Is it time for time-out?

How much time do you spend connected to the digital world and how much time do you spend processing the information acquired there?

At Unified Inbox we see a lot of articles on research into information overload and how it affects our daily work.

This recently published article looks at personal productivity from a different angle. The article reviews the TEDx presentation by Sydney-born anthropologist Genevieve Bell.

As the Director of Interactive Research and Experience Research at Intel in Portland, Oregon, she warns that the boredom many experienced during childhood has disappeared and it may have a profound effect on the brain.

"It's clear that we like to be stimulated, but our brain needs time to process the information," she said. "Boredom is quite important, it's a way of creating a space for creative thought."

The point Ms Bell makes is similar to that made about the importance of rest in an exercise programme. The rest time (or boredom) is the time in which improvements come.

Are the companies you work for acknowledging this? Or is it still considered an alternative theory?