
Sometimes Not Working Is Work, Too - happy-go-lucky
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/article/sometimes-not-working-is-work-too.html
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tannerc
It is widely debated within creative circles whether or not incubation is a
necessary step for creativity and problem solving[1].

Yet repeatedly research and anecdotal data indicates that some type of break
in any behavior—separated by tasks which utilize alternative forms of
thinking—is beneficial.

So if you're working on a complex logical problem, jumping away for a bit to
do less intense and more playful work can help spark new insights, and vice
versa. 90 minute chunks of highly involved work followed by a short burst of
walking, taking a shower, doodling or free writing, or simply resting can be
really helpful for your mind. We shouldn't shy away from breaks as beneficial.

I wrote this back in June of last year as a reference for myself, it is not at
all scientific in any way, but a reasonable analogy nonetheless: "It's like
when you constantly write or say the same word for five minutes, your brain
burns out on it and suddenly the word doesn't appear to make sense. Working on
the same specific problem or task for any sizable amount of time means the
neurons in your brain around that area of work are constantly firing."
Eventually the work "doesn't make sense" and the possibility of creative
thinking is greatly hindered.

Sometimes the best way to get an insight is to get away from the work.

1\. See Gary Klein's book Seeing What Other's Don't.

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Taylor_OD
I take a stroll around the block a couple times a day. I'm sure people in the
office think its weird that I leave so often but It's necessary for me to
continue working. I need a little reset. Otherwise I feel like I'm sitting in
a chair in front of a computer stuck for hours on end.

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Royalaid
I recently started doing this because I got a new fitbit that alerts me if I
have taken 250 steps in the hour. Originally I was using this as an exercise
mechanism but now I am using to help my thought process. Often times it buzzes
my wrist while I am just sitting there thinking. I get up, walk around the
office park, have an insight or breakthrough and return to my desk more
productive. I do this about 3-6 times a day. I highly suggest everyone give
this a trail run to see if it helps.

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Finnucane
It's a pretty routine experience for me that when I am working on a problem at
work, the answer comes to me while I am walking around at lunchtime. It's like
you can't force it at the desk--it just has to bubble up on its own.

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stronglikedan
Back when I smoked cigarettes, it seemed like nicotine was the solution to any
problem. Almost every puzzle was solved on a cig break.

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rm_-rf_slash
Same here, except replace cigarettes with guzzling water while walking up and
down a dozen flight of stairs, and there's no problem that this method cannot
solve.

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SketchySeaBeast
I take water and coffee breaks to try and think, but for some reason most of
my inspirations occur at a urinal.

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owensims1
But the coffee is likely the inspiration for the urinal so it still counts.

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ThomPete
Me and my partner run a small but globally oriented design consultancy.

One of the things we always try to do is to only work 3 days a week four
clients. This we believe is a better use of time and money because we and our
clients often need "time to think".

So far this has landed us some pretty interesting and large clients in some
very interesting areas like robotics, AI, Shipping and for the VC industry and
it has allowed us to focus more end developing the actual products and
services rather than just producing.

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HenryTheHorse
If I may ask you an unrelated question: since you mentioned you run a small
consultancy, how do you manage your clients' expectations about working hours
etc?

In my experience (also running a small consultancy), clients expect at least
10x4, if not 8x5 coverage.

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ThomPete
Sure.

We charge days or weeks not hours that takes care of most of the problem.

Second we are expensive which normally means we dont waste our clients time
and they dont waste ours.

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jpster
Is anyone aware of any companies that proactively and explicitly encourage
this stepping-away practice in their culture? Not just the "unlimited
vacation" or "we have a nap room" variety -- often that's just window
dressing. Any company cultures that actually take it seriously as a long-term
competitive advantage?

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phd514
The title is a bit click-baity. The tl;dr is that rest and breaks from work
are essential to sustaining effort, especially for intrinsically motivated
people who have tendencies to over-work themselves.

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nolite
Yes, that's the purpose of a good headline. Getting people to click on it

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waterlink
I agree. "Click bait" is probably best used for headlines that are catchy, but
don't really represent the content of the article (so they're basically lies,
like fishing baits, but for clicks).

As long as the title is catchy AND represents what you get in the article,
then it is a good title and I see no reason to call it "bait" because it is
not a "bait", it is real (knowledge) food.

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superasn
Not to mention the physical toll it takes on your body.

Backache, wrist injury and other rsis are equally bad as a burnout and you
only feel the ramifications later on in life.

