Monday, June 21, 2010

Being bored sometimes is a good thing

Another great Harvard Business Review blog post this week, this one from Peter Bregman. The focus on the iPad is a little tongue in cheek, but the conclusion (the second half of the post) is really important. All of the technology we are surrounding ourselves with and multi-tasking around it is causing a constant attentional focus that reduces creativity. It is when you are bored that your brain has a chance to process what it has learned ("consolidation" in the HF technical lingo) and to link concepts that were not linked in our day to day activity (the precursor for creativity, innovation, and other good stuff).

So whatever technology you are surrounding yourself with, make sure to take an hour or two each day to put it down and just process. Take a walk (without it) and stare at the trees. It's good for you physically and mentally. And it will increase your productivity in the long term so you don't have to feel guilty about it.

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