The “Reitoff principle”: Why you should add “nothing” to your work-life schedule
Notes & Highlights
Key Takeaways
- Creative solutions tend to appear when the brain relaxes sufficiently.
- According to neuroscientific research, our brains are still active even when we’re “doing nothing.”
- Embracing the Reitoff principle means recognizing that sometimes it’s worth doing nothing at all.
According to recent neuroscientific research, even when we’re ‘doing nothing’, our brains are still active. In particular, there’s a region of the brain called the ‘default mode network’ (DMN) that governs the strange places our absent minds go to. The DMN helps us to recall memories, to daydream and to imagine the future. And it becomes more active the less engaged we are with mentally draining tasks.
What is the relationship between Meditation and the default mode network?
What would it look like to integrate time for ‘nothing’ into our lives? Well, the simplest way is to actively schedule moments of ‘nothingness’ into your week. Some nights, you don’t need to go for a walk or paint a picture. Some nights, you should simply let yourself zone out. Even put it in your calendar: one evening next week will be your evening of oblivion.
It might feel unproductive. But sometimes, it’s just the time your brain needs to wander – and so solve problems with perspectives you didn’t realise you had.
By doing less today, you can do more of what matters to you tomorrow.