Tinker Dabble Doodle Try

1. Break Free from the Cult of Focus

In truth, focus in isolation will actually work against you and disempower you.

The Focus Trap. Many believe relentless focus is the key to success, but this "cult of focus" can be counterproductive. While focus acts like a flashlight, illuminating the path directly ahead, it can lead to "inattentional blindness," making you miss crucial information in your periphery. Examples like the invisible gorilla experiment or a police officer missing an assault while chasing a suspect highlight how intense focus can blind us to other realities.

Hidden Costs. Hyperfocus, or too much concentration, can deplete your brain's resources, leading to long-term discounting (minimizing future importance) and a "loss of caring" that impairs moral decision-making. It also stifles innovation, as seen with companies like Gillette failing to combine divisions due to narrow product focus. True success requires more than just a narrow beam; it demands a broader, more panoramic view.

The Power of Unfocus. The solution lies in developing "unfocus," a complementary mental state that allows your brain to relax, recharge, and connect disparate ideas. Unfocus reduces stress, enhances innovation, strengthens your sense of self, and improves memory. It's not about slacking off, but strategically broadening your mental scope to see the bigger picture and unlock hidden potential.

2. Harmonize Your Brain with Cognitive Rhythm

Cognitive rhythm is the ability to intermingle focus and unfocus (the on and off moments) in the most effective way.

Personal Revelation. The author's own experience in medical school revealed that relentless study (focus) led to burnout and poor grades, while incorporating strategic breaks (unfocus) restored energy and improved performance. This personal journey underscored the importance of a balanced "cognitive rhythm" – the dynamic interplay between intense concentration and deliberate mental breaks.

Brainwave Symphony. Your brain naturally operates on a spectrum of electrical waves: Beta for focus, and Alpha, Theta, Delta for various states of unfocus (relaxation, meditation, deep sleep). These "focus" and "unfocus" circuits, particularly the Default Mode Network (DMN), are extensively connected and designed to work together. Over-focusing disrupts this natural harmony, leading to fatigue and inefficiency.

Beyond the "Do Mostly Nothing" Myth. The DMN, once mistakenly called the "Do Mostly Nothing" circuit, is a major energy consumer and crucial for:

• Filtering distractions
• Building mental flexibility
• Connecting with self and others
• Integrating past, present, and future
• Expressing creativity
• Dredging up intangible memories

Cultivating cognitive rhythm allows these vital functions to flourish, preventing burnout and enhancing overall brain function.

3. Ignite Creativity by Embracing Chaos and Dabbling

Creativity requires the fast and unconscious reorganization of information in the brain.

Beyond Logic. Creativity isn't a mystical, right-brain phenomenon; it's a widespread neural network that thrives on both focused analysis and unfocused association. Our unconscious aversion to novelty and uncertainty often stifles creative potential, pushing us towards rigid, concrete thinking. However, true innovation often emerges from embracing disorder and allowing the brain to make new, unexpected connections.

The Art of Tinkering. Creative individuals, like artist Vik Muniz (using peanut butter for Mona Lisa) or Nobel laureate Kary Mullis (PCR discovery), often dabble in diverse fields and allow for "controlled chaos." This involves:

• Delay and Deliver Thinking: Adapting to unexpected demands by strategically delaying other tasks.
• Surrendering to Inspiration: Moving from aesthetic appreciation to passive evocation, then to the desire to act.
• Practicing Abstraction: Using symbols and metaphors to reframe problems and activate the DMN.

Mind Pops and Body Movement. Unfocused activities like deliberate daydreaming, walking (especially outdoors and freely), and fluid arm movements can trigger "mind pops"—spontaneous bursts of creative insight. Even sleep, particularly REM sleep, is a powerful "tinkering activity" where the brain reorganizes memories and fosters new ideas, leading to breakthroughs.

4. Learn Dynamically: Fail Forward with Ingenuity

In the dynamic learning paradigm, mistakes are not only par for the course—they’re essential for progress.

Beyond Rote Learning. Traditional education often emphasizes rote memorization and fixed outcomes, but the modern world demands dynamic learning—the ability to be nimble, creative problem-solvers. Schools like Brightworks, with their project-based, hands-on approach, exemplify this shift, fostering innate ingenuity over rigid curricula. This new paradigm embraces mistakes as crucial steps toward progress.

