You have two choices while on vacation; try to strike a balance between a light connection back to work and the desire to relax and treat your self to something special. It never works, does it?
The problem is that our brains just don’t work this way. Experts have shared for years the concept of Right Brain (feeling, concepts, creativity) vs. Left Brain (logical, analytic, numbers). They work together but are set up to handle different tasks.
Our issue is when we let both sides of our brain get involved on vacation. Your task is to orient your brain to the area of greatest interest.
I find that I am able to shut down my logical, detail-oriented, critical part of my brain by focusing my energies on activities that are geared more towards art, music, and other creative outputs.
By the way, this does not mean I am actually being creative myself. Sometimes it can be as simple as watching, listening or reading about these more artistic endeavors.
One specific example of using music to open our brains to more creativity (which has grown over time) is to listen to repetitive music (without words). Tim Ferris was the first I heard share this thought. Many now use this technique while writing their blog posts, Inc. articles or books.
So, how can you use your vacation to generate a more creative result?
Instead of trying to balance your two worlds, why don’t you super-focus on right-brain activities.
Learn to play the guitar. Take an art class. Visit a museum. Take a guided hike. Read a non-business book. Camp out at a music festival. Attend a play. Become a birder. Join a comedy class. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Canoe leisurely down a river.
By filling your brain with creative activities, you just might turn off that important but overly critical left side. But be prepared, new ideas just might come rushing in and you will need a way to memorialize them for later scrutiny. My advice? Simply open the Notes section of your phone and use the microphone to record your thoughts.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.