Even brief timeouts help the brain reinforce long-term learning and productivity.
PHOTO: KLAUS VEDFELT/GETTY IMAGES
By Annemarie Dooling
March 16, 2021 12:26 pm ET
One secret to achieving more: Finding time to do nothing.
In our efforts to squeeze every second from the day, it seems counterintuitive to watch a pot of coffee boil or gaze out the window. But your brain uses those free periods for important cleanup work, neuroscience research indicates. And during the pandemic, as the boundaries between work and home have blurred, it has become harder to create mental breaks.