The two-hour rule taking time to think

The two-hur rule taking time to thinkThe two-hour rule taking time to thinkAlbertEinsteinwas 16 years oldwhen he firstflirtedwith the idea of specialrelativity.He was adaydreamer.Thepioneeringtheorythatled him toestablishthe foundation of modern physics was actuallyenvisionedin one of his many famousthought experiments.He wondered, specifically,what would happen if hewereto ride a moving light waveata constant speed, say,likea surfer.Given that they would be traveling at the same speed in such an instance, he went on to predict that the light wave would appear frozen to him.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreHe didnt know it then,butthat simple thought would lead to the downfall of some of the fruchtwein impressive work done in physics over the past few centuries.It changed everything.The funnythingis that stories ofsuch brilliant insightsspurringout of deep thought arent unique.Th roughout history,luminariesranging fromCharles Darwin toFriedrich Nietzsche have attributed much of theirgeniusto the many hours they spent lost in theirmind.Darwin had athinking paththat hewould walk down toruminate, andNietzscheis said to have strolled around innature for hoursand hours on endtomake sense of his ideas.Behaviorsthat have beenchastisedtoday as being unproductive bya culturethatmostlyfetishizesmeasurable outputslike hours worked and reports producedseemto actually be some of the mostproductive.It begs an interestingquestion.Is it just acoincidence?If not, what gives?TheLeverage ofReflective ThinkingFiona Kerr is ascience communicator and a member of the faculty at the University ofAdelaide,and she gives us insight into how and why this kind of reflective thinking works.Daydreaming(as with reflection)allows the mind to wander,she explains.The outcome isconsistently more productivewhendealing with complex problemsor coming up with creative solutions and ideas.She isnt alone in her interpretation of the research.For example,in the field of education, there has been a lot ofwork done on the idea ofreflective thinkingsince the 1980s, and its something that is now seen as acritical component of being an effective teacher.At their core,ahealthy amount ofdaydreaming and reflection enablememory consolidation,andthey allow non-linear connections to form,which both help our ability to break down and target issues and look at themthrougha new lens.The daily mind-wandering that occurs here and there for most of us helps with this, buta deeper and morepurposefuleffort can yield a disproportionately greater reward.Introducingthe Two-HourRuleOnce a week,usually on Thursdays,Iblock out a two-hour period of my day just to think.Inthe evening,Iremove all possibledistractions, especially electronicslike my phoneand my laptop, andI basicallylock myself in aroom to question my work and my lifestyle with a pen and a notebook.Two hours is a long time, and some of it w ill feel unproductive and notall of itwill be structured, butI have a few general things that I almost always start off with to set me in motion.Herearea few questionsIreflectonAmI excited to be doing whatImdoingoram I inaimlessmotion?Are thetrade-offs between work and my relationshipswell-balanced?How can Ispeed up the processfromwhere I am to where I want to go?Whatbig opportunities am I not pursuingthat I potentially could?Whatsa small thing that will produce a disproportionate impact?Whatcouldprobabilistically go wrong in the next 6 months of my life?I can quite honestly say that this is thehighest return activity in my life.Itforces me tobalance the short-term with the long-term.I catch problems before they become problems, andIve stumbled onto efficiencies andideasthat I wouldnt have come across otherwise.Interestingly enough,much of the valuedoesnt come out of the kenntnis questions,butfrom the time I have left after I run out of things to think about. Its when I let my mind wander.Im not one for easy one-size-fits-all solutions, butthis is an idea that I think can serve a lot of people well.Weallthink, of course, but not all of us do so deliberately and without distractions and guilt.There is immense value in leavingtime for that.The TakeawayEinstein wouldnt be Einstein without histhought experiments,just likeDarwin and Nietzsche would both likely have struggled with their creativity and productivity if not for their walks.Although that in itself is a small sample size and doesnt necessarily mean its a magic bullet, theresearch also seems to support thebenefits of reflective thinking and the odd daydream.Two hours may seem like a long time to just think, and maybe something shorter works better for you,butleaving asideat least an hour or so is aworthyinvestment.It lets your mind play, andifyouask good questions, itll sharpen it,too.That tends to compound over time.Itcan beeasytoneglectsomething as simple andstraightforwardas the idea of just taking tim e to thinkas wasteful.After all,most of us are lost in our own thoughts more often than not,butthereis amassive difference between a random 10 minutes of distraction and a dedicated block ofrumination.And lets be honest,no matter how busy we think we are,most of us easily waste that on trivial things that add nothing to our lives.If the average person can spend two hours a day on social media,a few hours a week to organize your life isnt a big ask.Its a small price to pay for a consistentreward.Who knows?You may even find it to be life-changing.This article first appeared on Design Luck.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people