Zoning Out to Recharge
Growing up on a commercial fishing boat, spending days at sea with the shore only occasionally appearing as a thin blue line on the horizon; I found ways to entertain myself; watching the progression of a shadow across the deck, as the boat bobbed along in the rolling swells.
I wasn't thinking about anything.
Watching seagulls follow the boat to catch fish guts as they're thrown over, container ships passing in the distance, searching for and dodging patches of kelp; these activities gradually gave way to studying for high school exams, university courses, and starting a business.
The anticipation of owning something I built from nothing was the only fuel I needed. Long nights pouring through manuals and online forums, hours staring at a screen oblivious to whether it was daylight outside, let alone any shadows. When I came across a sundial, I stopped for a moment to check if it was accurate, according to my fancy cell phone synchronized to an atomic clock.
It seems every day there's someone talking about the benefits of long rest periods, silent meditation retreats, and minimum uninterrupted vacation time of some number of days. I would usually read them, agree with them, spend a few seconds dreaming about the day when I could relax, after I had arrived at my goal, some day in the future.
But no matter how well things went, how many goals were reached, I never felt like I had arrived. Nor did I slow down, pick up any of the hobbies I lost, or take a day off, ever. There was more to do, and only I could do it. How could I ever ignore my responsibilities and take time off? A mid day stretching class? The mere thought brought pangs of guilt.
Enter the momentary reprieve of zoning out - it's simple, and can be done anywhere, even for a few seconds, but a bit longer brings exponential rewards.
- Look up
- Put your attention on something that moves (second hand on a clock, leaves on a tree, clouds in the sky, ripples on the ocean, watch a pot boil - spoiler alert: it does happen!)
- Observe it
The list of things not to do at the same time are endless, and irrelevant.
Try it now.
How do you feel?
After only 10-20 seconds, I usually realize the thing I was focusing on was not the only thing in the Universe. This sounds rather obvious, but it's the experience of switching from undivided attention on something, to letting go and flushing my mind, that is magical in the moment. Often the next thought is some bodily or natural function, like thirst, sore neck, posture, which I then just let myself take care of - walk to the fridge and get a glass of water, stand up and stretch, or visit my other "office", as they say.
Take time to sharpen the axe, especially if I don't have time, and there's too much to do.
Here's the bonus, and the real benefit for high achievers; zoning out recharges the focusing muscle, of sorts. Even without the short walk to get water, just the gap in concentration - the mini zone out - I feel much clearer and able to focus again.
What about the endless questions,
- How much recharging is enough?
- How much recharging is too much?
- How long should I focus between breaks?
- How long should I recharge between work segments?
- Which do you do first in the day?
There are certainly named strategies out there - Pomodoro Technique (online timer), Flowtime, etc - and they can be used as a starting point, from which you can refine by increasing/decreasing/mixing/alternating until you find the patterns and amounts that work for you.
To be clear, recharging is not relaxing.
Recharging is a short segment of time, with a change in activity, to release the mind from its current draining/performing tasks, for the purpose of increasing its capacity to focus and perform afterward.
Zoning out, for 10 seconds, is such a simple activity that I can do standing in line at the grocery store, in the middle of a long draining task, or just on a weekend with no instigating factor.
To enhance this practice, read my post on Cultivating Boredom and the related TEDx talk on the concept.
If you feel a draw to grab your phone or start doom scrolling your social media feed, check out this post on Dopamine Detox with some books and a TEDx video I found fantastic to help cut the withdrawal.