“Eureka! I’ve got it!”
But where did ‘it’ come from…?
We often assume our best work only comes from deep focus; when we get into the project, problem or challenge and we focus solely on ‘it’.
But what if there were other ways to find the answers, create solutions and step forward with less struggle and more ease…? More Flow…
Creative Procrastination could be just such a solution.
So, what is this potential productivity unicorn?
Here’s a great definition to explain this further: time and space to switch the prefrontal cortex to some other activity or rest, whilst the subconscious processes and wanders, looking for answers and consolidating information.
This is also diffuse thinking; letting the brain free-flow, spacing out, doing something mundane (like putting on a load of washing, making a cuppa). And it’s such a powerful way of letting the brain work on creating new neural pathways and connections to come up with unique ways of thinking, new ideas and amazing solutions to previously what felt like unsolvable problems.
We often feel that this is wasted time and we label it as procrastination. When we can’t find that deep focus, we mark this time down as a failure and we beat ourselves up for not doing better. But what if every moment we’re doing this type of thinking, we are actually at our creative best…
Eureka!
For me, this has become a critical part of my day and a massive part of how I stay in Flow. I can move from one deep task to some time free-flowing whilst I do other things, and then come back with renewed energy, and often unique and interesting new insights that I just wouldn’t have formulated if I’d stayed glued to my desk.
So, let’s shift this idea that you can only achieve great work by hammering yourself to stay focused for long periods, and create awareness around the other power your brain has… the power to formulate and create without you! This is tapping into our subconscious, its neural networking superpower and truly unlock potential we didn’t know we had.
Don’t think you have ‘it’? Well, here’s a little challenge for you.
Write/work on something for 10 minutes, a task, an article or blog for your business or part of a report perhaps. Don’t review it, leave it, go do something else for 10 minutes and then come back to it. Just start again, don’t worry about
what you’ve already written and see what happens. What new ideas, what new contexts have appeared…?
Let me know what you find, I’d love to know … 😊 xxx