Dr. Eric Frazer, PSY.D.

Chapter 13: Paradoxical Working: Doing Nothing

Doing nothing is not meant to be literal in the sense of sitting in an empty room on a mat. This is a mini-retreat intervention to take a break from your routine work for purposes of developing some flexibility in your mind. Think of it like a mental yoga; stretching gently to improve flexibility. When you give yourself this mental break from work, you free yourself to engage in a purposeful activity, but not one that is necessarily goal-directed, structured, or whose purpose is to increase productivity or income. Where the behavioral science comes in is that when we engage in activities that make us happy, our dopamine increases. We experience a greater sense of well-being. In that emotional state we are able to recalibrate our inner self, or stated differently, our mental life and our brain chemistry. This is a good habit to prevent burnout. Replenish yourself! Here are a few ways some successful people I know do this:

-Flying lessons

-Coaching youth wrestling

-Winemaking

-Learning a new language with a tutor

-Sailing Lessons -Travel Blogging

-Playing Magic

The other thing I can tell you about these activities and the people engaging in them is that they are filled with passion and excitement. Also, you will note that there is a specific skill and learning/teaching embedded in these paradoxical activities. Also, some of these activities involve giving back/volunteering, and some come with no cost, or very little cost. The Exercise: Take some time to reflect and write down a Paradoxical Work experience you would like to have. Pick a date, a time, and put it on your calendar with any additional steps to effectuate the experience.