To begin with, it’s a good thing to make the best use of our time. But constantly bombarding our brain with information, videos clips and images might be doing more harm than good.
Our brain needs time to provide self-generated material instead of stimulus driven material. This is called daydreaming, and it’s what people used to do before the invention of the internet.
Think about it. People are constantly staring at their phones while they drive, eat, wait in line, sit in class, talk with friends, ride the bus or even while sitting on the toilet. In the old days we called this an addiction, today it’s just the norm.
Daydreaming – A thing of the past?
Let’s be real. Our brains need down time (and not just during sleep).
There used to be a thing people did pre-2000’s. It’s called daydreaming. We all did it. While we drove our cars, sat in class, ate lunch, talked with friends etc. It was a good way to pass the time. It’s what scientists refer to as the brain’s way of ‘switching modes’. Basically, we need to allow our brains to self-generate material instead of stimulus driven material like our phones produce.
Letting our brain rest and daydream allows us to:
- Self-reflect
- Recall memories
- Imagine new possibilities
- Understand other’s perspective
- Think through new ideas
- Replay past events
- Stimulate future ideas
- Connect disparate ideas
These things can’t happen if we keep demanding our brains focus on our little digital devices.
So, for this October my IFBL goal is to put away my digital devices during the day and allow my brain the time to daydream, acclimate and process things on its own. This is all part of time management that we all struggle with. But good time management doesn’t always mean we have to stay busy. Sometimes the best use of our time is to do nothing and let our brains do what its good at….
For more information on daydreaming check out this article: What really happens during daydreaming