Before Breakfast Second Cup: Good ideas take time
Mar 1, 2026
A conversation about why apparent downtime fuels big creative breakthroughs. Stories include a writer’s two-week pause to let ideas breathe. The value of slow productivity and making deliberate space for quiet thinking are highlighted. Listeners hear simple ways to let small, steady efforts accumulate into substantial work.
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Longterm Productivity Often Looks Like Doing Nothing
- True productivity is measured over the long haul and often looks unbusy in the moment.
- Laura Vanderkam cites Cal Newport's Slow Productivity idea that thinking time leads to better long-term output.
John McPhee's Picnic Table Break
- John McPhee spent about two weeks lying on a picnic table while stalled by writer's block.
- That unproductive-looking pause let him find a central character and produce a major New Yorker piece and decades of strong work.
Give Ideas Time To Percolate
- Give yourself time to sit with ideas instead of forcing immediate output.
- Laura recommends walking, talking with colleagues, or just letting thoughts percolate rather than filling every minute with emails or meetings.
