Take a break: the creative power of the pause (S10E2)

Show Notes

Tap to send me your reflections ♡

By stepping away we create space for ideas to form.

This is in direct contrast to the culture of HUSTLE, which can make us believe we HAVE to keep going. Keep up with the OUTPUT and never minding the INPUT.  But that way not only exhaustion & burnout lie - also our creativity suffers.

And that's what we're exploring today.

I could have called this: Procrastination, percolation, avoidance & flow PART 2 - have a listen to episode 3 of season 8 for part 1!

Today's episode also comes with a JOURNALING PROMPT:
How could it help me to step away?

Henny x

PS: I tried to take a picture of my percolation board but the photo didn’t do it justice. You'll just have to imagine - or create your own!

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What is the Henny Flynn podcast?

A space to settle in and listen, and see where the episode takes you. This inspiring, reflective podcast is an invitation to travel deeper, with compassionate self-enquiry.

Henny shares insights from her own life, alongside practices that help us connect with our inner wisdom, explore our relationship with change and find a greater sense of flow. Henny believes we all hold our own answers, so there are no one-size-fits-all solutions here. This is a space to be with what’s true for you, and to grow from there.

If you’re drawn to slowing down, listening in, and exploring what it means to live with greater authenticity, this podcast is for you. Guided by psychology, mindfulness, therapeutic coaching, flow journaling, and everyday compassion, we explore ideas that help us step further into our inner worlds, in order to shape the changes we seek in our outer worlds.

Unknown: So we're so stuck in
that place. Rather than being

stuck in the amygdala, we're so
stuck in the in the prefrontal

cortex, that it can't go
searching for interesting

combinations of information that
you've stored in your memory. So

it loses its ability to find
creative solutions. So it's this

kind of paradox that we need to
be in the prefrontal cortex in

order to be creative. And if
we're stuck there for too long,

we actually lose our creativity.

Welcome to the podcast. That's
all about deepening our self

awareness with profound self
compassion. I'm Henny, I write

coach and speak about how
exploring our inner world can

transform how we experience our
outer world. All founded on a

bedrock of self love. Settle in
and listen and see where the

episode takes you.

Hi, and welcome back to episode
two of season 10. Got How did we

get here? And today, I want to
talk about the importance of

taking a break. I just realised
that my voice was a bit like,

oh, gosh, how did we get here?

What I really meant was, oh,
wow, how did we get here? Gosh,

you know, what an incredible
number of words have been spoken

on this podcast so far. And, and
such a huge number of people

whose ears have been lent toward
it, too. So as ever, thanks for

being here. Thanks for listening
in. And it's really lovely to be

back, actually. So today, I
thought we could talk about the

importance of taking breaks. And
if you're in the UK, at least, I

mean, this might be the same if
you're listening elsewhere.

Right now, we are, well, when
you'll hear this, it will be

just after Easter, and you may
be on a break. If you have

school age children, there might
be kids around, you might have

taken the opportunity to take
some holiday yourself. And you

may be experiencing some of the
benefits that come with that

experience of stepping away from
the daily life. And, you know,

we all know how wonderful it can
be to have the knowledge that we

are going to have have a break
going to have a holiday, taking

some time out from the every
day. But what I actually really

want to talk about is the how
taking a break can really help

our brain work things through in
a different way. And actually, I

could have called this episode
procrastination, percolation

avoidance and flow part two. And
if you listened to any of the

episodes in season eight, then
you may have come across part

one of that particular thought
medley. And, and really, it is

all tied in because often Well,
I mean, I'll share my own

reflection. Often I think we can
mistake the concept of hard work

with being always on. And you
know, we often hear that these

days that we've got this always
on culture because technology

never sleeps. And, and we also
have this really worrying I

think trend of the culture of
hustle that can make us believe

that we have to keep going. And
it's so interesting when I

reflect back on when I was in my
my very kind of corporate, very

fast paced career. The idea of
hustle was really celebrated. I

think it was only really just
becoming a thing again in the UK

at least I suspect it had
probably been a thing in the

state It's and elsewhere and had
just become like the mo de jour.

