Sometimes Not Working Is Work, Too | Hacker News Reader

Sometimes Not Working Is Work, Too

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It is widely debated within creative circles whether or not incubation is a necessary step for creativity and problem solving[1].

Yet repeatedly research and anecdotal data indicates that some type of break in any behavior—separated by tasks which utilize alternative forms of thinking—is beneficial.

So if you're working on a complex logical problem, jumping away for a bit to do less intense and more playful work can help spark new insights, and vice versa. 90 minute chunks of highly involved work followed by a short burst of walking, taking a shower, doodling or free writing, or simply resting can be really helpful for your mind. We shouldn't shy away from breaks as beneficial.

I wrote this back in June of last year as a reference for myself, it is not at all scientific in any way, but a reasonable analogy nonetheless: "It's like when you constantly write or say the same word for five minutes, your brain burns out on it and suddenly the word doesn't appear to make sense. Working on the same specific problem or task for any sizable amount of time means the neurons in your brain around that area of work are constantly firing." Eventually the work "doesn't make sense" and the possibility of creative thinking is greatly hindered.

Sometimes the best way to get an insight is to get away from the work.

1. See Gary Klein's book Seeing What Other's Don't.

I take a stroll around the block a couple times a day. I'm sure people in the office think its weird that I leave so often but It's necessary for me to continue working. I need a little reset. Otherwise I feel like I'm sitting in a chair in front of a computer stuck for hours on end.

This is what I miss most about smoking.

I recently started doing this because I got a new fitbit that alerts me if I have taken 250 steps in the hour. Originally I was using this as an exercise mechanism but now I am using to help my thought process. Often times it buzzes my wrist while I am just sitting there thinking. I get up, walk around the office park, have an insight or breakthrough and return to my desk more productive. I do this about 3-6 times a day. I highly suggest everyone give this a trail run to see if it helps.

Sounds like jamais vu[1]. French for "never seen", opposite of deja vu (already seen). Most common in words as you mentioned, however, I often experience it in places I know I've been before, yet for some reason feel new and unfamiliar.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamais_vu

It's a pretty routine experience for me that when I am working on a problem at work, the answer comes to me while I am walking around at lunchtime. It's like you can't force it at the desk--it just has to bubble up on its own.

Back when I smoked cigarettes, it seemed like nicotine was the solution to any problem. Almost every puzzle was solved on a cig break.

Same here, except replace cigarettes with guzzling water while walking up and down a dozen flight of stairs, and there's no problem that this method cannot solve.

I take water and coffee breaks to try and think, but for some reason most of my inspirations occur at a urinal.

But the coffee is likely the inspiration for the urinal so it still counts.

My preferred method is to work through puzzles in one of those cheap logic magazines[0] while I'm busy with a problem that needs a creative solution. I feel (though this may have no bearing on reality) that the puzzles occupy logic-loving part of my brain while the creative part of my brain can stew on the actual work problem.

[0]: https://www.pennydellpuzzles.com/product.aspx?c=LogicMathVal...

If you're talking about the puzzles that can be almost mechanically solved (sudoku, cross numbers or whatever it's called, battleship, etc.), for me they're verging on meditative. It's not that they're easy, but I've done them enough I know what to do. It's the same for when I run (especially over the same route I've run many times before). There's nothing new in the activity, but it occupies enough of my mind that I get into a "zone". In that headspace, a great deal of other creative and free-associative thought seems to occur.

For me it happens in the shower, the moments just before I fall asleep, or upon waking from a nap. I can't count the number of times I wasted hours up late at night trying to force a solution only to give up and have the solution come to me clear as day the next morning.

Me and my partner run a small but globally oriented design consultancy.

One of the things we always try to do is to only work 3 days a week four clients. This we believe is a better use of time and money because we and our clients often need "time to think".

So far this has landed us some pretty interesting and large clients in some very interesting areas like robotics, AI, Shipping and for the VC industry and it has allowed us to focus more end developing the actual products and services rather than just producing.

If I may ask you an unrelated question: since you mentioned you run a small consultancy, how do you manage your clients' expectations about working hours etc?

In my experience (also running a small consultancy), clients expect at least 10x4, if not 8x5 coverage.

Sure.

We charge days or weeks not hours that takes care of most of the problem.

Second we are expensive which normally means we dont waste our clients time and they dont waste ours.

Is anyone aware of any companies that proactively and explicitly encourage this stepping-away practice in their culture? Not just the "unlimited vacation" or "we have a nap room" variety -- often that's just window dressing. Any company cultures that actually take it seriously as a long-term competitive advantage?

The title is a bit click-baity. The tl;dr is that rest and breaks from work are essential to sustaining effort, especially for intrinsically motivated people who have tendencies to over-work themselves.

Yes, that's the purpose of a good headline. Getting people to click on it

I agree. "Click bait" is probably best used for headlines that are catchy, but don't really represent the content of the article (so they're basically lies, like fishing baits, but for clicks).

As long as the title is catchy AND represents what you get in the article, then it is a good title and I see no reason to call it "bait" because it is not a "bait", it is real (knowledge) food.

Not to mention the physical toll it takes on your body.

Backache, wrist injury and other rsis are equally bad as a burnout and you only feel the ramifications later on in life.

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