The Problems with Excessive Focus and the Benefits of Unfocused Periods

There are tons of podcasts, blog posts, and books about how to get more focused. Focus is seen as the key to greater productivity and success.

While focus is important, my guest says there are also amazing powers to be found in something that gets a lot less attention: the unfocused mind.

Dr. Srini Pillay is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, a brain-imaging researcher, and the author of Tinker Dabble Doodle Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind. Today on the show, Srini explains the downsides of excessive focus, the importance of tapping into the unfocused mind, especially in the age of A.I., and the benefits of doing so, including how mind wandering can help you be more productive and creative, allow you to see greater possibilities for your life, and offer important insights that will get you unstuck from problems. He shares strategies to incorporate unfocused time into your lifestyle, including how to make daydreaming more beneficial and why you should let yourself doodle without guilt. Srini also makes a case for multitasking in the sense of switching back and forth between different tasks.

Connect With Srini Pillay

• Srini's website
• Neuro Business Group website
• Srini on LinkedIn
• Srini on X
• Srini on IG
• Srini's articles on Harvard Health