The word of the day. And, you
know, it was something that

definitely was was kind of
getting celebrated. And also

people were talking a lot about
what's your side hustle. And,

gosh, I mean, this language, I
find it exhausting just saying

it to be honest. Because what it
does is it keeps our attention

on the out, put, and only
celebrates that. It doesn't pay

attention to the input, which,
obviously, if we're not

restoring our energy levels,
then and we're only ever, you

know, expending energy spending
energy, then that way

exhaustion, and burnout lie. And
if you know any of my own story,

you'll know that burnout has
been part of it. And so it's

something that I recognise I'm
particularly attuned to,

particularly when people come
and work with me for the first

time. So coaching clients come
on, and have their discovery

calls with me, I'm often I have
a like, my spidey sense, is very

alert to burnout or the risk of
burnout. But it's not just about

the physical response, or that
you know, that you know, where

burnout can happen, it's kind of
at the end of the line, you

know, we've been going on for a
long, long time until we reached

that point where we just can't
go on any further. But way, way,

way before that, really, is when
we need to be taking a break.

Because that way, our, we give
ourselves a chance of

refuelling. And also, our
creativity is given space to

flourish. And, and I think that
is fascinating. Now, an example

of this actually, is the
podcast, of course, because way

back, when I first started doing
this, I very, very glad I made

the decision that I wasn't going
to make any decisions about how

it was going to work, how often
I was going to publish, I wasn't

going to promise anything to
anybody. I mean, there was no

one to make the promise to at
that point, I was simply going

to record it. And while it was
wonderful and fun and enjoyable,

and I felt meaningful and useful
in some way, I would carry on.

And they were the only kind of
principles really that I laid

down in terms of my productivity
with the podcast. And in the

olden days, I would have been
much more rigid with myself, I

would have decided that I had to
have a certain framework that I

operated to, and and it's taken
quite a bit of unlearning to

realise that actually, that's
just not true. This is my

podcasts and I can decide how
how I want it to work because

that's the way it's going to get
the best from me. And, and so,

where I've got to now is and
really natural and comfortable

and flow place is that I record
10 episodes, I've realised I can

do 10 episodes a week on week. I
that doesn't drain me. My

creativity still feels, you
know, inspired. I'm energised

toward it. But when I get toward
that 10th episode, I can feel my

energy starting to flag. And so
quite a while ago now I decided

10 episodes in a season. That's
perfect. And then I'll just take

a break. And, and I don't I'm
not specific about how long that

break is. I think this time it's
probably only been about three

or four weeks. And that feels
great. And then another time it

might be six weeks or seven
weeks. And for me, that's what I

need. Now for somebody else
they'll they'll approach it in a

completely different way. But
you The reason why taking that

break is so important is to
allow my creative mind the space

to recharge, and to begin
inspiring me again. And there is

science behind this. So one of
the things I think, can be

useful to know is that when we
are stressed, or anxious, or

like really late, you know,
those times where we're really,

really up in our heads, and
we're worrying at something,

we've we've got a problem we're
trying to solve, and we're

worrying at it, and it's making
us anxious and, you know,

activating us in some way, then
the prefrontal cortex, which is

that bit of the brain, which
sits just behind your forehead,

the prefrontal cortex, can
switch off when the part of the

brain in the limbic system, or
what used to be called the

limbic system gets activated. So
that amygdala response when

we're in fight, or flight mode,
and when the amygdala is

activated, the prefrontal cortex
switches off, when the

prefrontal cortex is on the
amygdala is off, it's like this

sort of red green traffic light
thing. And if you could see my

hands, then you'd see I'm
demonstrating it. But clearly,

this is a podcast, so you can't
move. Now, the reason why that's

important to know is that when
the prefrontal cortex is on,

that's when we have access to
our logic, our are rational sort

of problem solving, we have,
we've got access to memory. So

we can hunt around and find
previous experiences that we've

had that might help us solve
this problem. And really

importantly, we've got access to
creativity. And the other thing

that we have access to is
empathy. So we're able to feel

things more acutely, you know,
in terms of our relationship

with others, too, which is also
really important. But around

this sort of creativity thing,
when the prefrontal cortex is

switched off, then we also lose
that rationality, the logic, the

access to useful memories, you
know, sort of problem solving

kind of memories, and we lose
our creativity. And we sink back

into that fight or flight, or
sometimes freeze mode, where we

are working with a much more
ancient part of the brain, it's

a less developed part of the
brain. And, and we can find

ourselves just going round in
circles, we feel stuck, we might

Slam of hand down on the desk
and just say, this is a load of

rubbish, because we get angry,
we might burst into tears,

because we just think we're
useless, and we can't do it

anymore. So we're getting really
upset. So the important thing

then is a to recognise when
we're starting to slip out of

that rational, logical, creative
part of the brain and into that

activated, stressed part of the
brain and do what we can to calm

ourselves down, maybe with some
lovely breaths, maybe by looking

out the window and looking at
the trees, looking at the sky.

