you had as a child by naturally tapping into your inner creativity. It makes adult life rich with delight and inventiveness.
