“To do something well, we need to be adept at doing nothing well.”
Joseph Jebelli, The Brain at Rest
Argh! I’m trying to create a fresh activity for an improv class or away day. The more I try, the tighter my mind becomes. Until I give up and go for a walk. And of course, while I’m out walking, the solution comes easily, simply and clearly. Aah!
This has happened so often I’ve made it my normal way of approaching creative tasks: Think about it, then go for a walk. And I get some free movement in the fresh air too! 😊
The reason it helps is the same as why we practise loosening up when we’re improvising. When people try too hard to be funny or come up with a clever idea, they often get stuck in their heads. But when they relax, open up and allow themselves to be surprised, the scene or game starts to come alive and they discover themselves saying or doing something completely fresh.
Our brains can switch between two different modes – called “executive mode” and “default mode”.
When we’re concentrating hard on a problem in “executive mode”, we focus our attention on finding a solution. That’s useful, but it can give us tunnel vision. We keep looking in the places we’ve already been.
Default mode here means “what your brain does when it’s not doing anything else”. When we relax into the more open, daydreamy “default mode”, unexpected memories and connections can pop up. Like when you’re staring out of the window and suddenly have an insight.
This open “default mode” isn’t doing nothing. It’s a space for fresh ideas. It’s often a time when I remember something important or rethink my priorities. It’s space to process difficult feelings and have enjoyable memories bubble back up.
There’s a fun paradox here. We can make space for fresh ideas, but we can’t demand that they appear according to our schedule. The moment we start trying to make something happen, we risk getting caught in the same focused thinking that was keeping us stuck. We need to be open to what emerges, even if it’s not what we were looking for.
Sometimes the distractions of modern life fill us so full we’re no longer able to notice what’s quietly bubbling away beneath. As Michael Neill says, it’s hard to hear your still small voice within when there’s a brass band marching up and down, playing at full blast 😊
Reducing the volume of input helps me notice the quieter passing thoughts. Sometimes they’re wise, sometimes they’re trivial but I’m never searching for them. They catch me by surprise.
Two ways I’ve been deliberately clearing some mind-wandering space in the day:
- Regular times with no input – For me, this mostly means going for a walk without music or podcasts, and without deliberately trying to think about anything. Nature works better than the intense stimulation of a high street or supermarket. Sometimes it’s riding on a bus or train or sitting outside doing nothing apart from watching the waves or the trees for a few minutes. (At one time this was normal!) So many fresh ideas come up when I allow space for them.
- Tolerating a bit of discomfort – I find walking without external stimulation easy. Just sitting still, I can sometimes get a bit bored or fidgety. I don’t push it too hard, but it’s been good to sit with that for a couple of minutes rather than immediately reaching for my phone. I don’t need to do anything about the restlessness straight away. Sometimes, when I give it a little space, my mind settles and something unexpected emerges.
I remember from my marathon training days that the rest days are when you get stronger. If you skip them, there’s a thing called overtraining when more training leads to worse performance.
The same is true for our minds and creativity. Too much effort and input can crowd out the space to discover something new.
We spend so much of our lives trying to make things happen. Sometimes we can also make a little agenda-free space for things to happen by themselves.
This article was prompted by reading The Brain at Rest: The Life-Changing Science of Doing Nothing by Joseph Jebelli. Amazon UK I found the writing style a bit annoying, especially the personal anecdotes and lists of brain regions. BUT it gave me some new connections and prompted real changes in how I spend my time, which is a big win.
If you find it difficult to relax, you might enjoy Ally Boothroyd’s Yoga Nidra sessions on YouTube. People commonly recommend 15-20 minutes as long enough for a reboot but short enough that it doesn’t disrupt your sleep cycle later.
My favourite meditation app, Waking Up, has given me a code to share that’ll give you three months’ free access. No credit card required, only an email. It’ll just stop at the end. There’s Sam Harris as well as a plethora of other teachers and courses. Just go here. You should find the code is already filled in. If not, it’s WU8A-FA45462DDF. It expires on 30th November 2026.
These aren’t affiliate links. It’s just to share good things. Let me know how you get on if you try them out.