Should the Mind Focus or Relax When Solving a Problem?
Not all problems fit into the one mental path we’re used to taking when seeking solutions
In a recent coaching session, a client of mine spoke about her stubborn attachment to a strategy she always relied on when faced with a problem.
“I know that in order to solve something, I must focus on it.”
That approach had worked for her in the past. But sometimes, what we’ve gotten used to doing becomes a limitation rather than a strength. We often remain trapped in a singular way of operating, when what’s really needed is mental flexibility and adaptability; core survival skills in an ever-evolving world, where uncertainty is a permanent feature of life’s rhythm.
Focusing is not the only way the brain can produce solutions. It’s just one of the two main modes our mind can operate in. The other is relaxation.
The human mind has the capacity to switch between focused attention and “diffuse”, relaxed awareness. The real art lies in learning when to activate each mode.
So, my client’s statement wasn’t exactly wrong. It was simply… incomplete. It works for problems that require analysis, planning, or decision-making. But in this rich, multifaceted life, one cannot navigate complexity by using only one or two shades from the full palette of mental tools available.
When we’re dealing with strategy, evaluation, or decisions, focus is often the best tool in the box.
But when it comes to creative problem-solving, when we need to find meaning where there seemed to be none, or connect unrelated elements into new, imaginative patterns, then focused, analytical thinking is not enough. In fact, it can even get in the way.
In those moments, the mind needs to switch modes; from focus to relaxed awareness.
Why a switch, and not simultaneous use of both?
Because when one mode is active, the other tends to shut down. If we keep pushing through using only focused attention, we’re likely to miss out on richer, deeper, more inspired solutions.
“Many are the wonders of the world, but none more wondrous than man,” wrote Sophocles in Antigone.
We are a species capable of extraordinary responses to wildly different challenges. But we limit this capacity if we keep our minds imprisoned in familiar, overused cognitive habits.
The world as we know it wouldn’t have evolved if humanity relied solely on rational thought and logic. Nor would it have progressed if it excluded them.
Each mental mode has its place. The secret lies in balance.
So What Can We Do?
Let’s say you’re facing a professional or personal challenge. Maybe it’s not even a problem, but the need to create a new strategy; one that will grow your business, heal a relationship, or navigate a new phase of life.
If you’ve already done the “focused work” (analyzed the facts, broken things down on paper, explored options) and still no satisfying solution has emerged, then it may be time for your creative, nonlinear, and intuitive mind to get back in the game.
If you’ve stayed mostly in the imaginative or emotional realm, but your solutions remain incomplete or impractical, it might be time to engage the analytical brain.
Many real-life problems require both modes, which means the mind needs to learn to shift gears within the same process.
Understanding the Two Modes of Thinking
When your mind is in focused mode, you’re doing things like:
Defining the problem clearly and identifying why it matters
Breaking it down into parts, examining causes, effects, variables
Gathering data, research, prior examples or hard evidence
Weighing pros and cons of various options, selecting one, testing it, refining it
If this structured approach isn’t leading to a meaningful outcome, you likely need to allow the other mode to come online. That’s where original insights and creative breakthroughs are born.
Here are some practices that help shift the brain into relaxed, generative mode:
Intentional Breaks
Schedule breaks during the problem-solving process. If you're working on something for two hours, build in one or two short pauses. But these breaks need to involve something completely unrelated to the task.
For example:
Go for a walk and pay attention to the sky, the trees, the people.
Switch environments. Listen to your favorite song and imagine yourself dancing.
Take your dog out and mentally disengage from the issue.
Garden, play an instrument, sketch. Be someone else for a while.
Often, the idea you were chasing all day with great mental effort comes effortlessly while you’re in the shower or out on a walk. That’s no coincidence.
Micro-Rest or Hypnagogic States
If your schedule allows, lie down and enter the state between sleep and wakefulness, where your mind is still semi-aware but thoughts float freely. This is the space where memory strengthens, inner censorship quiets down, and intuitive ideas surface.
This state also occurs naturally in moments of drowsiness. Neuroscientists have observed theta brain waves linked to these in-between states, often rich with insights.
Balance Work and Rest
Don’t fall into the trap of seeing rest as laziness. If 80% of your time is rest and only 20% work, sure, there’s an issue. But if you strike the right personal rhythm, your productivity and creativity will soar.
Creative problem-solving needs space to breathe.
Daydreaming
When done intentionally and in moderation, daydreaming stimulates high-level cognitive processes. Studies in neuroscience show that the default mode network (activated during daydreaming) plays a key role in problem-solving, empathy, and future planning.
If you always view your challenges from the same mental angle, you’ll keep arriving at similar results. Broaden your toolkit. Let your mind shift states when needed.
You might be surprised at how easily solutions begin to bloom.
If you swim in the Social Media ocean, you’ll find me somewhere here for Instagram and here for Facebook, on a raft like the one Odysseus had, monologuing sometimes in Greek and sometimes in English.
♾️
Anthi Psomiadou — CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International : Credit must be given to the creator/ Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted/ No derivatives
