Working hard may prevent the thoughts you need the most


	Working hard may prevent the thoughts you need the most

masbury

10-12-2009 2:48 PM

230 views

tags:

productivity, rest

masbury says:

The most productive insights I've ever had happened when I thought I was wasting time. Turn's out I wasn't.

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/a533f214-5d90-4ee6-bfb4-ba725fe1e905/6EAF951D-093B-4102-AC3A-7C9FAB751B3D/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/hard-works-over-rated-it-could-even-be-detrimental?partner=homepage_newsletter" href="http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/hard-works-over-rated-it-could-even-be-detrimental?partner=homepage_newsletter" style="font-size: 11px;">www.fastcompany.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/hard-works-over-rated-it-could-even-be-detrimental?partner=homepage_newsletter"><div align="center"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.fastcompany.com/img/0B897A58-A061-44DF-8747-D1A6902E1884" alt="overrated hard work" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/hard-works-over-rated-it-could-even-be-detrimental?partner=homepage_newsletter"><P>It turns out that the best way to find breakthrough ideas might be to avoid working hard. As the <EM>Wall Street Journal</EM> <A target="_blank" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124535297048828601.html">reported this summer</A>:</p> <BLOCKQUOTE>By most measures, we spend about a third of our time daydreaming,
yet our brain is unusually active during these seemingly idle moments.
Left to its own devices, our brain activates several areas associated
with complex problem solving, which researchers had previously assumed
were dormant during daydreams. Moreover, it appears to be the only time
these areas work in unison.</BLOCKQUOTE></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/hard-works-over-rated-it-could-even-be-detrimental?partner=homepage_newsletter"><BLOCKQUOTE>"mind wandering is a much more active state than we
ever imagined, much more active than during reasoning with a complex
problem."</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>She suspects that the flypaper of an unfocused mind may trap new
ideas and unexpected associations more effectively than methodical
reasoning</BLOCKQUOTE></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/hard-works-over-rated-it-could-even-be-detrimental?partner=homepage_newsletter">-more hours at your desk are actually counterproductive. You'd do better by setting aside lots of playtime, to let your mind wander. Only then will you stumble your way onto what's important.</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/6EAF951D-093B-4102-AC3A-7C9FAB751B3D/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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