THE ENERGY EDGE issue #101 β Read on website, Read time/2 minutes
I spent three hours in a conference room trying to solve a product design problem with the team. Whiteboards covered in diagrams. The coffee had gone cold. The answer did not appear.
That night, walking the dog, the answer appeared. Fully formed. Like it had been waiting for me to stop trying.
It took fifteen minutes to update the design to reduce confusion for customers. Done.
What happened?
THE SCIENCE
Your brain has two modes: focused and diffuse. Focused mode is the conference room. Diffuse mode is the dog walk.
Baird et al. (2012) found that people who took breaks involving simple, undemanding tasks showed a 40% improvement in creative problem-solving compared to those who kept grinding. The catch? It only worked for problems they'd already been wrestling with. Your brain needs the focused struggle first, then the diffuse wandering to connect the dots.
"These data suggest that engaging in simple external tasks that allow the mind to wander may facilitate creative problem solving." - Baird
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THE TAKEAWAY
The answer isn't more hours. It's strategic disengagement. Your brain keeps working on hard problems in the background, but only if you give it room to breathe. The leaders I coach who produce the most creative solutions aren't the ones who push hardest. They're the ones who know when to step away.
YOUR EDGE THIS WEEK
Next time you're stuck on a hard problem, set a timer for 45 minutes of focused work. Then take a 15-minute walk with no entertainment. Just let your mind wander. Stare at a tree. See what surfaces.
Be well,
Eric
P.S. Want to design your week for more of these breakthroughs? Try my Calendar Coding Exercise.
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