saying no to the creep of technology into our every waking moment

'According to research by William Duggan from Columbia University, we are most likely to get good ideas - "flashes of insight" - when our brain is relaxed. For that, think running, drifting off to sleep or taking a shower ...

According to Duggan, author of Strategic Intuition, innovative ideas often pop into our head at the most unanticipated moments. "It's an open secret that good ideas come to you as flashes of insight, often when you don't  expect them - stepping on to a train, stuck in traffic, falling asleep, swimming or brushing your teeth. Suddenly it hits you. It all comes together in your mind. You connect the dots."

But connecting the dots requires a clear mind - Duggan calls it a presence of mind - to sweep away old ideas and the tried-and-true ways that may no longer be working ...

Studies have long shown the value of a good night's sleep for restoring the brain, but important benefits are also now evident when we nap, daydream, spend time in nature or take a holiday. It turns out that when we are relaxing our brain gets a lot of essential work done. Giving our brain a break allows it to stock up on creativity and boosts our motivation and focus.

Tim Kreider, in his New York Times essay The Busy Trap writes: "The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections ... it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done."

Pressing the pause button, to allow the brain to work without our conscious involvement, is the challenge. But as the empty space in our day decreases, so may our creativity. The answer may not be 30-minute showers or month-long retreats to the beach. It may instead mean saying no to the creep of techology into our every waking moment. If we want to keep our thinking fresh and encourage innovation to flow, we had better learn to make time in our day for nothing.' 

Susan Biggar, 2014, Take a break and just wait for that breakthrough, "The Saturday Age", January 11, p. 18.

Susan Biggar's first book, The Upside of Down, will be published by Transit Lounge in September.