Your Psychological COG. Dynamic learners, like chef Jonathan Waxman, navigate undulating career paths by trusting their "psychological center of gravity" (COG)—an inner compass for self-control and originality. This COG is activated by unfocusing activities like meditation and exercise, providing stability amidst change and allowing for authentic decision-making, even when external advice is overwhelming.

Bounce Back Mechanisms. To "fail forward" intelligently, activate your brain's "spring coils" using self-talk:

• Fight the Feedback: Ask "Is this relevant or dramatic?" to filter unhelpful criticism.
• Remove Resistance: Identify obstacles (people, places, things) to pivot to solutions.
• Use Your Predicting Power: Infer future possibilities from current data, setting bold goals.
• Balance Brain Equations: Ask "Is my effort worth it?" to avoid futile actions.
• Learn by Feeling and Doing: Engage in sensorimotor learning, prioritizing action over overthinking.

5. Become a Supertasker: Unconscious Power & Play

The latter, on the other hand, is a supertasker—their neurological juggling is more fluid, and as a result, the action is more productive.

Beyond Multitasking Mayhem. While many pride themselves on multitasking, it often leads to "wobbly brain syndrome," depleting mental resources and reducing gray matter in conflict-detection areas. True efficiency comes from "supertasking," a fluid neurological juggling act seen in high-pressure roles like short-order cooks or emergency room nurses. This ability can be trained, even in older adults, by leveraging unfocus.

Dissolving Stress with Play. Stress disrupts the DMN, hindering cognitive rhythm. Counterintuitively, adding playful, joyful tasks to your day can dissolve stress and enhance supertasking. Video games, for instance, can increase alpha waves, making attention switching easier. These deliberate "play breaks" warm up your DMN, allowing for smoother transitions between tasks.

Unconscious Allies. Your unconscious brain is a powerful, silent partner in supertasking. Doodling, for example, activates the DMN, bypassing conscious obstructions and allowing deeper insights to surface. Music training also enhances supertasking by strengthening brain connections and promoting parallel processing, enabling your brain to handle multiple inputs simultaneously without bottlenecks.

6. Get Unstuck: Embrace Possibility and Tinker

Possibility is the proverbial key to the ignition of your mind; you can’t drive (to your destination, unstuckness) without it.

The Stuck Record. Feeling stuck—whether in a job, relationship, or simply unable to recall a word—is a common experience. Intensely focusing on the problem often exacerbates it, creating a mental "stuck record." The path to getting unstuck begins with a subtle but profound shift to a "possibility mindset," which increases brain opioids and galvanizes your mind toward change.

Steering Towards Solutions. Authentic optimism isn't about false cheer, but a genuine belief that "getting unstuck is possible." This involves:

• Affect Labeling: Naming emotions (anger, frustration) to create a barrier between the amygdala and thinking brain.
• Reframing Emotions: Seeing frustration as a "signal to change" rather than a burden.
• Solution-Based Questions: Asking "How can I make this happen?" instead of "What should I do?" (like Serena Williams asking "What would it take to win?").

Tinkering with Reality. Our perception of reality and past memories can be unreliable, often trapping us in old patterns. Great minds, like those who discovered penicillin from mold or Viagra from a failed heart drug, question the obvious and tinker with unexpected outcomes. This "tinkering spirit" involves:

• Iterative Planning: Developing version 1.0 of a plan, then continuously updating it with new discoveries.
• Curiosity-Fueled Exploration: Indulging curiosity to activate intrinsic reward centers, making the journey itself motivating.
• Strategic Mental Meandering: Deliberately setting aside time for mind-wandering, like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, to allow new ideas to coalesce.

7. Unlock Greatness: Embrace Paradox and Purpose

Complexities, not sterilized personality traits and opinions, are what great leaders are made of.

The Paradoxical Self. Greatness isn't about a singular, flawless identity; it's about embracing your paradoxical nature. Leaders like Jeff Bezos, known for both generosity and temperamental outbursts, demonstrate that being "great" means expressing different sides of yourself, managing contradictions, and being both stubborn and flexible. Unfocus helps you see beyond conventional definitions and integrate your multifaceted self.

