I’ve been firmly in the “stop the glorification of busy” camp since 2012, when my work came to a screeching halt for two years; I discarded all my old assumptions about how we “should” be and began testing out what made me most creative and productive–starting with Eckhart Tolle’s suggestion to “get the inside right, and the outside will fall into place.” I’d just started to write what would become Living the Mess when Tim Kreiger published his manifesto (or call-to-inaction) “The Busy Trap.”
And ever since, I’ve loved the research that’s been flooding in, about how the traditional approach to work and creativity is just…not very effective. And more, how walking and nature and daydreaming all enhance creativity. So I was thrilled to see this post by compassion and happiness researcher Emma Seppälä. My favourite bit is about how just looking at plants makes people more creative (I’ve experienced this first-hand; it’s one of the reasons I spend so much time in nature). I’ve written a bit about my experiences in Creativity and Mindfulness and The Law of Increasing Flow.
What continually astonishes me is how much more I can accomplish when I keep my life simple, my mind free from clutter (admittedly, it stacks up pretty quickly) and take the time to get centred before I do any work. I get so much more done; on top of that, whatever I do has better quality–from my writing to my interactions with friends–and I haven’t sacrificed well-being to do it.