The bustle of our society puts us in the hamster wheel of optimizing our focus and maximizing our productivity. Sophisticated productivity apps, perfectly color-coded Google Calendars, perpetual Asana lists, and five cups of cheap instant coffee. We simply want to engage in deep-committed work as much as we can.
However, it’s easy to get stuck and frantic as we ninja through a looming schedule. Ironically, being hyperfocused for prolonged periods of time is just not sustainable for our mental health, creativity, and productivity.
As someone who tries to “do it all”, from working a full-time job, group fitness coaching, freelancing to managing this blog. I know exactly how it feels to want to maximize every micro-moment. Only to fall short at the end of the day.
The solution? As counterintuitive as it sounds, is to UNFOCUS. Yep, this is your permission slip to zone out for a while.
What is unfocusing?
Unfocusing essentially means giving your mind that much-needed cognitive rest. In other words, it’s giving your poor brain some tender lovin’ care.
The Default Mode Network
Now, don’t let the word ‘unfocus’ fool you. Research has found that your mind never actually “switches off”, even during periods of cognitive rest (and even when you sleep!).
When your mind isn’t focused on anything specific, it switches to a state called the default mode network (DMN). In Eastern Traditions, we call this the “Monkey Mind.” When turned on, the DMN becomes one of the greatest consumers of energy in the brain, eating up a good 20% of the body’s energy at rest.
Originally described by Shulman et al. (1997) and subsequently Raichle et al. (2001), the DMN is a network of brain regions that is active when a person is not focused on the outside world. It’s observed that these select brain regions experience increased metabolic activity during rest and decreased activity when engaged in goal-directed (i.e., cognitively demanding) behavior.
Why Do We Need To Unfocus?
The Ancient Greeks encouraged unfocusing – or mind-wandering, to reset us back into a balanced state of being. Evidently, even before modern-day research could prove it, the DMN has been applauded for its positive attributes. It’s hard to believe we don’t practice it enough today.
The Benefits of Cognitive Rest
On learning
Learning is more effective when we allow our minds to oscillate around periods of focus and unfocus.
When we close our textbooks and mentally switch off, we give our knowledge a chance to anchor on our existing mental maps. That’s because the DMN weaves learned concepts into an interconnected knowledge spiderweb.
On empathy
Your “self” metaphorically assumes center stage in the brain when the DMN is activated. This means you better mirror others’ perspectives, which allows you to better empathize with others.
In this process, you also mentally re-experience memories while mentalizing the future. Which helps us conceptualize who we are in relation to other people and situations.
Ultimately, with deeper insights about yourself and the world, your brain is better prepared to make heartfelt and high-level decisions in faster and with more clarity.
On creativity
When you turn your “focus” brain off, it retrieves memories and links ideas. This process makes you more creative, and also help you feel more self-connected too.
Thomas Edison and Salvador Dalí harnessed the power of the DMN to come up with their groundbreaking ideas. They intentionally did so by holding something heavy in their hands before their naps. As they begin to fall asleep, naturally they would let go of the object, which wakes them up in time to capture what their wandering mind showed them.
How Do We Unfocus In a Busy World?
1) Positive Constructive Daydreaming (PCD)
American Psychologist Jerome Singer notes that slipping into a daydream isn’t all that helpful. With our innate negativity bias, it’s easy for us to rehash moments of guilt and anxiety.
Instead, cognitive researchers recommend leaning into positive constructive daydreaming (PCD), which entails creative imagery while engaging in a low-effort activity. For me, this looks like thinking about my dream holiday while I paint.
The goal is to strike a balance between total immersion and a wandering mind. This is where our outlandish ideas find room to grow and flourish.
2) Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try
Dr. Srini Pillay, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, talks about the power of informal learning in his book Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try. Informal learning could entail anything from doodling on notepads, dabbling with random ingredients in your pantry, or tinkering with your new IKEA set.
These activities are essentially experimental yet non-cognitively demanding. Hence, they activate the default mode network.
The problem is that excessive focus exhausts the focus circuits in your brain. It can drain your energy and make you lose self-control. This energy drain can also make you more impulsive and less helpful. As a result, decisions are poorly thought-out, and you become less collaborative
Srini Pillay, neuroscientist and author,
3) Break a Sweat
Exercise is shown to help the connectivity between different DMN regions and even prevent the atrophy of key regions within the DMN.
My personal favorite unfocusing exercise is to go for walks in nature. Studies have also shown that free-walking results in improvements in fluency, flexibility, and originality of thinking. Walking outdoors and meandering on paths less traveled are also proven to be great for boosting creativity.
Summary
Productivity gurus boast upon the greatness of focus and non-distraction. But for optimal intelligence and creativity, we need to oscillate between periods of focus and unfocus. So rather than chastise yourself for checking out, take this as a permission slip to incorporate moments of cognitive rest into your workday.
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.
John Lubbock, English banker, Liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist and polymath.
