My mantra is quite basic. Just keep the nagging stuff at bay.
- Pay bills when you need to. Have a online PA service like google calendar tell you when you NEED to.
- Keep email desperation on check. The BB nuts are crasy. Its like giving access to the company to bug you anytime 24×7 with “critical” marked emails. Just went on a 2 week vacation. Did not miss my email one bit. Keep my office emails in office only. Ya there will be 250 emails to deal with when you get back but hey, thats office work rt? So do it on office time

Whatever empty time you get, spend it on the things that you love to do. If social networking on facebook or gaming for the adrenalin push, is your favored idea, Just Do It!

It’s sad how we run to fill gaps in our down time when they become available for fear we are not being productive – on planes now – instead of enjoying or even scheduling in the down time we need.

I subscribe to the poster who said his brains are working best when he is in shower or in the car… That works for me too… I often find that I am constantly generating new ideas when having a shower or doing my morning business in the loo… Helps thinking from new perspectives.

One of the key deterrents is that we often DO not let our mind wander for the fear of sounding non-conformist or letting the pressing to-do list overshadowing those sparks..

At work, I sit by a large window and my desk is attached to the view.. Often when I need a breakthrough, i simply look out of the window and stare at the clouds or the plain blue sky.. It helps placate the mind a bit so that it can start the solution reactor again.. kinda like the gear shifts on a car when you downshift to cruise when you are not hitting the 90s …

Great article.. but I am still quite a distance away from acquiring a new iPhone for all its hype n hoopla..My needs are simple

@ Ruth – “we use the iPhone as a resource, not a refuge”. That would be a great motto for ALL communications technology.

@ Chris 19 – Seriously, you’ve got to get one, they are awesome.

So we use the iPhone as a resource, not a refuge…randomly pick a game to play, since we can’t remember all of ‘em. Then the iPhone goes off and we play word games, storytelling games, singing and radio games, mystery and invention games.

The iPhone can spark ideas and provide a library full of resources. The iPhone is great for answering questions in discussions, giving song lyrics so we can sing along with the radio…but it’s isolating if overused (and, in the car, nausea sets in, just like with DVDs and books).

Playing games together completely stretches our creativity (we are all writers and songwriters, my daughter does artwork too). It’s nice to have the iPod Touch (in our case) to jot down ideas.

What matters to me is that lots of my leisure time is spent doing things that make me smile, as I remember them…and I can still remember parts of our wildest story games from trips a year ago. We created our app because we wanted other families to be able to use their iPhone to find ways to make the most common time together (in the car going somewhere) creative and happy and fun for everyone, including the driver.

That’s the key, I think…an iPhone app that makes >real< life richer.

A sample game was included in a recent mention by a FoxNews.com columnist:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529599,00.html

I remember a story from my Art History teacher.

Michaelangelo was apparently reported to have sat for days on end in front of a quarried lump of marble, just staring at it.

When finally asked by someone what on earth he was doing, he replied, ‘Working.’

What he created next was his David.

Relevant? Probably not.

@ Nick — Indeed, not all apps are created equal.

@ Molly — A computer off day sounds a great idea. I try to leave mine alone in the evenings and most of the weekend.

@ Ben — Yes, the iPhone does have wonderful creative potential. My point is that there’s an art to using these things creatively and effectively, and most of us (including myself) are in the early stages of figuring out how to get the benefits without the drawbacks. Sounds like you’re finding some great ways to use the iPhone to enhance your life and work.

@ Sarah — Enjoy your phone! Don’t let me spoil it for you. As if.

@ River — Apparently Seamus Heaney’s wife gets nervous when she sees him tapping his fingers on the steering wheel while driving. It means he’s composing a poem and tapping out the meter. So you’re in good company — but I guess you are right to be cautious!