№ 463. Downtime

Not Buying Anythng

The concern that downtime is a costly extravagance that can’t pay for itself has also been shown to be incorrect when studied over the long term. Research from business, academia, design and other fields has shown that periods of idleness and open exploration improves the quality of work, increases productivity and thus also financial gain. Sagmeister noted in an interview that their studio can charge higher prices because the quality of their work improved after a sabbatical. During the 1970s, scientists Art Fry and Spencer Silver developed the widely-used Post-it notes during their 15 percent time at 3M, where employees are paid to “chase rainbows and hatch their own ideas”. More recently, companies such as Pixar, Google, Twitter and Facebook claim to have incorporated time for tinkering and contemplative practices as an essential part of their way of working. If such financially driven entities can appreciate the economic benefits of these practices, we can put to rest monetary objections to such activities in any sector.