There can sometimes be benefits to simply pottering around. Some people find it can be useful to divide their day into purposeful time and, when appropriate, pottering around time.
Purposeful activity can be inspiring but you can only ride the wave for a certain length of time. Sometimes you may need to rest, reflect and regain your energy.
Some people relax by simply pottering around. One definition of pottering around is:
To move about without hurrying and in a relaxed and pleasant way.
Imagine that you want to build in some time for pottering around. This can sometimes lead to producing some of the following benefits.
Pleasurable
Sometimes it can simply be pleasurable to potter around. Some people do physical activities. They may go for a walk, do gardening, do odd jobs or fix things.
Some people do intellectual pottering around. They let their minds wander, read books or surf the web. They may get pleasure from exploring new ideas or stimulating their mind.
Pause
Some people find that it can be important to simply pause. It can help to refresh the mind, body and soul. It can also help people to see things in perspective.
Some find that pausing helps them to do some slow thinking and let things fall into place. Their unconscious sometimes works on finding solutions to problems.
This is the idea behind some spiritual and other retreats. They provide the time and space: a) to clarify what is important in life; b) to clarify how we want to focus on these things in the future.
Ponder
Some people simply enjoy the time to ponder. Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that sometimes we learn by developing the art of losing time rather than saving time.
Many books now highlight the importance of both slow thinking and fast thinking. Carl Honoré popularised these ideas with his 2005 book In Praise of Slow. In the United States this was called In Praise of Slowness.
Good decision makers often set aside time to do some slow thinking. Why? Fast thinking can help to generate the pieces of the jigsaw. But slow thinking may be needed to make sense of the whole picture.
Different people choose different ways to help things fall into place. They may go for a walk, take a few minutes thinking time, put themselves in a calming environment, enjoy a good sleep or reflect in other ways.
Carl was not against appropriate speed and said that some things may actually need to go faster. Many of our epiphanies, however, come from giving ourselves time to do some slow thinking.
Play With Ideas
Pottering around does not always have a specific aim. On some occasions, however, it can result in a person choosing to explore a topic and playing with ideas.
Great workers often embark on what is called serious play. They may do serious work but they also continue to play with ideas and make connections. Sometimes this can lead to making creative breakthroughs.
Positive Energy
Sometimes pottering around can give a person chance to relax and recentre. This can then lead to them refocusing on the things that give them positive energy.
People who thrive often do things that give them positive energy in their personal and professional lives. Sometimes they can refocus on these things during the process of simply pottering around.
There are many ways to do fine work. Sometimes we need to focus on a specific purpose. Sometimes we can get benefits from following our chosen ways of pottering around.
Looking ahead, can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of the pottering around approach? How can you do this in your own way?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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