How to Daydream and Doodle to Improve your Productivity with Dr. Srini Pillay

Have you ever wondered why you’re tempted to doodle, daydream or fidget? My guest on today’s podcast explains why and how these actually can help you be more productive.

My guest is Dr. Srini Pillay, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist who is the former Director of the Outpatient Anxiety Disorders Program at McLean Hospital.  After graduating as the top medical student in South Africa, he graduated from Harvard as the top award-winner during his psychiatric residency. After seventeen years of brain-imaging research at McLean Hospital, he is now widely sought out by the media as a mainstream psychiatry expert who can apply brain science to everyday psychological challenges to help deal with psychiatric issues especially as they relate to stress and anxiety. He is also well known in the self-development space. He has been featured on Oprah radio, CNN, Fox, The Boston Globe, the New York Times, and NPR.

Apart from his clinical practice, Srini also runs a world-renowned startup called NeuroBusiness Group that helps leaders apply brain science to further their personal and business goals. Current and past clients include The World Bank, IMF, UN, Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Lockheed Martin, Prudential and top tier consulting companies.  As a doctor, musician, poet and consultant to biotechnology-based investment firms, Srini's approach to psychological challenges is biopsychosocial, research-based but informed mostly by his 25 years of clinical experience as a doctor. He was invited to the "Disasters and The World" group at a psychiatric think tank called “Group for Advancement of Psychiatry.” His current projects also involve intense work at the psychology and technology interface as well. Dr. Srini’s new book is “Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try: Unlock the Power of an Unfocused Mind” (Ballantine Books, 2017).

In today’s interview Dr. Srini explains how to be more productive and reduce stress using techniques that have been looked down upon such as doodling, daydreaming and taking naps. He shares some unconventional techniques and the research behind it that I think you’ll really enjoy.