The Value of Wasting Time

Wasting time is good for you!
The busy modern world makes it seem like you shouldn’t have a chance to get bored.

However, there’s no shame in allowing yourself some downtime. Letting your mind roam enables more effective problem solving, creative thinking and productivity.

It is imperative to carve out time for personal reflection.

Tips for downtime:

  • Take 20 to 30 minutes per day without your cell phone.
  • Encourage your child to take some quiet time if it is unavailable at school.
  • Turn off devices during mealtime.
  • Make sure your quiet time is not goal-oriented.
  • Eliminate the guilt you experience when you take quiet time.
Listen as Dr. Alan Lightman joins Melanie Cole, MS, to discuss why we all need to learn to waste time.

Additional Info

  • Segment Number: 1
  • Audio File: lifes_too_short/ts69.mp3
  • Featured Speaker: Alan Lightman, PhD
  • Book Title: In Praise of Wasting Time
  • Guest Website: In Praise of Wasting Time
  • Guest Facebook Account: www.facebook.com/AlanLightman
  • Guest Bio: Dr. Alan LightmanAlan Lightman is a physicist, novelist, and essayist. He was educated at Princeton University and at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. Before coming to MIT, he was on the faculty of Harvard University. At MIT, Lightman was one of the first people to receive dual faculty appointments in science and in the humanities and was John Burchard Professor of Humanities before becoming an Adjunct Professor to allow more time for his writing. Lightman is the author of five novels, two collections of essays, a book-length narrative poem, and several books on science. His writing has appeared inThe Atlantic, Granta, the New Yorker, and the New York Review of Books, among other publications. His novel Einstein’s Dreamswas an international bestseller and has been translated into thirty languages. His novel The Diagnosis was a finalist for the 2000 National Book Award in fiction. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has won numerous other awards. Lightman is also the founding director of the Harpswell Foundation, which works to empower a new generation of women leaders in Cambodia.
  • Length (mins): 14:35
  • Waiver Received: No
  • Host: Melanie Cole, MS
Published in Life's Too Short
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