Did you know that in the south of Japan, there is a train station called Seiryu Miharashi Eki. It’s in the middle of nowhere and has no entrance or exit. It’s in an isolated and remote bit of land position overlooking the Nishiki River. If you get off there, you will find no ticket office, there are no cafe and no shops. Nevertheless the train stops right there. If you do decide to get off, you can’t go anywhere. If you want to leave the station, you just have to wait for the next train. It is said that this station has only one function: to remind us of the importance of being still. To remind us to stop and simply look around – and in the case, take a moment to admire the landscape.
The holidays are here so if you can physically and mentally stop, this is the time to do it. Even if you can’t go away, taking a moment to be still, and to look around you can pay dividends for your mental health as well as your creativity and motivation. Every time there is a major holiday, we like to remind our network that whilst it is much harder to properly switch off when our minds are linked to so many devices and connections, we need to do it. For some who are in a period of uncertainty, this switching off can be even more challenging – after all if you can’t see where you might be working next, how can you justify switching off. But stopping still is important whatever your circumstance, because how can we move forward or get ideas, if we never take the time to look around or give ourselves a chance to rest and restore ourselves?
Dr Jackie Mulligan, who has conducted extensive research on creativity explains “It’s ironic that when your battery is at 100% and your Wifi is full strength, your brain’s creative battery has much more chance of running out of charge. My advice is always to ensure that when you are away or simply taking time out – you disconnect from anything that links you back to work or seeking work. Instead take time to reconnect with yourself, your friends, loved ones or just to where you are. Create your own Seiryu Miharashi Eki”
Jackie shares more tips here…
Do something boring
Whenever I do a workshop about creativity, I ask people when they get ideas – the answers are always the same – it is often when people are dropping off to sleep, having a shower, walking the dog or driving. Turns out these activities (or non-activities) are a great way to let your brain relax. And when you relax, your brain gets a chance to incubate ideas. Holidays give us a chance to down tools, but rather than leaping into hyperactivity, think of how you can slow your brain down. It could be reading a book, going for a swim, going for a long walk or even picking up a jigsaw. Allow yourself to focus on something else that does not require much brain power and see what happens.
Make time go slower
Have you noticed how time just flies – how is it even August?? But during holiday time, it can slow down a bit. In working life, days tend to repeat, we do the same commute, sit at the same desk, use the same programs, see the same people. We routinise. When we are in a routine, our perception of time speeds up, one day flows into another, there are no breaks. It is why in Covid times, if you were locked down, our sense of time is very warped. If we want time to slow down, we need to disrupt routines and regular patterns. When we do something different, whether it’s a pottery class or taking a new way to work, we take note of things in a different way. As a result, days feel longer and in addition we enhance our ability to be creative.
It is amazing how much more you can see when you take a moment or two to look up in real life and see how interesting the 3D world of IRL can be. Chances are it might inspire your ideas for experiences in virtual worlds too.
Switch off this Summer
When you go away – remove notifications and emails from your phone and switch off the socials. My phone is there for an emergency call and to take photos but that’s it. If you are CEO or the lead of a department, you might even consider a holiday as a way to stress test your company! I remember doing that for the first time one Summer and it was terrifying for 3 days and then immensely liberating for the next seven. Provide one key contact with your number so you know if it rings, you are needed – better still make that contact number someone else so any emergency can be filtered again. If you have to connect to work, time it, one hour each day or each week and be specific to your colleagues and family so it is expected and planned. But really, honestly and really, if you are not a paramedic, can your company not do without you for a few days…?
In a hotel room, charge your phone away from your bedside – this is a good idea for home too but I don’t want to be too ambitious here! If you have kids, show them that you are not using your phone and even if you have teens constantly online they might follow your lead too. It is amazing how much more you can see when you look up in real life and how interesting the 3D world of IRL can be. Chances are it might inspire your ideas for experiences in virtual worlds too.
In the games industry, it is harder than most industries to withdraw from devices – after all we like playing games in our leisure time too. But I urge you all to do it this Summer for at least one week. Take time to stop and look around and reconnect with you. It also means that when you do return to work, after having been ‘away, Away’ you will have more energy and motivation too. So remember, this Summer that a holiday is not simply about travelling, it is also about stopping still.
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