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5 Reasons to Let Yourself Rest

Amy Shearn
Forge
Published in
2 min readAug 22, 2020

A German university is offering grants fund periods of idleness, encouraging applicants to seriously engage with “active inactivity.” Here at Forge, we greeted this news with knowing nods (okay, plus-one marks in Slack, the new “knowing nod”). We’ve long been proponents of downtime — and even boredom — as a path to creativity and productivity.

Yes, it sounds counterintuitive, but also, it is absolutely true that great ideas come from periods of indolence. Consider:

Time management guru Laura Vanderkam on how purposeful idleness can lead to a breakthrough:

Medical doctor Alison Escalante on how our brains have a problem-solving network that works best when you perform unrelated, rote tasks:

What high performers like LeBron James know about the importance of rest and recovery, as explained by Medium writer Niklas Göke:

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Forge
Forge

Published in Forge

A former publication from Medium on personal development. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Amy Shearn
Amy Shearn

Written by Amy Shearn

Formerly: Editor of Creators Hub, Human Parts // Ongoingly: Novelist, Essayist, Person

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