The Surprising Productivity of Embracing Downtime

Tope Ladejobi
Jan 24
3 min read

For a long time, I believed progress only came from constant movement. If I slowed down, I’d fall behind. If I rested, I was being indulgent.

Yet life keeps showing the opposite: sometimes the fastest way forward is to pause.

When Effort Stops Being Effective

We’re taught to push through uncertainty — adding tasks, forcing decisions, staying busy. But there’s a point where effort becomes counterproductive. You might notice it when you:

Stare at a screen without making progress
Feel tired but restless
Make decisions that don’t feel right
Lose creativity, joy, or clarity
Get stuck in a doom scroll

For me, this pattern was familiar and sometimes still is. I constantly jumped from one project to the next. When things went wrong, I looked for distractions instead of pausing to process.

The Power of Pause

Downtime isn’t empty; it’s processing time. When we step back, the brain connects ideas, consolidates learning, and solves problems quietly. Psychologists call this the incubation effect — solutions often appear when we’re not forcing them.

Our best ideas often come:

In the shower
On a walk
While cooking
Just before sleep
Even when washing the dishes or folding the laundry

Not while pushing harder at a desk.

Rest Is Not Lazy

Some of the worlds CEO's might be surprised to know that productivity isn’t only about output. True progress is measured by clarity, creativity, energy, and aligned action. Rest creates the conditions for these things to flourish.

I’ve also learned that societal messaging makes rest uncomfortable. Years ago, someone I worked with constantly asked, “Are you winning?” as a way to ask how my day was. It reinforced the idea that we must always be doing, always succeeding. Downtime, reflection, or simply being, isn’t often seen as “winning.”

My Experience With Rest

In December 2024, I took almost a full month off over Christmas. At first, it felt strange. Without having a packed schedule, there was nowhere to hide. But in that quiet space, one of my best ideas emerged: Gioyous. It wasn’t forced; it appeared because my mind finally had room to breathe.

I once heard on a podcast, “Boredom can be a friend of creativity.” That’s exactly what happened: it was quiet and and I was bored and this created space for insight.

Alessio shared similar experiences. He used to love moving at his own pace and getting lost in thought, but the busyness of the 9-to-5, plus commuting, made that feel almost impossible.

Downtime in Practice

Embracing downtime doesn’t require weeks away, though that can help. Simple practices work too:

Going for walks
Taking a coffee/tea break without your phone
Leaving small gaps between tasks
Pausing before making decisions

These moments act like punctuation in a busy day, giving meaning to what comes next.

What Happens When You Slow Down

When you rest fully, ideas surface, priorities rearrange, and decisions feel lighter. This is why at Gioyous, we don’t pack our retreat schedules. Activities are carefully selected to provide space to think and reflect, letting guests experience the clarity and inspiration that comes from pause.

At our retreats, this is often the moment guests describe as a turning point.