I was sitting in front of my computer, my hand-written presentation outline on an A3 page in front of my keyboard. Canva open, blank slides, something was missing, and it was holding me back from turning my messy notes into something cohesive.
There was a piece in the presentation I couldn’t quite place, and no matter how long I stared at the screen, I couldn’t find it.
So I got up, laced up my sneakers, and went for a walk. No headphones, no phone call, just walking. And I let my mind wander.
Twenty minutes in, I turned around to head home… and it clicked.
There it was. The missing piece.
Of course I should frame it that way! It suddenly seemed so obvious.
Where did that come from?
Have you ever had something like that happen?
You’re completely stuck on a problem, trying to think your way through it but the solution only appears when you step away. When you’re doing something completely different, like cooking, driving, or showering and suddenly, bam, the answer appears out of nowhere.
That’s not random. It’s your brain’s default mode network at work. That’s the system that switches on when you’re not focused on a specific task.
When you step away from goal-directed thinking, your brain doesn’t stop working, it starts synthesising. It connects dots you didn’t realise were related, it integrates new information with what you already know, and it forms the kind of insights that feel like they came out of nowhere.
Psychologists call this the incubation effect. Neuroscientists like John Kounios and Mark Beeman have even mapped it, showing how those “aha” moments light up the right side of the brain just milliseconds before we consciously recognise the solution.
When you step away, I know you might feel like you’re being unproductive, but in reality you’re not. You’re creating the conditions that make creativity and innovation possible.
Receptivity isn’t the opposite of productivity, it’s the other half of it.
The challenge, though, is that for many high-achievers, receptivity feels uncomfortable. If you’ve built your career on being efficient, focused and productive, then pausing can feel like you’re falling behind.
But the truth is, the best ideas rarely come from the moments of doing, they come from the moments of being.
So this week, I want to invite you to experiment with that.
Find small pockets of time where you can let your mind wander, maybe it’s a walk without headphones, a few minutes without your phone, or a drive without anything playing in the background. See what comes up when you give your brain permission to do its thing.
That’s what this week’s episode of Unwind Your Mind is all about:
🎧 The Power of Receptivity: Balancing Doing and Being
We’ll unpack the science behind why stepping away leads to insight, how to create more space for receptivity in your daily life, and why this isn’t about slowing down, it’s about finding your natural rhythm between effort and ease.
You can listen to the episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Because sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is nothing at all.
– Nat
PS If you find that stillness feels uncomfortable, like your mind immediately fills with worry, check out my short course SIT With Your Worries. It’s a step-by-step process to help you move from a ball-of-stress state back towards regulation, so that practices like this feel safe and accessible. Check out the course here.
PPS I’d love to hear what insights come up for you when you give yourself space this week. Hit reply and let me know what came through.