Fueling the Dream. A sense of purpose, an often imperceptible drive, fuels ambition and confers a unique intelligence. It's not about external goals, but an abstract feeling of living as your highest self. This journey of self-discovery, though anxiety-inducing, is essential for self-actualization. Polish psychiatrist Kazimierz Dabrowski's "positive disintegration" theory explains how anxiety and tension are necessary to "come apart in a good way" and rebuild a stronger self.

Spontaneity and Transcendence. Achieving greatness requires embracing spontaneity—a moment of relaxation where truth emerges, activating improvisation circuits and a willingness to "not know." Elite athletes, for example, learn to "stop thinking" and surrender to the moment. This leads to "transcendental awareness," a higher level of intelligence that circumvents mental chatter and allows for deeper insights, often cultivated through meditation.

8. Connect Your Brain to the Universal Consciousness

Our heads are more like multiple beads, joined by an invisible thread, than single buoys floating out at sea.

Beyond Individual Perception. Our brains are not isolated entities; they are interconnected. We have literal blind spots in our eyes and sensory limitations, meaning the world contains more information than we consciously perceive. "Mirror neurons" in our brains instantly reflect others' movements, intentions, and emotions, suggesting an invisible line of communication between us.

The Internet of Thoughts. This interconnectedness extends beyond physical proximity. Experiments have shown that thoughts can be communicated across vast distances via the internet, proving that thought is electricity. When people watch a movie together, their brain waves synchronize, tying their emotional states. This suggests our brains are part of a larger "Internet of Things," or even a "universal consciousness."

A New Mindset. Seeing the world not as a collection of separate items but as a connection of things—a "one giant coordinated universe"—is a mindset shift that unfocus can facilitate. This perspective, often revealed through meditation, helps us move beyond biases and stereotypes, fostering empathy and understanding. It's a crucial step towards solving complex social problems and unlocking collective potential.

9. Strategically Unfocus: Build Deliberate Breaks

A life without waiting time is inefficient; your brain battery will quickly run out of life.

The Necessity of Pausing. In our fast-paced world, deliberate breaks are not a luxury but a necessity for optimal brain function. Just as the author's medical school experience showed, continuous focus leads to exhaustion. Strategic unfocusing, or "strategic mental meandering," allows the brain to synthesize information, solve problems, and prevent burnout.

The Tinkertable Approach. To integrate unfocus into your daily life, create a "tinkertable"—a schedule that blocks off periods for non-work activities. This could include:

• Short Daily Breaks: 15 minutes of undemanding activity (music, crossword, walk) for every 45 minutes of focus.
• Weekly Monotony Breakers: A night out with friends or a movie.
• Quarterly "Staycations": Longer periods of no work, no travel, just rest and mental exploration.
• Flexitime: Unscheduled hours to decide on the spot what you want to do.

Positive Constructive Daydreaming. Deliberate daydreaming, unlike aimless mind-wandering, is a powerful tool. It involves planning your daydreaming sessions and consciously directing your thoughts towards positive, constructive scenarios. This "volitional daydreaming" enhances curiosity, sensitivity, and the exploration of ideas, making it a vital component of your tinkertable.

10. Trust Beyond Logic: Intuition and Imagination

Suppressing or repressing self-doubt is far inferior to replacing it with acceptance of mystery, possibility thinking, intuition, spontaneity, and operating from your psychological COG.

Logic's Limitations. While logic is essential, blind faith in it can be misleading. "Expert" predictions often fail, and our memories can be unreliable, distorting past events. Great minds, like Dr. Kang questioning the link between spicy food and ulcers, challenge apparent inevitabilities. Unfocus allows us to question assumptions and see beyond the "logical" traps that limit our potential.

The Power of Belief. Believing in possibility is not wishful thinking; it's a physiological activator. Expecting positive outcomes can release pain-relieving opioids in the brain and activate reward centers. This belief, combined with authentic pride (intrinsic rewards), provides the sustained motivation needed to pursue goals, especially during times of uncertainty.

Imagining Your Future. Great people don't just intend to be great; they imagine it with precision. Imagery stimulates action circuits in the brain, warming it up for action. By tinkering with images—using first- and third-person perspectives, adjusting believability, and engaging all senses—you create a blueprint for your goals. This imaginative unfocus, like the Double Slit Experiment showing electrons change when unobserved, allows for "quantum leaps"—sudden, large, and unexpected improvements in life.

Last updated: January 7, 2026