Take Time to Underachieve
Author: Dana
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15 Feb 07
Some overachievers seem born with a predisposition to go the extra mile. Others discover the compulsion later in life.
John Maeda, Professor at MIT Media Lab, and a classic overachiever in the field of computational technology and interactive experimentation, conversely looks for opportunities to teach the merits of underachievement.
“We know that working hard does not always equate to working well. I read somewhere that your reaction time improves by 89% after you’ve returned from a “real” (unplugged) vacation…but in order to get it I need to commit to temporarily underachieve by taking time off my work.”
Regardless of how one earns “overachiever” status (you know who you are and if you’re not sure, your coworkers will have a very clear opinion on the matter), Professor Maeda makes the point that while it’s good to work hard, to avoid burnout, occasional periods of true rest are critical.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:05 am
Your post reminded me of a few things:
- Ade Olonoh’s quote from his 2006 list
“Sometimes I can be more productive in the long run if I just walk away from the keyboard and watch an episode of The Office.”
- when I was in college I took a business course that ran a virtual company. My team ran the factory at 100% for a few weeks and killed our production output. We never recovered from those few weeks at 100%.
- Chris Kirk taught me a lesson similar to Ade - he would go shoot hoops at the most unusually busy times. Beating your head against a wall for long periods tends to blur a lot of things. Getting totally away from the problem for a bit and coming back usually reveals new opportunities if not solutions. Oh my, where did that door come from…
March 15th, 2007 at 11:15 am
However, Mr. Olonoh offers a superior quote that may provide equal benefits, “Cake?”
Better yet, eating cake while watching the Office could be tantamount to having your cake and…well you know.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Ahh yes, the good ‘ole days of shooting hoops. Sometimes 15 minutes of realizing I have no vertical leaping capabilities would help clear the path for improved efficiency and creativity. Strange but true.
To me, “time off” means “turn off.” Whether it’s just 15 minutes or a few days, it’s critical to leave work behind, walk away and give your mind something else (or in some cases absolutley nothing) to focus on. How many times have you been in a situation where you’ve read the same sentence multiple times in a row? Time to turn off for a bit.