Rest as the key to high productivity

All sorts of techniques to increase their own productivity are very popular now. Optimization of work performance, time management, prioritization - all this is intended to maximize productivity. But in the crazy rhythm of our modern life, many of us forget what rest and relaxation are. Even on weekends, our heads are often busy with working problems and experiences. But constantly reworking and refusing to rest and sleep, we thereby reduce our own productivity and, most importantly, do not enjoy life. Although no one will have a second attempt with the “work on mistakes” done.

Usually, when we decide to optimize our workflow, we devote a lot of time to setting priorities, concentrating on performing no more than one task at a time, more efficiently allocating time between work, family, friends, sports, sleeping, etc. No doubt, all this is very useful in everyday life and work. But behind all these troubles we miss the most important moment: we catastrophically underestimate the importance of interruptions . Real, real breaks.

Here is a life situation that is familiar to very many people (and someone lives like that for years): due to the large volume of cases, lack of sleep accumulates, the daily whirlwind depletes energy, and persists with persistent fatigue. And I want to run away somewhere where there are no computers, the Internet and telephones. But it is worth being really out of access to IT benefits, as there is a feeling of the absence of something important, the inability to solve possible problems that may happen in our absence. Without the Internet and the computer you start to feel like without hands.
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We are exhausting ourselves

According to a LexisNexis study , “Employees spend an average of 51% of their working time getting and sorting information, instead of actually using it in their work.” Just think about it. Here the analogy with sports suggests itself: if we train the same muscle group every day, then soon they will simply stop developing. Rest for them is as important (if not more) as the exercises themselves. And our brain works in the same way.

In addition, we do not usually think at all about what a tremendous amount of energy is required to ensure long-term intensive work of the brain. Did you pay attention to how difficult it is to concentrate on something when you are physically tired? According to scientists , our brain is the most “voracious” organ, consuming up to 20% of the total energy produced. According to other experiments , there is an assumption that the brain never truly rests at all. According to Chris Mile (Chris Miall), a neurologist from the University of Birmingham (yes, that same British scientist), "the brain rests only when you are dead." In the conditions of constant intensive receipt of information, from morning to evening, we have to constantly remember and keep in mind a lot of data. And it just drains.

Usually we can not stop in time

We were lucky: in Russia during the year a lot of holidays are gathered, which are days off. But at the same time, many of us do not use their entire annual leave - urgent / important projects, uneasy relations with superiors, there is no one to replace, no money for rest ... Familiar? And even when we finally go to warm the bones on the beach or barbecue at the cottage, we regularly check work email, write, write, work questions by phone. Even without checking the mail during the holidays, we constantly have the opportunity through a smartphone / tablet / laptop to go into your mailbox, and resist this temptation. "No, I will not spoil my vacation, I rest!". But what kind of rest can we talk about if we are at work in our thoughts?

And here again it is appropriate to recall the need to give the brain a rest. And it’s not limited to a good night’s sleep, a few minutes of meditation or entertainment. The brain needs a real, full, long rest. This is the only way to prevent emotional and professional burnout.

Attention is not rubber

High technology itself is by no means a bad thing. But in a situation where we are rapidly “overgrown” with gadgets connected to the Internet and each other around the clock, flooding us with all sorts of notifications and messages, our attention is not even blurred, but just sprayed like an aerosol. It is quite possible that even reading this text now you don’t give it your full attention, do not think about every sentence. Surely you also have a lot of bookmarks in your browser that you control by the corner of your mind. Notifications about new letters arrive, the smartphone vibrates and stumbles, telling about new SMS.

And this text is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of consumers of your attention.

Each time, remembering something that needs to be done, reading a text or talking to someone, you give this process some of your attention. As a result, whether we like it or not, modern citizens are daily exposed to an excessive amount of all sorts of “irritants” that need to be paid attention to.

Modern technology has permeated almost all aspects of our life. At one time, the New York Times published a series of articles that examined the impact of technology and gadgets on our brain.

“Free space and silence contribute to the attainment of the necessary state in order to take a step back and appreciate your life, for making unexpected connections and waiting for sudden inspiration. Paradoxically, we need it to complete any work. ”

When we relax or dream, our brain does not stop and does not slow down its work. However, our consciousness and attention come to rest. From this time of “idle time”, as well as from other forms of daytime rest, the course of many important mental processes depends. Therefore, short sleep in particular is so important, although it is not a panacea. As Ferris Jabr writes :

“During the“ idle time ”, the stock of attention and motivation is replenished, productivity and ingenuity increase. It helps to achieve a higher level of productivity and streamline memories in everyday life. On the contrary, the "wandering" tired mind loses its sense of time, our ability to memorize, to learn planning is falling. "

So, how does a holiday differ from a familiar environment and without communication with the outside world and the Internet?

There are five key points:

1) Make as few decisions as possible . Try to rest in a place where you do not need to make all sorts of decisions - where to go, what to do, whom to see, what to eat, etc.

2) Do not follow the time . Do not even take your watch with you, but put the phone in the far pocket or on the bottom of the bag. Eat only when you get hungry, not when you "need." Sleep if you are tired. Do not think what time it is, do not think how much time has passed since the moment of some event.

3) Play games, solve riddles and puzzles . Cards, board games, crosswords, whatever. A lot of research confirms the benefits of such entertainment and related mental and physical stimulation.

4) Do not think about bad or unpleasant . Contemplation helps a lot: water, rocks, sky, stars. This contributes to calm reflection, memories of what makes you happy, what you are striving for in the future. Do not let thoughts of things that scare you, bother, crush, anger, etc. No thoughts about the negative, in a word.

5) Spend as much time on nature . Perhaps one of the most important conditions for a “proper” and refreshing holiday. And this stems from the characteristics of the physiology of our brain: "Walking through the woods is like a vacation for the prefrontal cortex . " After all, we were once wild animals, and wildlife affects us more beneficially for anything, no matter how we lock ourselves up in megalopolises and multi-hives. In nature, all of our senses, which are suppressed and muffled in everyday life, “wake up”, are stimulated by all sorts of brain sections.

Noticed how rarely we do at least something of the above, even during the "regular" vacation? When we completely break off contacts with the outside world and return to nature, only then can we really begin to think . It is at such moments that we finally gain the opportunity to weed out the information rummaging in our head, and begin to process it, use it, and acquire knowledge. We begin to experience life.

Our usual fussy life can be compared to how if you “on the run” shove yourself in your mouth and swallow a huge piece of meat as soon as possible, barely feeling its taste, and then feel heaviness in your stomach. But it is better to sit quietly and slowly enjoy the taste, feel every ingredient, every flavor.

Is not it so?