Idleness and its benefits

As a human being interacting with other human beings, we learn that how we show up in the world seems to matter. 

If we have learned through our own social experiences that certain patterns of behavior, such as being extraordinarily busy and constantly on-the-go lead to being successful, connected and accepted by others, then we may find it appealing to engage in those behaviors.

Merriam-Webster defines the word productive as, "Yielding results, benefits or profits." Essentially, it means that we have something to show for our hard work. 

Being busy has to do with an amount of time, where productivity has more to do with our use of time.

Few people would choose to be lazy.

• Many 'lazy' people haven't yet found what they want to do or are unable to do it.
• Some people have become so specialized that they no longer grasp their purpose, and could fall into the trap of not bothering.
• Some people sabotage themselves by never trying because they fear success or they fear failure.
• There are also those that feel so hopeless that they cannot begin to think through it. 

Idleness, or to be doing nothing, is not the same as laziness. Idleness can amount to laziness, but can also be a clever way of accomplishing tasks.

Idleness can be used to observe life, gather inspiration, gain perspective or to maintain health for important tasks. Sometimes the best way of using time is to waste it.

Being so hyper-fixed on our own stress and schedule is, in a way, selfish. It’s a way to be caught up in our own little world.

Instead, we should be encouraging ourselves and others to find a better balance in our lives and in our experiences. 

We convince ourselves that everything we do now, will pay off when we are successful and achieve that next milestone. But, as soon as we reach that goal, we rarely bask in that success because we must be in pursuit of the next one.

Analyze the reasons as to why you are doing the things you do, and why you are reaching for the goals you are trying to achieve.

Our brains have two modes:

• focused mode, which we use when we’re doing things like learning something new, writing or working) and 
• diffuse mode, which is our more relaxed, daydreamy mode when we’re not thinking so hard.

The mind solves its stickiest problems while daydreaming—something you may have experienced while driving or taking a shower.

When you work on a task continuously, it’s easy to lose focus and get lost in the weeds. In contrast, following a brief intermission, picking up where you left off forces you to take a few seconds to think globally about what you’re ultimately trying to achieve. 

“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” – Socrates

Don’t take on more tasks and responsibilities. You end up doing many things in a mediocre way. Instead, focus your time and energy on a few important things.

“Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly.” – Plato

Set 3-4 important tasks that will directly contribute to what you want to achieve in life.

Time and resources are limited but 'everything that is to be done' is always unlimited, so there is bound to be a compromise, a trade-off.

Something will always be neglected or deprioritized, no matter what you do.

Humans are not a machine or a piece of equipment, that can be made to work overtime and show more productivity.

We don't work like a machine, and working more hours does not mean more actual work. If we respect our body clock and work with it, we can be more productive.

The act of becoming aware of where your attention is focused helps you to direct your attention where you want it to be - on creating something significant.

To learn to control your attention, set aside at least one time period per day to focus without interruption. Let it be no more than 90 minutes at a time. Do something important but not urgent.

Ask yourself: Are you scheduling time daily to focus without interruption?

Deliberate Rest means engaging with restful activities that are often vigorous and mentally engaging.

For example, Winston Churchill and Victor Hugo painted while Leo Tolstoy played chess.

Most of us put off tasks that stress us out. Unfortunately, this avoidance kicks off a cycle of procrastination that just causes more stress. 

Instead, committing to crossing one of them off of your to-do list on a day off can improve your overall well-being.

Things that are rare and dwindling become more attractive and are perceived as more valuable. The less we write, the more valuable our writing becomes. 

Refrain from responding immediately. If another recipient should answer, give the person the right of first response. Ask yourself:

• Do I need to send this now?
• If not, do I need to send it at all?
• If so, does more than one person really need it?

We long for clarity and for other people to say what they mean in as few words as possible.

Making wordy sentences that lose their fluency due to needless complexity in a text negatively affects the receiver of your message. In short: big is bad.

The way we define the concept of "productivity" really influences our perception.

For a lot of people, this word suggests something cold and corporate, that speaks about efficiency and becoming a robot.

It has to do with focus and allows us to accomplish everything we want to do in a smaller amount of time, so we have more time for what’s actually meaningful to us.

Because being able to focus on things, we see more meaning in them.