You know, there are certain
like, immediate things like

first aid, things that we can do
to help restore that balance and

get us back into our creative,
rational place of of thinking.

But longer term, taking a break
is a really, really powerful

step to do. Now, there's a
article in Psychology Today that

that talks about this is the
challenge is that when our

prefrontal cortex is too focused
on the task at hand, so we're so

stuck in that place, rather than
being stuck in the amygdala.

We're so stuck in the in the
prefrontal cortex, that it can't

go searching for interesting
combinations of information that

you've stored in your memory. So
it loses its ability to find

creative so solution. So it's
this kind of paradox that we

need to be in the prefrontal
cortex in order to be creative.

And if we're stuck there too
long, we actually lose our

creativity. So sitting at a desk
and just, you know, telling

ourselves who just got to focus
and keep going and keep going

and keep going, actually means
that we're starting to limit our

ability to do that thing that we
want to do. So taking a break,

you know, going for a walk,
going out into the garden,

having a shower, that can be a
really good one, actually,

because it's also it's, it's,
there's a bit of somatic work

there, we're actually, you know,
moving the body, we're rinsing

ourselves down, it creates this
really lovely break from the

previous behaviour, or even
just, you know, going in doing

some dishes or whatever, then
our prefrontal cortex is freed

up to go searching for new and
fresh combinations of memory,

and thought and experience and
all of that incredible stuff

that our brain just gathers and
captures constantly. And, and it

can bring it all together, and
offer it up when we return to

the task. So if you need to
solve a problem, or you want a

new idea, then letting your
prefrontal cortex know what you

want to solve, and then taking a
step away. And taking a break

can be the absolute thing that
will help you get there. So I

love that I love I love science,
were both of those things about

the amygdala, and the prefrontal
cortex. And, and that thing

about the science of taking a
break. It just evidence is what

we naturally know. Because so
often, you know, we will

naturally recognise that when we
step away from something, we

create the space for more ideas
to form. And there's actually

one of the guys that I did my
original training with, he would

sort of talk afterwards about,
you know, when he was sort of

first kind of building up his
his sort of client base. And,

and he'd often say that,
actually, the best thing he

could ever do was go and have a
game of golf, because by the

time he returned, he generally
have a new client. And he

realised that him sitting at the
desk, and just, you know,

desperately trying to kind of
manufacture a new client made no

difference. But when he relaxed
when he took a break, when he

stepped away, then it was almost
like he kind of opened things up

for the universe to step in and
support him. And, you know, I

think we can see this
psychologically, it meant that

he was in a much more open frame
of mind, and possibly, you know,

that new client might have been
someone that he met on the golf

course itself. So we also, by
taking a break, we open

ourselves up to unexpected
outcomes, too. And actually just

thinking about that, when. So
Anton, has been a copywriter for

many years. And when he first
started out, he he would find

that whenever he began a project
in the house, because his work

was sort of particularly slow at
that point, for whatever reason,

then he decided to do a bit of
DIY, it would be when he started

that piece of DIY, that he'd get
new work flooding in, and he'd

find himself busier than he had
intended to be. So again, it's a

bit like, you know, with that
coaching friend of mine, similar

concept. And, and I think, you
know, there's something else in

here as well, which is that this
science of resting, you know, we

have so much evidence now of how
taking breaks, and whether that

is 10 minutes an hour, or, or,
you know, 10 days or 10 weeks,

you know, whatever the sort of
the timeframe is that you need

from the particular thing that's
going on for you. is so

important in recovering from
Stress and actually can be the

thing that improves performance
as well. So the culture of

hustle has got things very, very
wrong, is my observation. It's

understandable why we can
convince ourselves that it might

be true that keeping on going is
the only way. But I think that's

often a fear based response. And
it comes from a mentality of

lack.

And actually, maybe that's
something we can talk about, on

another episode of the podcast,
the mentality of lack, it's

something that I have been
really, really interested in.

And I've definitely seen how
when I get stuck in a lack

mentality, and that that really
means, you know, when you start

to believe that there isn't
enough of whatever the thing is,

then there can never be enough
of whatever the thing is, I

don't really want to go sort of
too much into it, I will do an

episode on lag if that feels
helpful. And I, my computer just

went a little bit odd how funny.

So where was my thought there?

Yes, so taking breaks, helps
with stress and the recovery

from that restores energy,
mental resources, and decreases

the development of things like
fatigue and sleep disorders, and

even cardiovascular disease.

