| Letter From the Editor: Of Rest and Rubbish | | Something funny happens when you look at your phone immediately after waking up.
It comes down to our nifty different types of brain waves, depending on our state of consciousness. (Stick with me – the good stuff is coming, I promise.)
When we're in deep sleep, our brain's got delta waves.
When you first wake up, it switches to theta waves: that sort of half-lucid, half-asleep feeling.
From there, it gets into alpha waves, when we're fully awake, but not really preoccupied with much and, therefore, feeling a little more easygoing.
Finally, we phase into beta waves, when our brains become the most active and attentive.
Yeah, I know. That's a lot of science. But if you remember nothing else, know this: Skipping over the different phases – especially theta, when imagination tends to be the least limited – isn't great, especially for those of us whose work requires coming up with creative ideas or new strategies.
But that's what happens when the first thing you do upon waking up is look at your device: Your brain jumps right from theta to beta, and skips that footloose-and-fancy-free stage when creativity can be at its peak.
Listen, I'm not here to shame anyone from looking at their phones immediately. I do it. And I'm pretty sure plenty of others can relate, which is why I wanted to write about it. It's something I've been thinking about lately – not the science of brain waves, exactly, but about what this habit really means.
Friends, I'm worried that kicking off the day by looking at our devices – something that, in our lines of work, we spend most of our waking hours doing – is just one symptom of a widespread tendency to opt for productivity over rest. And I fear that it's actually making us less productive and far less innovative.
Make no mistake: My employer isn't to blame for this. We've fully embraced the four-day workweek, after all, which I cannot celebrate enough. I would point the finger at years of pop culture references celebrating the fruits of "hard work above all else," but that's moot. Instead of waxing whiny, I want to figure out what we can do about it.
That's why I turned to my friend Alexis Lassonde, a Florida-based licensed mental health counselor specializing in anxiety, trauma, and depression.
"In my industry, we have to consume a lot of information, mostly from screens," I told her. "We have to be online a lot, and I think it compels us to be online as much as possible. What is that doing to us?"
For starters, she said, "It primes our attention spans to be much shorter, or primes us to being used to constantly feeding our brains with information and input."
In turn, she explained, "We're having a really hard time resting." Ding ding ding – we have a winner.
"If we're constantly being stimulated by something else, we're always distracted … and we don't have that time to check in and take care of our needs," she continued. "I can't tell you how many highly successful, affluent, run-the-world clients I've had … that even though they have made millions of dollars, they can't enjoy it, because they're not taking care of themselves."
Got it. So, don't kick off the day by looking at our phones right away – hey, save this email for later if that's what you're doing! – and step away from the devices throughout the day.
Find time to choose rest. Sure, that's easy to say when you don't have deadlines and a bottom line to which you're accountable, right?
Of course, "do what needs to be carried out for your business to thrive and to be successful," Alexis advised, "but also, take breaks as you need them. Take a minute to stretch. Or walk. Or call someone, take a shower – do whatever you need to recharge in those small moments."
So. As I warned, this letter isn't tactically about AI, tech, or SEO. Not really. But it is about something that weighs heavy on my mind as I try to lead teams within this realm and – gasp! – practice what I preach. And, hey, sharing is caring, so I hope this particular spiel is helpful and actionable as you take on the week ahead.
On that note, I'm choosing rest this week and will be out of the office. So, until I'm back, I'll leave you with one more quote from the venerated Maya Angelou:
"Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us."
With regards from all of my brain waves,
AZW
| | | Amanda is the Editor-in-Chief of SEJ. A writer, editor, marketer, and "Golden Girls" superfan, she joined SEJ from HubSpot, where she ran the company's News & Trends program. Her byline has appeared in Thrillist, EcoSalon, and Fast Company. Find more of her work at amandazw.com. | | | | P.S. Yup, still collecting feedback on these. What do you think of these emails -- love waking up with 'em, or wanna give 'em a rest? Let me know. | | | | |
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حبيبي ليس يعدله حبيب *** ولا لسواه في قلبي نصيب حبيب غاب عن بصري وسمعي *** ولكن في فؤادي ما يغيب يا حبيب ...
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