(photo taken in Lei Shan near “Dafu” the world’s largest Buddha)
After returning from China a few days ago I was quickly bombarded with emails, meetings, phone calls, and all that other fun stuff. We are presented with so much information every day that it can get to be a bit overwhelming. I don’t know if I would call it an information overload but it does feel a bit like a sensory overload. When I came back from China I zoned out for a few hours and just let my mind drift to the sounds of ambient/chill music from Pandora. I realized that I don’t let my mind drift enough, which is a mistake. In fact I think drifting and zoning out is actually quite healthy for the mind and for the body.
I have a lot of thoughts and ideas that are always going through my mind, moreso than most people. As a result it can sometimes be difficult to organize myself and gather my thoughts. I ask a lot of questions; sometimes when the answers can be a bit obvious. I also oftentimes think out loud and might say something like “I want to plan a trip to Machu Picchu,” or “I want to start another company.” I don’t always expect a response from other people but I certainly do enjoy random conversations about random thoughts or ideas. You can even tell from this post that I have a lot of different things I’m pondering.
Letting yourself drift allows you to take a break from whatever it is your doing to focus internally on your thoughts and ideas; something I consider to be quite important. Working all day is exhausting and as a consultant I work weird and long hours so you can imagine how important it is to just drift away from everything. Here are my tips for drifting:
- pick some music that puts you in the drifting zone, nobody knows what that is but you. For me it’s oftentimes ambient/chillout music or some down tempo house/breakbeats. I go to pandora, create my station and then let the drifting begin.
- keep a notepad and pen handy as you never know what ideas might pop into your head.
- try not to give yourself a time limit, just drift; your mind will let you know when it’s time to stop (or you’ll get interrupted by someone).
- don’t set a drifting schedule because it’s not really something you can force; however when it does happen, let it
- try to relax and take deep breathes while drifting, afterall I consider drifting a form of meditation
- let yourself drift when you need to, enjoy it and embrace it
Do you have any tips for drifting or zoning out? Do you let yourself drift?
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