Doing Things Differently with a "Think Week”

This week, Team Holisticism is experimenting with our first-ever Think Week.

In this episode, Michelle and Wallis explore the origins of this rest period and how to approach planning your own version of a Think Week.

Covered in this episode:

  • What a Think Week can do for burnout and why decreasing the amount of context switching in your day-to-day can help

  • How to structure a Think Week when you’re deciding between rejuvenation, deep work, and creativity

  • What to do if you feel out of practice when it comes to turning down, relaxing, or taking time off

  • What remedies to seek when you’re lacking inspiration and how to understand whether it’s burnout or not

  • How planning a think week may help you rediscover your “idle interests”

“I think especially as creative people and creators, it’s really hard to be constantly in creative flow and generating ideas that you feel are valuable and helpful and interesting — and at the same time always be taking inputs of all of these other creative ideas and things that people are doing. It’s really hard to constantly produce.”
— Wallis
“It’s very rare that we just get to be a creative, where we’re just like a painter in a studio and everyone else manages us and does our calendar and thinks about our money. It’s so rare that that happens.”
— Michelle
“My goal is to get to boredom, like painful boredom. Because when we reach painful boredom is often when our best ideas come up. So that’s going to be my constant check-in for myself. Am I distracting myself with noise? Or am I making space for boredom to come through?”
— Michelle
“Other things that excite and delight you — projects, travel, partnerships, relationships, friendships, other study that has nothing to do with your work — that is equally, if not more important to think about. But we relegate it to “when I’ll have extra time.” Or like “when I’m already watching Netflix, then I’ll do some personal planning.” But no! It’s the other way around. It should be prioritized.”
— Michelle

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    • Exploring the 'Think Week' experiment: Wallis and Michelle's plans and activities

    • Tarot decks and fairies

    • From Math tutors to tarot readings

    • Michelle on the importance of schedules for creators

    • Delving into topics: Inspired by Bill Gates' Think Week

    • Cognitive load, context switching, and challenges faced by creators

    • Structuring workdays and protecting deep work

    • Boundaries and self-care

    • Finding balance, breaks, and content consumption

    • Embracing boredom and creating idle time

    • Productivity pressure and personal time

    • Navigating expectations

    • Dedicating days for mental space

    • Strategies for clearing the to-do list

    • Prioritizing personal projects and unlocking creativity

    • Unstructured play and time for oneself

    • Future visioning and the think week connection

    • Avoiding distractions and reconnecting during Think Week

    • Addressing burnout

    • Preparing for change in productivity systems

    • The universal need for relaxation

    • Prioritizing self-care, regardless of parental status

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