The Importance of Doing Nothing by   Manfred Kets De Vries By giving the brain 'downtime' we can improve mental health and allow ideas to incubate. “Learning without reflection is a waste, reflection without learning is dangerous” - Confucius In today’s networked society we are at risk of becoming victims of information overload. Introspection and reflection have become lost arts as the temptation to ‘just finish this’ or ‘find out that’ is often too great to resist . But working harder is not necessarily working smarter . In fact slacking off and setting aside regular periods of ‘doing nothing’ may be the best thing we can do to induce states of mind that nurture our imagination and improve our mental health. Busyness vs productive occupation Our lives have become defined by busyness. Look around you at the train station, in cafes, out on the street, people are glued to their mobile handset or tablet. But doing nothing has never really been accept...

Psychological Issues at Mid-Career by   Herminia Ibarra The real questions concern not what job but what kind of life we want next H arris felt stuck. At age 39, he’d had a successful career as a regulatory affairs expert. Although at the top of his function in a celebrated biotech firm, something was missing. He yearned to run a business, to manage a profit and loss. He wanted challenge; he could do his job in his sleep. His mentor asked him (again) to be patient. His wife, at home with two young children, cautioned him against leaving for a risky start-up; he was the breadwinner after all. For him, it was now or never. In the interim, he was working night and day on a new drug introduction without a clear idea of what to do next.   Susan’s job as the head of the change management practice of a leading consulting firm fell short on two important counts: she wanted more meaningful work and a better work-life balance, with more control over her tra...