The summer of 2014 is winding down. And odds are, you’re probably gearing up for something: sending your kids off to school, going to school yourself, or stepping things up at work. For most of us, fall is the time to get our heads back in the game.
It’s odd that Labor Day unofficially marks the beginning of fall. When the holiday was first celebrated in 1882, the U.S. labor movement envisioned it as a day of leisure for working men and women. Indeed, the promise of leisure is deeply rooted in American consciousness. Dwight D. Eisenhower famously envisioned a world where “all can develop the life of the spirit, of reflection, of religion, of the arts, of the full realization of the good things of the world.” Doesn’t that sound great?!
So what’s standing in the way of making this wonderful vision a reality? Well, is it turns out, we are!
As a (somewhat surprising) general rule, humans enjoy busyness more than idleness.
One study found that we dislike being alone with our thoughts for even short periods of time — the study’s participants hated it so much that they preferred giving themselves mild electric shocks instead!**
In real life, the same rules apply. Instead of letting our brains rest, we occupy them with minutiae like email, texts, Facebook, TV, and appointments. It’s hard to just sit there and exist anymore. Here’s a pretty telling data point: More than 38 million Americans have shopped on their smartphones while sitting on the toilet. Yes, really.
Now, you might be thinking, What’s so bad about that? Just leave me and my smartphone alone! You know I have your best interest at heart. It turns out that this incessant desire to be busy is hurting us in many ways.
Neuroscientists used to believe that the brain was essentially inactive when we were doing nothing. But recent research has revealed that idleness actually supercharges our brains. According to researcher Andrew Smart, idleness means “a healthier, happier, more creative brain.” In many ways, it’s like sleep: easy to skip, but vital to our health and success.
To learn three tips to give your brain a break, read the entire article on huffingtonpost.com.
Dr. Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, speaker and The New York Times bestselling author of Bankable Leadership. Her life’s work is to help organizations succeed by improving the effectiveness of their leaders and teams. With a ten-year track record in the Fortune 500 world, her expertise has been featured in outlets like The New York Times, Huffington Post and Forbes.
