Intervening moments and rest
When do our good ideas come? During the heat of battle? Sometimes. In the middle of the work day? Rarely. When we have thrown ourselves fully into a task? Occasionally.
Don't the really good ideas more often come in the intervening moments of life? The shower when you are thinking of nothing. In the long solitary car ride home from a meeting. At the margins of the day as we drift to sleep or begin to wake for the day. As we engage in a mundane task.
Yet we see the constant activity that is "work" as necessary to production of ideas. Nonsense.
Some quotes from the attached article:
"It is a very good plan every now and then to go away and have a little relaxation...When you come back to work your judgment will be surer, since to remain at work will cause you to lose the power of judgment."
Leonardo da Vinci
"Creativity depends on a rhythmic movement between engagement and disengagement, thinking and letting go, activity and rest."
Loehr and Schwartz
Good stuff here.
Thanks, David
Don't the really good ideas more often come in the intervening moments of life? The shower when you are thinking of nothing. In the long solitary car ride home from a meeting. At the margins of the day as we drift to sleep or begin to wake for the day. As we engage in a mundane task.
Yet we see the constant activity that is "work" as necessary to production of ideas. Nonsense.
Some quotes from the attached article:
"It is a very good plan every now and then to go away and have a little relaxation...When you come back to work your judgment will be surer, since to remain at work will cause you to lose the power of judgment."
Leonardo da Vinci
"Creativity depends on a rhythmic movement between engagement and disengagement, thinking and letting go, activity and rest."
Loehr and Schwartz
Good stuff here.
Thanks, David
In Key West, the tour guides at the Hemingway House and Truman's Little White House made it clear that Hemingway and Truman didn't sit at a desk and grind all day. Hemingway started the day with a snort, worked from 6:30 until lunchtime, fished all afternoon, and then hung out at Sloppy Joe's until bedtime. The locals gave him a lot of character ideas. The Key West years were his most productive.
Truman started the day with a snort and worked no more than he fished. He played cards with friends in the evenings. He also had a day bed in his bedroom, for naps. He didn't nap in bed; if he did that, then the maid would have to make his bed twice a day.
Truman and Hemingway make today's "multi-taskers" look ridiculous.
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One thing at a time.
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"I do one thing at a time, I do it very, very well, and then I move on."
Maj. Charles Winchester, III, MASH 4077th.
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If frequent breaks improve creativity and productivity, then checking in with CO at least a couple times a day at work is something every employer should encourage.
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