Jeff Bezos uses ‘mind wandering’ to boost productivity: Here’s why it is not as bad as it seems

Wandering off to different lands when you sit at work? Well, you are not alone. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos indulges in it too and it has done him wonders. This technique has not only helped the billionaire boost productivity but has also made his work “fun”.

In a podcast with computer scientist Lex Fridman, Bezos said he doesn’t like to keep a “strict schedule” for the day. Instead, he lets his mind “wander”, making his brainstorming “messy meetings” longer than he plans.

“When I sit down [in] a meeting, I don’t know how long the meeting is going to take if we’re trying to solve a problem,” Bezos explained to Fridman. “The reality is we may have to wander for a long time… I think there’s certainly nothing more fun than sitting at a whiteboard with a group of smart people and spit-balling and coming up with new ideas and objections to those ideas, and then solutions to the objections and going back and forth,” he added.

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But how does this effective “zoning out” help in boosting productivity?

What is mind-wandering?

Mind wandering is a natural cognitive process where our attention shifts from the immediate environment to internal thoughts, memories, or plans, Dr Neerja Agarwal, psychologist and co-founder of Emoneeds, a Gurugram-based psychiatric clinic, told The Indian Express.

The process gives your mind a break from monotonous tasks…it frees it up to think more creatively, a paper titled “Inspired by Distraction: Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation” said.

While many confuse mind wandering with daydreaming, it is not the same. The former focuses on tasks related to a primary activity, such as reading a book, listening to a lecture, or attending a meeting, The Wire reported citing psychology experts Dr Anchal Garg and Bruce Watt.

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In fact, the longer a person spends on a task, the more their mind starts to wander regardless of whether the activity is difficult or easy, according to a University of Miami study which analysed 10,000 participants with different mind-wandering activities.

Universally, the study observed a pattern that towards the end of the task, individuals are typically thinking about something else at least 50 per cent of the time.

The 60-year-old Bezos is himself a testimony to the creative thinking technique, which helps many generate new ideas (usually the “aha!” moments), develop more perspectives, and find solutions to sticky problems.

What are the benefits of mind-wandering?

“Under the right circumstances, a wandering mind may actually benefit us and possibly those around us,” psychologist Jill Suttie wrote for the University of California Berkeley’s magazine in 2018. “The trick is to know when to set your mind free.”

Here are the other benefits

1. Unlock creative potential: Taking your mind off a particular task can allow the subconscious to make connections and yield unexpected ideas.

2. Reduces stress: Mind wandering can help alleviate stress, leading to renewed energy, improved focus and cognitive performance.

3. Prevents fatigue and mental breakdowns: A break from tasks with a deadline can help you think of creative ways to solve a problem that you may not think about during a structured period.

Though, if not done right, mind-wandering has its risks. “Like any psychological tool, however, mind wandering can be harmful if used in the wrong context (i.e, when you’re trying to focus on a task) or inappropriately (i.e, when you worry or ruminate too much),” according to a blog website Nir and Far quoting Professor Ethan Kross, director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan.

How does Bezos ace it?

The Blue Origin founder said he lets his mind wander to analyse the pros and cons of his ideas. After they’ve passed his “first level of scrutiny,” he evaluates them and presents them to others for a productive group brainstorm.

The outcomes, Bezos said can be both “fun” and productive, as the team collaborates to turn a potential creative solution into reality. “I will often say, ‘Look, it is going to be really easy for you to find objections to this idea, but work with me’. Because it’s really easy to kill new ideas in the beginning. So, you need to forewarn people and say, ‘I know it’s going to take a lot of work to get this to a fully formed idea. Let’s get started on that. It’ll be fun’,” the billionaire said.

With input from agencies