Give Your Brain a Rest
Does your brain need a break?
We all feel a trifle burnt out from time to time. Many busy folks are finding great relief from meditation, exercise, a change of climate, or just a few days of well-earned vacation. Speaking of which, did you know there are “brain spas” aimed at pampering your gray matter while you’re vacationing? This article from Intelligent Travel Blog reveals a few different places you and your brain can go to enjoy some R&R.
We writers often have trouble turning our brains off. I can’t tell you how many writing books and teachers emphasize keeping a notepad on the night table, ready to take dictation on that great 3-a.m. idea. I’d had those moments, of course; we all have. “Eureka! That’s brilliant! I’ll remember it tomorrow morning for sure!” And then the next day kicking myself for having no remaining whiff of brilliance anywhere in my noggin.
So I tried the notepad thing once, and I did indeed have a golden opportunity to capture a moment of sheer genius in the middle of the night. Next morning, here’s what I found my pen had preserved for all eternity: “reerwkqpx ifc wns djxammdie lsnz dkfn fmnlfk fmf d;[[ mxnajd./” Or something like that.
Maybe sleep-working works for you, and that’s great. I decided that when I’m sleeping, I need to be sleeping, not writing.
Sometimes we think we’re “multitasking” by constantly thinking about our work during other activities. What a time saver, right? Only I found it to be as fatiquing as actually working. I was supplementing my writing with a part-time night job at the time. It was a very simple, repetitive office job, so I figured I had the perfect opportunity to keep planning business details, dreaming up rough drafts, and generally working my writing business in my head. I had to force myself to stop the brain drain and use the simple, repetitive night job to rest and recover from my writing day. My ongoing feeling of fatigue lifted within a day, and my performance as a writer improved. Ever since then, I’ve set aside specific blocks of time to write, interspersed with specific blocks of less brain-intensive work (or play). Sometimes a little less ambition can actually get you further!
And now it’s time for me to go stare at the wall while my brain takes a nap.
