if we aren’t feeling these things. The Stoic philosopher Seneca, author of On the Shortness of Life, arguably the first ever management self‐help book, argued:
People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time, they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.
The industrial revolution specifically linked time to money as the advent of artificial lighting enabled 10‐ to 16‐hour workdays. It wasn't until Henry Ford introduced the eight‐hour workday, and profits increased exponentially, that people started to think differently about productivity by the hour. His profitable methods, in effect, refunded two to eight hours to his workers every day.
We are also driven by a work ethic deeply rooted in Judaeo‐Christian traditions that persuades us that to be ‘idle’ is to be ‘ungodly’.
Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. Proverbs 20:13
In a culture that values hard work and productivity, we feel we are ‘winning’ when we are going hard all the time. Because being busy increases our level of (self‐)importance and can become addictive, we may feel guilty or ashamed when we aren't busy doing stuff.
So we have a bit of conditioning to undo!
Instead of trading time for money, we need to trade energy for impact.
For example, we are all familiar with the model that says I give you x hours of my time in exchange for y dollars. But what if we instead focused on the idea that I give you energy, value and impact in return for dollars?
Instead of thinking about how many hours I need to put in, I think about exchanging the most valuable and impactful work each day.
Begin by asking yourself, where will I get the best return on my energy investment?
Reframe laziness
If you have a dog or a cat, watch them. They spend most of their time sleeping, with intermittent breaks for eating, pooping and running after a ball or a bird.
I think it's time to reframe ‘laziness’ and to enjoy life's pauses. Let's not be like Nathan Hubbard, former CEO of Ticketmaster, who in this tweet seems to be encouraging people to go hard over the holiday period.
For years researchers have proved time and time again the positive impact of restful activities:
Daydreaming, and even boredom, promote creative thinking.
Discovering non‐work‐related activities that both rejuvenate and excite you will provide the energy you need when it's time to get down to work. They also create an awesome contrast frame so you'll enjoy work‐related activities even more!
Being in flow: Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi coined this term in the 1970s for what happens when we become ‘so immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity that we lose sense of space and time’. And we get more done! Up to 500 per cent more, according to a 10‐year McKinsey study.
Socialising: We get cognitive boosts from social interactions and we also experience higher levels of intellectual performance.
Disconnecting from work: Those of us who are able to disconnect from work are healthier, more engaged when we are at work and less prone to procrastination.
Being less busy isn't the issue. The real opportunity here is to take time out. To stop and take stock of where you are at and make some decisions about how you want to work.
STOP AND THINK
Studies of brainwaves show us that creativity, innovation, inspiration and intuition are only available to us when our brain is in certain states of consciousness.
Have you ever heard someone say, ‘I just can't think clearly!’ or ‘I can't make sense of this!’ or ‘I just don't have the bandwidth for this’? Just ask the parents of a newborn who are not getting enough sleep. Typically, this is because they cannot access sufficiently the brainwave that helps you feel centred, relaxed and creative!
The Dutch principle of niksen means to slow down and opt out of productivity expectations. The idea is you take a big breath, pause, and give your mind and body a chance to rest and reset.
Writers and philosophers have been talking and writing about this for centuries. It's no secret that our aha! moments often happen when we're resting.
In Awakening the Mind, Anna Wise explains that while we rarely use just one kind of brainwave at a time, each has its own job or characteristics. For example:
Beta brainwaves are the most commonly used, and they're the fastest. Typically, these are accessed in a waking state of consciousness or when you're thinking — like now, as you read this book. They help us manage everyday things like driving a car, making judgements and remembering what we need to do. They are responsible for analytical thinking and problem‐solving.
Alpha brainwaves are the next fastest and are typically present when we are in a state of relaxation or distant awareness, such as when we are daydreaming. You can access alpha waves through anything that ‘zones you out’, like watching TV, working on a hobby or even taking a long drive. It's where positive thinking, stress reduction and accelerated learning lives. Its most useful function is to create a bridge between the conscious and subconscious parts of your mind. It's why you remember dreams.
Theta brainwaves are accessed when you sleep, and more specifically in the rapid eye movement (REM) state. It's how we transfer things from short‐term to long‐term memory. If you meditate, you will be aware of the blissful feelings that result when you are able to access this state of consciousness. This is where aha! experiences live. It's where healing begins and it fosters feelings of deep inner peace. And it's also where creativity lives.
Delta brainwaves are the slowest and they belong mainly in the realm of the unconscious mind. They are present when all other frequencies are turned off, giving you the chance to get a good night's sleep. They can sometimes be present in waking states, showing up as intuition, empathy and instinct. When people say that, despite the evidence, ‘I just knew …’, they are probably accessing delta brainwaves.
In a nutshell, if you are not accessing these brainwaves at the appropriate time, you will not have access to the ability to be creative, innovative and intuitive.
So we need to STOP!
To sum up chapter 1 in a sentence: we are told that we need to operate at 100 per cent capacity all the time, and anything less is less than optimal — but it's not true!
In chapter 2 we learn that there are forms of capacity other than working flat out at 100 per cent!
