“Many people would be better off if they did less and reflected more.” — Manfred Kets de Vries, INSEAD Distinguished Professor of Leadership Development & Organisational Change Despite making technological advances to speed up our work, we somehow find ourselves working more—not less. The busy lifestyle may deceptively make us feel productive and accomplished. But research has finally exposed the tolls of avoiding free time: depression, sleep deprivation, relationship breakdown and poor quality of work, to name a few. Doing nothing may sound like a waste of time, but it's one of the secrets to keeping your brain in top shape. REFERENCES: The Importance of Doing Nothing Manfred Kets de Vries, INSEAD Distinguished Professor of Leadership Development & Organisational Change.  (INSEAD Knowledge, 23 June 2014) http://knowledge.insead.edu/talent-management/the-importance-of-doing-nothing-3422 Doing Nothing and Nothing to Do: The Hidden Value of Empty Time and Boredom Manfred Kets de Vries. (INSEAD, 2014) http://sites.insead.edu/facultyresearch/research/doc.cfm?did=54261 Reflection and “Doing Nothing” Are Critical For Productivity Ray Williams. (Psychology Today, 15 August 2014) https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201408/reflection-and-doing-nothing-are-critical-productivity Are We More Productive When We Have More Time Off? Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman. (Harvard Business Review, 17 June 2015) https://hbr.org/2015/06/are-we-more-productive-when-we-have-more-time-off? Relax! You’ll Be More Productive. Tony Schwartz. (The New York Times, 9Feb 2013) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/opinion/sunday/relax-youll-be-more-productive.html Why is everyone so busy? (The Economist, 20 December 2014) http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-specials/21636612-time-poverty-problem-partly-perception-and-partly-distribution-why