Let Your Brain Out to Play – August 29, 2022

It’s been a while since I’ve checked in. As usual, our summer season seems to have flown by!

In the spring, I took a break from writing my blog and publishing my newsletter after doing so consistently for three years. I felt my motivation and creativity waning, and my brain needed a break. In fact, I decided to let my brain out to play this summer with some extended time off — and the positive impact has been beyond what I ever imagined.

I first want to acknowledge that taking any extended period of time away from work is a privilege. I’m incredibly fortunate to have work that can be done remotely, where I can contract with others to support my business, and where I have the financial means to truly rest.

I took a full month away from the office this summer to honor the seven years I have worked as a solopreneur. Taking a sabbatical at seven years has biblical and agricultural roots, and has been customary in academia. For companies who offer sabbatical programs, it is common to offer a month or several months off at the seven-year mark.

As the CEO of my own business and my life, I knew I was the only one who could give myself permission to rest. My goal has always been to build a sustainable business for the long term, and building a foundation of sustainability and resiliency requires rest and renewal in order to bring energy and perspective to the next step. Turns out, our brains have a lot to do with rest and renewal!

Brain Networks: Do You Get Your Best Ideas in the Shower?

The evolving field of neuroscience, which I have studied for several years, recognizes two important networks in the brain: the Task Positive Network (TPN) and the Default Mode Network (DMN). The TPN is responsible for things like focusing on a specific task, short-term (working) memory, and actively paying attention to something external. It is goal-oriented. The DMN is responsible for things like envisioning the future (dreaming or worrying), introspection, understanding others, and noticing new perspectives.

Most of us live an existence that has us in the TPN for much of our time. It makes sense, as our jobs require us to be task-focused and productive. These are things for which we are typically rewarded in our daily work and home lives.

And yet, in being so focused on our TPN, we sacrifice the benefits of the DMN.

We’ve all had the experience of blankly staring at the computer screen, unable to come up with the first slide for a presentation or find the error in our spreadsheet. This is our TPN being overused: you can tell because it’s no longer producing. When we step away to take a shower, drive home from the office, or walk around the block, inevitably the answer will come. When that happens, it’s because you shifted from TPN to DMN. You allowed an entire other network in your brain to operate when you were likely unaware that anything was happening!

It’s no accident that we have our best ideas when we are doing something else.

When you step away from your task focus, you allow your DMN to play. This is what I mean by “let your brain out to play”. When the DMN is in charge, that’s often when the most creative, innovative, and interesting ideas and connections occur. Guess what? Rest is a critical requirement for the brain’s ability to function at its best. Staring at your screen for hours trying to find the word or the error is a waste of time. Get up. Move. Allow the DMN to do its thing. It will save you hours!

Even More DMN

When my son and I arrived home after 27 days of traveling from Colorado to Vermont, the Adirondacks in NY, and the Midwest, it happened to be my birthday. What I wanted to give myself more than anything was the gift of more DMN time. More travel, more space, more adventure, more connection to myself and others, more perspective. My wish was to drop off my teenage son (he was very much done traveling and ready for the structure of the school year and some TPN time), pick up a friend, and continue traveling west. I craved time staring at the ocean, looking up at redwoods, and walking through pine forests.

While some DMN time is spent ruminating or worrying, I’m quick to shift out of those modes and into “what if” mode. In DMN, I spend time imagining all the possibilities, making connections among previously unrelated concepts and ideas, considering new perspectives, and questioning my own thoughts and beliefs. I get inspired by nature, unfamiliar roads, and novel places. Doing this makes me better at my work, better at life, and (I think) a more interesting person for having had these experiences and sharing them.

What Could More DMN Time do for You? The 12-Hour Walk

While I’m unable to take another month to travel right now, I’ve decided to take 12 hours on a weekend. Why 12 hours?

Less than a day before I wrote this blog, I became aware of a new concept called the 12-Hour Walk by Colin O’Brady through two friends who posted about it on social media. (Thank you Sara and Dana!) I immediately listened to this podcast where Colin introduces this idea.

Colin’s experience sprung out of the COVID lockdown and a life-changing walk out the door of his cabin on the Oregon coast. Colin, like many of us, became a shell of himself during the lockdown, spending days in the same clothes, isolated, without motivation to do anything. One day, he left his cabin for 12 hours and walked aimlessly, sat in nature, and disconnected from all communication with others (no social media, no music, no texting, etc). By the time he arrived home, he felt he had returned to his old self again after the opportunity to disconnect and tune in.

I was captivated by this relatively simple idea. So I’m heading out on my walk in a few days.  Initially, I was thinking this would be a piece of cake — until I was starkly reminded by a report on my iPhone of the number of times I picked it up today (sigh). I’ll report back on my experiences in my next blog.

In the meantime, I invite you to notice when you are overusing your TPN. Get up from your desk and take a walk, water the flowers, or do the dishes. I guarantee it will end up SAVING you time and adding to your productivity.

If you are interested in learning more about neuroscience in coaching and understanding how your brain helps or hinders your performance, I’d love to connect with you.  You can reach me at carol@expansiveleadershipcoaching.com.