Did you have an epiphany on your vacation this summer? I’ve written some of my best articles in a beachside café, from a lounge chair at lake Tahoe and sitting poolside at a resort. Like most people I’m more creative when I’m out of the office. The further away I go, the more creative I get.
There’s good scientific reason for those “eureka” moments that seem to occur more frequently when we travel or spend time away from the office. As Emory University researcher Gregory Berns points out in his book, Iconoclast, “Epiphanies rarely occur in familiar surroundings.” Your brain is an energy hog and needs to conserve as much energy as possible for the heavy-lifting mental tasks. And that’s why, according to Berns and other neuroscientists, the brain expends less effort in familiar surroundings. That’s great for energy efficiency; not so great if you’re looking for epiphanies. Put simply, a change of environment will kick start your brain’s creative power.
Now let’s revisit the problem millions of Americans will experience in the coming week. They will suffer from a condition that’s not covered in the medical journals but nearly every cubicle-dweller is aware of it. The ‘condition’ is PLDB: Post Labor Day Blues. It’s marked by anxiety, stress, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, less joy, and a sudden decrease in creativity. Sometimes the condition afflicts those who don’t like their job or their boss. In those cases the only cure is a new job or a new boss. But for many of us who like what we do, post Labor Day can still put us in a funk, and we feel less creative than we did during our summer vacation. It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are four remedies for PLDB, Post Labor-Day Blues.
Schedule mini brain vacations.
Your brain needs a break. It also needs unfamiliar surroundings to make new connections and to see the world in a different way. I know many couples who turn short business trips into mini vacations, extending the trip by an extra day to play tourist. Your brain doesn’t need to travel to have a vacation. Try a different restaurant for lunch or a space outside of the office for creative work. Before I head to the office I like to do my creative writing at sunrise in my backyard, overlooking the vineyards of California’s Livermore Valley. It’s often enough to feel like I’ve had a relaxing break before “the work” begins.
Consider adopting a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE).
Companies that are based on this principle measure the results of an employees’ performance while giving them the autonomy and freedom to work where they like and when they like. It doesn’t work for every business, but many companies like are creating a more engaged and creative workplace when employees are given the freedom to be their most creative.
Give your team opportunity to learn new things.
In the past, I’ve been invited to give “visiting author” lectures at LinkedIn, Google, and Microsoft. Each of these companies places a premium on learning and they invite employees to attend seminars and conversations with a wide range of experts. These educational sessions are open to anyone, in any department. Many companies bring in outside experts at least once a week, giving their employees an opportunity to get away from their computers for an hour or two and to kick-start their brains with new ways of thinking.
Don’t over schedule off-sites.
If you plan to hold off-site meetings or conferences, avoid over scheduling. We’ve all heard of the dreaded off-site where every minute of the day is scheduled with a meeting or activity from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. In these cases it’s no wonder the team returns feeling tired and fatigued. Worse of all, they don’t look forward to doing it again. The brain needs a break from the office. It also needs a break from endless PowerPoint meetings at an off-site.
Nothing jolts the brain awake as much as a change of environment, and that includes the physical space you’re in and the people you meet. New places and new people stimulate new ways of thinking.