This Little Trick Will Expand Your Mindset
How to make time for your mind to wander and grow
As unfortunate as this may sound, unless you allow yourself to be bored, your mindset will struggle to expand.
Boredom is something that secretly scares the best of us.
I’ve been there. I used to do whatever I could to ensure I had no downtime.
In this downtime, you are forced to face your mind.
As your mind wanders, you think about your mistakes, your endless to-do list, and the hundreds of things that could go wrong.
While scary, this is necessary.
This time is when you give your mind space to wander.
And it is in that wandering space that your mind can not only start to comprehend the books you have read and experiences you have had, but also have the space to expand.
So, the question becomes: “ How do you comfortably give yourself this space?”
Timeblock
This has been a term and concept that has historically been overused. Yet, even with it being overused, people rarely implement it properly.
What does your schedule look like, and how much control do you have over it?
Chances are, you have a job with somewhat low flexibility. While that reduces control, it does create structure.
You are able to schedule around that structure and be efficient.
If you want to read, but you have no time, perhaps you can listen to audiobooks on the drive home instead.
If you want to work out, find a way to do so on the way to work or after work to save time on the drive.
You know your life better than I do, but there is always a way to time-block better.
Pay attention to timescales
While most people timeblock on a daily basis, many forget that they can do it on a weekly basis.
What if you could batch tasks in a single time each week?
Some of those emails don’t need to be answered today. In fact, they can probably wait till Saturday. Schedule it in.
I wrote a whole other blog post on this exact topic.
But the point here is that you need to find time to give your mind space to wander so that your mindset can expand.
Schedule in the wandering
I will never be able to say this enough… You can schedule anything you need to get done.
In a previous post, I mentioned how my therapist once told me I need to schedule in my “play-time”. As adults, we forget how important play is, and so, you should force yourself to do so for your own good.
When I heard that, I realized I can do that with anything else. That includes time to let your mind wander.
By doing this, you will have no choice but to sit there for an hour or two.
And since this time is so intentional, interesting things will happen much quicker.
To wrap it all up
You are probably sitting here wondering, “So, the trick is running a schedule?”
The answer is… yes.
But the hard part is doing it properly.
By timeblocking your schedule and batching your tasks, you create the space to make time in your schedule for mind wandering.
In that time when your mind wanders, don’t be afraid. Let the answers come to you.
Interesting thoughts will pop up, and your mindset will expand.
It is simple in theory, but tough to implement.
Give it a shot and see what happens!
Thanks for reading.