Task-negative mode is more colloquially known as daydreaming, and, as Daniel J. Levitin of McGill University has written, it “is responsible for our moments of greatest creativity
and insight, when we’re able to solve problems that previously seemed unsolvable.”
Whether you decide a Shultz Hour makes sense for you, I’d encourage you not to fool yourself into thinking
that you can easily change your habits in little ways here and there.
You Need a ‘Shultz Hour.’ -
When George Shultz was secretary of state in the 1980s, he liked to carve out one hour each week for quiet reflection.
He sat down in his office with a pad of paper and pen, closed the door and told his secretary to interrupt him only if one of two people called:
“My wife or the president,” Shultz recalled.
They’re always there, with a new status update to be read, a new photograph to be taken, a new sports score or Trump outrage to be checked.