Sometimes default mode is a good thing.

Washing dishes without a podcast in your ears;
Ordering coffee without looking at Instagram;
Waiting for the train without your phone in your hand;

Seems that with our phones handy all the time, our brains no longer get a chance to wander… but that’s where some cool brain stuff really needs to be happening.

Turns out there’s a well researched reason why ideas come to you in the shower or when you’re out walking…

“When you get bored, you ignite a network in your brain called the “default mode.” Our body goes on autopilot while we’re folding the laundry or walking to work, but actually that is when our brain gets really busy […] Once you start daydreaming and allow your mind to really wander, you start thinking a little bit beyond the conscious, a little bit into the subconscious, which allows different connections to take place. It’s really awesome, actually.”

I deleted the email app from my phone after watching Manoush Zomorodi’s TED Talk on this tonight, realising that’s the thing that makes me pick up my phone dozens of times each day, even though I only actually want to read a fraction of the emails I receive in a week… go figure.

It also distracts me during family time, when I should be most present and not distracted.

I’ve been without social networks on my phone for most of this year and have not missed one second of it. When I clock the next distraction on there, it’s gone.

Hope this helps you win back a few precious minutes… or hours.