Science and Productivity, Like PB & J

Having just come back from northern Chile to look at some stars and view the sky through telescopes at the best place on earth for observatories… I realize that not only is there a solar eclipse today (4/8), but the 14th of April is National Look Up At the Sky Day!

Unfortunately, I’m not in the path of totality, where the moon will completely block out the sun, but we will get a partial eclipse here in SoCal today. So I’ll be checking it out (safely, no staring directly at the sun, of course.)

But, you might be wondering, what does the sky have to do with productivity? Or wellness, or avoiding burnout, or any of that?

To look up at the sky is human

I went to two different observatories in Chile - Alfea Aldea and Mallamuca, which both offer tours in English. Though already, due to being at a higher altitude and in the very dry area of northern Chile, we could see a lot without even the telescopes.

You can actually see all of the constellation of Orion – not just the three stars on his belt and a star for each hand and foot – but his dagger, his shield (in some traditions he carries a bow instead), and all the other stars. Though since I was in the southern hemisphere, he was flipped upside down from how we see him in the northern hemisphere. 

At each observatory, our guides told us they would point out constellations, but they could really only be seen with the aid of a few pisco sours (pisco being the local booze made from grapes.) Everybody makes them up, and your lion could be someone else’s snake.

You can also see the Milky Way with just your eyes, something that’s rare here at sea level in SoCal. Unless you’re in Death Valley, which is a dark park for the purposes of stargazing. One of our guides told us that the Incas called it the river, and they saw constellations of animals that were drinking at the river.

We humans have always wanted to know what’s going on up there, and for a long time all we really had were stories. Milky ways, rivers, hunters with daggers and shields, and so forth.

But now, of course, we have powerful telescopes. With the aid of science, we were able to see stars that appear red and blue instead of white (in the Jewel Box constellation), stars that look like one single one to the naked eye but are in fact binary pairs, and lots of other interesting stars. Thanks to human curiosity and innovation, we know what stars really are - great balls of fire.

And science is helping us learn even more. Telescopes that are looking into black holes have detected very interesting magnetic activity. The more science and technology advances, the more we discover and the more questions we have about the new stuff. It’s exciting!

And yet we still have the old stories with us. Orion, the Milky Way, the river the star animals drink from. Stories are fun, but they can be misleading - that’s why we have science. (No, the position of the local star at the time of your birth doesn’t actually influence your personality.)

Looking up at the sky can help you be more productive in the workplace

Again, not looking up directly at the sun! But observing the sky – whether at night or daytime – gives you a break from all the busyness. It takes your mind off spreadsheets and number crunching and all the planning that we business owners need to do.

All those business activities are necessary for entrepreneurs. And yet our brains need breaks from them, because our brains need nature and green spaces and open water to be happy. Staring at screens isn’t just bad for the human eye, but bad for the human brain too.

While looking up at the universe brings benefits at any time of day, it’s especially powerful at nighttime. You’re seeing explosions that happened millions of light-years ago and celestial entities that are vast and almost incomprehensible.

As Carl Sagan said, we are all made of star stuff. That’s pretty wondrous. Taking time to look and think about the majesty of the universe puts the world of work in the right-sized perspective. 

You’re a being who experiences this amazing world and is connected to those stars light years away. Why should you spend all your life toiling away? Isn’t there time for whatever passions and curiosities you have and the things you love to do, in addition to your work?

Technology can be a double-edged sword when it comes to improving productivity

Technology has brought us ever more powerful telescopes, and we learn more and more about the universe as science continues to improve our tech. But technology has advantages and disadvantages, especially when it comes to the human brain.

For example, I talk a lot (both to clients and when I’m speaking to groups or conferences) about setting boundaries. Especially around when you will look at emails and when people can’t get hold of you.

Back in the day, when we climbed uphill to school both ways in the snow, when you went home from work, you were done with it until the next day. No one bothered you after dinner. Even business owners closed up shop and went home to their families. 

Back then some of the boundaries were set for us, but technology has erased those easy boundaries. Email and messaging app technology are a big reason why you have to create and enforce boundaries of your own, especially if you’re a business owner.

In the last century (heh), if you were in meetings no one could get hold of you, for better or worse. People may have paid more attention since they didn’t have an automatic distraction in their pocket. (On the other hand, I can recall having bingo cards for certain conference calls, so the attention part may not be strictly true.)

Most phones and computers come with some kind of do-not-disturb app that you can turn on when you need to concentrate. Which is better than having no focus time whatsoever… but what if you just deleted notifications instead?

Took your time back?

Refused to let people interrupt you whenever they feel like it and instead gave them times when you will be available for them? Checked emails on a schedule that works for you, instead of letting someone else’s whims dictate your day?

Just because you can check emails/internal messages/phone calls when they come in, doesn’t mean you should.

After all, if everyone else is running your business, how much can you grow? And how will you have time to look up at the sky and feel that sense of wonder and connectedness?

Recap (tl;dr)

Looking up at the sky is a great way to bring back your sense of awe and give your brain a restful and happy break. Technology has given us the power to know more about the universe and how we got here, but it can also destroy your productivity… if you let it.

Need some more time to look at the sky or whatever else your human heart desires but still want a profitable business? Schedule a free consultation here to see if we’re a good fit to work together.