“Daydream, imagine, and reflect. It’s the source of infinite creativity.” Deepak Chopra
A break from your phone, computer, all electronics.
- Don’t take your phone to a place you usually take it. (the bathroom, a walk, while eating).
- Allow yourself to get bored for a little. Create space for nothingness.
- Instead observe your surrounding. Do nothing.
Extra: Send me a quick not how it made you feel.
This exercise uses: Emergent Thinking
Emergent thinking is a natural process that comes as a result of rumination. It is the most common form of creativity you may be familiar with because it happens when you daydream. “AHA!” moments typically come from here.
Comments
AG: Today I did not take my phone or any reading material when I went to the bathroom. I wouldn’t say it was hard, but it was different. I decided to stay there as long as I stay when I do have my phone and it felt long.
Rosario:
I usually do today’s challenge regularly. I like to stay without communication at home, for example, because I move forward with everything I have to do, without distraction.
When I go to Madrid by train I also try to put my mobile aside so that I can enjoy the landscape, nature, which I love and gives me peace.
When I’m with people around eating or drinking something, I also leave it. Sometimes it is difficult but the important thing is to achieve it and really enjoy the moment.
When I forget it at home I never go back to look for it. In the end I feel that I am calmer without him.
Mon:
I’d been making time for about 20 mins of doing nothing until summertime rolled around. With the kids home I feel more pressure to be doing something all the time, I feel it’s harder to stop, I feel like I won’t get everything done (even though there’s actually not that much to do!!)
Every day this summer I’ve been waking up early to meditate, study for an exam I have to take, and write. Today I decided to change things up and spend the first hour of my day being really mindful. So I kept the meditation but refrained from multi tasking and paid attention while drinking coffee, eating breakfast, etc. What I found is that pockets of time opened up later in the day and that my study time was much more successful. I was also more open to spontaneity and let the day lead me, instead of me forcing everything to happen and then just feeling drained. I will attempt to take this attitude with me throughout the rest of the summer!
So, a couple more things clicked:
1- only by making space for nothing can I really follow my intuition, the little voice I hear but don’t always listen to because I’m too busy following self-imposed routines that lead me nowhere except to exhaustion
2- had an aha! moment about how to structure and move forward with my book, thanks to this attitude of nothingness I welcomed today 🙂