“I try to have a period of time between 30 and 60 minutes per day to let my mind latch onto concepts, ideas, or dreams. Often I do this while walking the dog in the morning or during my lunch break. This morning I wrestled through the introduction to my sermon and gleaned a half-dozen new thoughts and insights into the text.”

There is little debate that we are living in a period of unprecedented technological ease. We are able to do more things—and do them faster and more efficiently—than ever before. However, with nearly every technological advancement comes secondary effects. Most of these are unseen and certainly not intended.

One such area involves free time to simply think. This is open time when we can allow our minds to wander a bit and latch onto things that we may not normally have the opportunity to think through. I believe this free space is vital and increasingly being diminished. It’s been crowded out by the pace of life; some of this is our fault, and some of it is simply the result of living in our age.

Just think about what you see and experience every day. The next time you are waiting, take a look around and see what others are doing. When it’s time to wait it’s time to get on our phones; whether in traffic, in line at the grocery store, at the bus stop, or in between sets at the gym. The natural breaks of life always seemed to get filled with some type of engagement. It’s like we are allergic to mental down time. There is no space for deep thinking, creativity, or dreaming when we are constantly distracted or diverted by our technology.

Have you ever noticed that some of your best ideas come when you are in the shower? If you are like most people, you tend to let you mind wander and latch onto concepts and ideas. Without the pressure of news, email, or social media, you are free to surf the waves your mind brings in.

In recent years I’ve observed the drag upon my creativity, particularly in preparing my sermons, writing, and planning. I would schedule my days full with blocks of time after blocks of time. Building off of each, often with little margin, I would feel incredibly productive while at the same time miserably uncreative. I wondered why I got so many ideas when I was falling asleep at night, taking a shower, or riding my bicycle. The answer was clear: I had created a margin for my mind to wander and think. These seasons of free time have served to be something of a gust of fresh air into a stuffy room.

If this is resonating with you, let me share a few things that I’ve found helpful over the last couple of years.

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