How Silence Can Yield Productivity

Rarely do we view doing nothing as a task, but research shows that taking time out to daydream may actually improve your productivity tenfold.

Productivity is measured by tangible results, which we can get more of if we maximize our time. We juggle multiple deadlines and our personal life, aiming to hit some type of balance that works well. But what if, in an effort to maximize every possible moment of our day, we are actually overtaxing our brain and rendering ourselves less productive?

Now imagine what that could do for mustering up creativity and original ideas. The study’s puzzling results showed that the total absence of input had more of a pronounced effect than any sort of input tested.

When it comes to downtime, this may be the perfect opportunity to think outside the box. It’s suggested that 2 hours of uninterrupted silence can cause new cell growth to occur in the brain. Coincidentally, travel delays and airport wait times can often be as long as 2 hours (or more, in many cases).

The next layover you encounter could be the perfect time to test the theory. Find the perfect secluded spot in the airport, like a lounge or an empty gate, then carve out some time to daydream. Imagine all the extra brain cells you will have developed by the time you’re done thinking about that beach house in the Hamptons or the hiking trail in Mozambique.

Time management and efficiency are essential to success. But we also need to be able to incorporate different tools that are going to boost our productivity and creativity.

Research tells us that downtime is essential to mental processes; that when resting, our brains are anything but idle. When people engage in wakeful rest, allowing their mind to wander, they are able to slip into a default mode of neural processing, which can increase mental health and cognitive abilities.

If we shift our thinking — or out of thinking — we can begin to view downtime in a different way and capitalize on opportunities for productive silence. After all, it’s easier to prevent burnout than to recover from it.

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