Just Sit and Do Nothing
Ideas come at the unlikeliest of times
Last weekend my wife and I went on a getaway to one of our favorite spots, The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin. It’s such a beautiful and relaxing place to go. Our kids went to their grandparents and we were just going to have a weekend away to relax.
We didn’t really have any plans. That was by design. We wanted to just relax and not have any schedule to follow, or activities planned to fill our time. It was just going to be a lazy couple of days.
There must be something about going places where you feel relaxed and clear minded. You almost fall into a mind calming meditation. Before you know it your mind just wanders. You’re so unfocused that your mind just goes where it wants.
To my surprise, sitting and doing nothing sprouted more thoughts and ideas than I’ve ever experienced before. I had to fetch a pen and paper nearby because of all that was popping into my head. Shutting off all the external disruptions and sitting in silence puts your brain into a completely different setting.
Our minds are constantly distracted and interrupted with activities, work, talking to others, TV, podcasts, social media, phone/text notifications and so on. Everything and everyone is vying for your time and attention.
How many times do we say there are never enough hours in a day? We give in to all the disruptions and surrender our time to what’s fighting for our attention.
What was so odd was that when I was sitting and focused on nothing, the ideas and answers that I had been looking for with certain things came to light. Sitting in front of a fire in silence in a controlled setting without your phone nearby, gives your mind the opportunity to open up and work. It goes from a reactive state, to a proactive state of mind.
When is the last time you sat in silence without your phone or any interruptions? Have you ever? I couldn’t remember the last time I had done this. I sat and just kept sitting. Focused on nothing. Letting my mind run free. When you’re the most relaxed, your brain seems to do its best work.
When this occurred to me, I recalled hearing about Bill Gates doing something similar. I looked it up and read about it. It turns out that twice a year he would escape to a remote secret cabin in the forest for an entire week. He called it “Think Week.” What grew from those weeks were life changing for both Bill personally and Microsoft.
Our weekend away was beautiful. It was meant to be relaxing and a time to unwind with my wife. It was that and more. I was able to think freely. After capturing these productive and insightful thoughts, I need to make sure I try and copy that in the future. Here is what I learned;
Being completely relaxed and unplugged allows your mind to go where it wants. I now want to set time aside to do this every six months. I’ve marked this time aside on my calendar to relax, unplug and be left alone. It will be for one full day every six months to start.
I can’t expect to consistently run back and forth to the American Club and hope to recapture this. So some other ideas are to find a similar place nearby. I may going out into nature to walk in the woods or walking paths. Think places where you can be away from all distraction. Places where you can think and be left alone.
All you need is a pen and notebook. Leave your phone behind. Having it anywhere nearby creates the temptation to look at it. Even if you peek and don’t reply or return that text, email or phone call, your mind has been disrupted. You’re going to be thinking, what did they say or what was their reply to my question. Leave it all behind!
I highly recommend you give it a try sometime. Getaway, disconnect, relax, unwind and just sit there. Just keep sitting.
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