Being busy all the time dials down your creativity.&nbsp;Being distracted doing the scheduled work in your calendar doesn't give your brain time to do any creative thinking and in turn any real, original work.Real productive work requires an unobstructed window of time during the day.

Busyness and Creativity

Self Improvement

We consume up to five times more information than we used to a generation before.&nbsp;This constant information overload drains us of our creativity and even willpower.An avalanche of information keeps our brain mired and trapped in noise.

Information Overload

Kickstarting our creative process requires solitude, space, time and a distraction-free environment.&nbsp;Our brain then gets accustomed to constant stimulation, and we become addicted to busyness.

Addicted to Busyness

Being constantly busy robs us from doing anything that has any real value.Some of the most important discoveries and inventions weren't made while the great minds were busy, but when they were still.

Busyness

Boredom is considered an undesirable state of mind, but it is essential for a healthy, creative mind.Our minds otherwise would become a machine transmitting and receiving information all day.

Boredom is Good

How to&nbsp;disconnect in the age of distraction and constant information:<ol><li>A morning walk without your phone with you.</li><li>Getting out of your comfort zone, doing something you normally wouldn't do.</li><li>More fun and games.</li><li>Do diverse types of activity.</li></ol>

The Four Ways To Disconnect

<div>
The other day a friend mentioned that he's looking forward to autonomous cars, as it will help lower the accident and fatality rates caused by distracted driving. True, was my initial reply, with a caveat: what we gain on the roads we lose in general attention. Having yet another place to be distracted does not add to our mental and social health. 
Little good comes from being distracted yet we seem incapable of focusing our attention. Among many qualities that suffer, <a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015331">recent research </a> shows creativity takes a hit when you're constantly busy. Being able to switch between focus and daydreaming is an important skill that's reduced by insufferable busyness. As Stanford's Emma Sepp&#228;l&#228; 
<blockquote>
The idea is to balance linear thinking-which requires intense focus-with creative thinking, which is borne out of idleness. Switching between the two modes seems to be the optimal way to do good, inventive work. 
</blockquote>
She is not the first to point this out. Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin made a similar plea in his 2014 book, The Organized Mind. Information overload keeps us mired in noise. In 2011, he writes, Americans consumed five times as much information as 25 years prior; outside of work we process roughly 100,000 words every day. 
This saps us of not only willpower (of which we have a limited store) but creativity as well. He uses slightly different language than Sepp&#228;l&#228;-linear thinking is part of the central executive network, our brain's ability to focus, while creative thinking is part of our brain's default mode network. Levitin, himself a former music professional who engineered records by the Grateful Dead and Santana, writes: 
<blockquote>
Artists recontextualize reality and offer visions that were previously invisible. Creativity engages the brain's daydreaming mode directly and stimulates the free flow and association of ideas, forging links between concepts and neural modes that might not otherwise be made. 
</blockquote>
Engaging creatively requires hitting the reset button, which means carving space in your day for lying around, meditating, or staring off into nothing. This is impossible when every free moment-at work, in line, at a red light-you're reaching for your phone. Your brain's attentional system becomes accustomed to constant stimulation; you grow antsy and irritable when you don't have that input. You're addicted to busyness. 
And that's dangerous for quality of life. As Sepp&#228;l&#228; points out many of the world's greatest minds made important discoveries while not doing much at all. Nikola Tesla had an insight about rotating magnetic fields on a leisurely walk in Budapest; Albert Einstein liked to chill out and listen to Mozart on breaks from intense thinking sessions. 
Paying homage to boredom-a valuable tool in the age of overload-journalist Michael Harris writes in The End of Absence that we start to value unimportant and fleeting sensations instead of what matters most. He prescribes less in the course of a normal day. 
<blockquote>
Perhaps we now need to engineer scarcity in our communications, in our interactions, and in the things we consume. Otherwise our lives become like a Morse code transmission that's lacking breaks-a swarm of noise blanketing the valuable data beneath. 
</blockquote>
How to disconnect in a time when connection is demanded by bosses, peers, and friends? Sepp&#228;l&#228; makes four suggestions: 
1. Make a long walk-without your phone-a part of your daily routine 2. Get out of your comfort zone 3. Make more time for fun and games 4. Alternate between doing focused work and activities that are less intellectually demanding
That last one is also recommended by Cal Newport, author of Deep Work. Newport is not on any social media and only checks email once a day, perhaps, and even that time is strictly regimented. What seems to be lost in being "connected" is really irreplaceable time gained to focus on projects. Without that time, he says, you're in danger of rewiring your neural patterns for distraction. 
<blockquote>
Spend enough time in a state of frenetic shallowness and you permanently reduce your capacity to perform deep work. 
</blockquote>
That's not a good sign for those who wish to perform creatively, which in reality is all of us. <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160330135623.htm">Research shows </a> that the fear of missing out (FOMO) increases anxiety and takes a toll on your health in the long run. Of all the things to suffer, creative thinking is one of our greatest losses. Regardless of your vocation a flexible mindset open to new ideas and approaches is invaluable. Losing it just to check on the latest tweet or post an irrelevant selfie is an avoidable but sadly sanctioned tragedy. 
--
--
Derek is the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Motion-Training-Optimal-Health/dp/1631440721/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1476996488&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=whole+motion">Whole Motion: Training Your Brain and Body For Optimal Health</a>. Based in Los Angeles, he is working on a new book about spiritual consumerism. Stay in touch on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes">Twitter</a>. 
</div>

