Several years ago I traveled to Europe for a wedding and stayed for a vacation. By the end of my tour I was penniless and pretty homesick, so instead of going to pubs and watching the World Cup in the company of the wonderful British peoples, I sat beside the river Thames and thought.

To be honest, I didn’t have much of a choice at the time (I couldn’t even afford a book to read), but the experience was wildly liberating and wonderful nonetheless. I never gave myself time to sit and think back home because I always felt like I had to be doing something. I always needed to be researching and writing, or cleaning and doing chores around the house, or playing a game, etc. I never gave my mind time to wander.

And if you don’t give your mind time to wander, it’s not going to find anything new. Sometimes you need to just open the window and let it fly–Neverland could be out there for all you know, but you’ve never gone to look! Giving ourselves time to think will make our activities more meaningful and our writing of higher quality. It will also decrease our stress and help us deal with the world around it because we have let our mind organize and address everything it has been taking in.

Sleep is a wonderful means of dealing with the day and encoding memories, but how often do you remember your dreams? Let yourself dream and think at times throughout the day and see what you find.