Downtime Benefits More Than Just Stress Management

Being more creative may not come down to what you do, or some top 10 punch-list of things you got on Chat-GPT that gets you to be more creative.

According to this research, it may be more about

• getting out of your own way
• not adding things, but letting go for a minute
• finding your idle time

Research from the University of Arizona shows that creative people utilize their downtime by exploring their thoughts. Even though these individuals had less things to DO all the, all the, all the time, they were still less prone to boredom when left alone.

The reason why is because they used this idle time to basically explore their ideas, letting them meander down a path, then naturally segue to another line of thought, exploring with them as they went.

Data from this research makes the important point, that idle time is not idle at all for your brain.

Another way to think about it is that, when will fill up our days, hours, and even minutes with stuff to do, it distracts that part of our brains that runs creative, plays with ideas, and opens new ways of thinking.

Listen, we live in a crazy busy world. But maybe that fast-paced torrent of a life comes at a cost: the fertile ground for creative thought.

Bottom Line:

Downshift into idle when you can. Let go, relax into it, and let your thoughts run and play for a while. Then see what treasures they come back to you with!

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