But, but, and it doesn't mean
simply reaching for

distractions. For so many of us
that has, that becomes a learned

behaviour from somewhere in our
life. One of the most common

ones, of course, these days is
scrolling on our phones, you

know, we kind of maybe we're,
we've got a bit tired, got a bit

bored of doing a particular
thing. At work, whatever your

work is, and you pick up the
phone as a distraction, and as a

way of kind of resting and
taking a break from whatever

you're doing. But there's a lot
of evidence these days, that

actually it has the opposite
effect. And there was a

particular study published in
the Journal of behavioural

addictions, that found that
there was some really high

mental costs associated with
grabbing our phone for passive

stimulation between other tasks.

And one of the observations that
they made was, they did a study

with a group of undergraduates,
University undergraduates, and

they were all given the same
task of solving a challenging

set of word puzzles. And when
they were allowed to take a

break and use their phone, their
mental efficiency and quickness

plummeted. I think it's really,
really interesting. And actually

just reading that has made me
reconsider some of my own

behaviour. I mean, I definitely
do it, I find myself you know,

I'll be like writing something.

Maybe even writing one of these
episodes, and just my brain just

sort of flicks off into another
zone. And I'll find myself

reaching for my phone to for
some passive stimulation, you

know, exactly as that study
says, and, and then expect

myself to be able to go back to
that same piece of work,

refreshed, inverted commas, and
unable to complete it. But when

you hear that actually, what
happens is your mental

efficiency and your quickness
plummets, kind of shows that is

not the thing to do. So I'm
making a little promise to

myself that instead of doing
that, I am going to go and look

out of the huge glass doors that
at the end of this room that I'm

in so there was one other thing
that I wanted to share, which is

that in that episode in Season
Eight, episode three, the

procrastination percolation
avoidance and flow Part One

episode that snappy title Henny,
I talked about this idea of

having a percolation board. And
it wasn't something that existed

when I wrote that episode when I
recorded it. But now, it

actually does. And I have got
Anton to thank for creating it.

For me, it was my Christmas
present, I was very, very

excited. And if I can, I'll
share a photograph of it with

you. And oh, my goodness me, I
absolutely love it. And the idea

with the percolation board is
that I come up with lots of

things that I could do. I'm, you
know, I'm a creative being like

so many of us. And what used to
happen in the past was, I might

get a bit distracted by the
bright and shiny thing, and then

lose focus on the stuff that I
really did need to get done.

Now, what I do is, I have in the
middle zone, it's a tall board,

it's a, you know, a portrait
sort of style board. In the

middle zone. I will, that's
where I'll pin all the new ideas

that have so maybe it's doing a
new journaling quest, or writing

a new meditation for insight
timer, or even an idea for a

book. I'm looking at it right
now. And oh, events that I've

could do social posts, ideas for
those. So they go into the

middle, and then I let them
percolate. So the ones that I

want to do they rise to the top,
and the ones I feel less

inclined to do, they start to
fall to the bottom. And by doing

this, I don't lose track of the
stuff that I want to do. And I

am able to work in alignment
with what feels most useful for

me. Now, the reason for sharing
it in this episode is that I've

noticed that having this board
is part of what helps me step

away and take a break from my
work. Because I'm able to step

back, and to assess well really
what is going to be most useful

for me now, it's not the same as
having a list, which can become

a structural thing that almost
feels like it's controlling you

rather than you controlling it.

It's something which is much
more fluid. And an almost has

spaciousness built in because of
this idea of the ideas being

allowed to percolate to move up
and down the board. If you'd

like to know more about the
percolation board, I'll happily

share with you like how it works
and why I think it's useful. So

you can always message me about
it. So, yeah, I think that's

probably it on that episode,
because it's one of those

countering through a through a
thought, or a series of thoughts

kind of episodes, isn't it? And
I'd love to know, what really

resonates for you. And actually,
let's offer up a journaling

prompt. You know, something as
simple as, how could it help me

to step away? Oh, that feels
like a really nice prompt,

actually. How could it help me
to step away? So if you're

grappling with something right
now, whatever it might be,

whether it's a big decision, big
life decision that you're

making, or if it's a thing that
you're working on, and you've

just got a bit stuck with it.

Then taking 1015 minutes to
journal and asking yourself that

question, how would it helped me
to step away could be enough of

a break you never know. To allow
your creativity your prefrontal

cortex to do its job and help
you solve whatever dilemma

you're facing into right now.

Okay, my darlings. Really lovely
to be back. I send you a into

Wave