The other day a friend mentioned that he's looking forward to autonomous cars, as it will help lower the accident and fatality rates caused by distracted driving. True, was my initial reply, with a caveat: what we gain on the roads we lose in general attention.

The other day a friend mentioned that he's looking forward to autonomous cars, as it will help lower the accident and fatality rates caused by distracted driving. True, was my initial reply, with a caveat: what we gain on the roads we lose in general attention. Having yet another place to be distracted does not add to our mental and social health.

Little good comes from being distracted yet we seem incapable of focusing our attention. Among many qualities that suffer, <a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015331">recent research </a>shows creativity takes a hit when you're constantly busy. Being able to switch between focus and daydreaming is an important skill that's reduced by insufferable busyness. As Stanford's Emma Seppälä

She is not the first to point this out. Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin made a similar plea in his 2014 book, The Organized Mind . Information overload keeps us mired in noise. In 2011, he writes, Americans consumed five times as much information as 25 years prior; outside of work we process roughly 100,000 words every day.

This saps us of not only willpower (of which we have a limited store) but creativity as well. He uses slightly different language than Seppälä-linear thinking is part of the central executive network, our brain's ability to focus, while creative thinking is part of our brain's default mode network. Levitin, himself a former music professional who engineered records by the Grateful Dead and Santana, writes:

Engaging creatively requires hitting the reset button, which means carving space in your day for lying around, meditating, or staring off into nothing. This is impossible when every free moment-at work, in line, at a red light-you're reaching for your phone. Your brain's attentional system becomes accustomed to constant stimulation; you grow antsy and irritable when you don't have that input. You're addicted to busyness.

And that's dangerous for quality of life. As Seppälä points out many of the world's greatest minds made important discoveries while not doing much at all. Nikola Tesla had an insight about rotating magnetic fields on a leisurely walk in Budapest; Albert Einstein liked to chill out and listen to Mozart on breaks from intense thinking sessions.

Paying homage to boredom-a valuable tool in the age of overload-journalist Michael Harris writes in The End of Absence that we start to value unimportant and fleeting sensations instead of what matters most. He prescribes less in the course of a normal day. Perhaps we now need to engineer scarcity in our communications, in our interactions, and in the things we consume. Otherwise our lives become like a Morse code transmission that's lacking breaks-a swarm of noise blanketing the valuable data beneath. How to disconnect in a time when connection is demanded by bosses, peers, and friends? Seppälä makes four suggestions:

1. Make a long walk-without your phone-a part of your daily routine 2. Get out of your comfort zone 3. Make more time for fun and games 4. Alternate between doing focused work and activities that are less intellectually demanding That last one is also recommended by Cal Newport, author of Deep Work . Newport is not on any social media and only checks email once a day, perhaps, and even that time is strictly regimented. What seems to be lost in being "connected" is really irreplaceable time gained to focus on projects. Without that time, he says, you're in danger of rewiring your neural patterns for distraction.

That's not a good sign for those who wish to perform creatively, which in reality is all of us. <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160330135623.htm">Research shows </a>that the fear of missing out (FOMO) increases anxiety and takes a toll on your health in the long run. Of all the things to suffer, creative thinking is one of our greatest losses. Regardless of your vocation a flexible mindset open to new ideas and approaches is invaluable. Losing it just to check on the latest tweet or post an irrelevant selfie is an avoidable but sadly sanctioned tragedy.

Bite‑sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Being busy is killing our ability to think creatively

Busyness and Creativity

Information Overload

Addicted to Busyness

Busyness

Boredom is Good

The Four Ways To Disconnect

The Organized Mind

What You Need to Know About L-theanine

Context switching is killing your productivity (here's what to do about it)

Bite‑sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Being busy is killing our ability to think creatively

Busyness and Creativity

Information Overload

Addicted to Busyness

Busyness

Boredom is Good

The Four Ways To Disconnect

The Organized Mind

What You Need to Know About L-theanine

Context switching is killing your productivity (here's what to do about it)

Bite‑sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career