I have to move to think.
You’ll often find me pacing my office in search of new ideas and solutions.
It’s very effective.
But it wasn’t always this way.
The school I attended was old-fashioned. Old-fashioned uniforms and old-fashioned teachers with old-fashioned ideas about how one should be educated.
I was a misfit.
I left school 17 years ago, but my internal wiring is still poisoned with the residue from their old-fashioned principles. I feel guilty when I don’t sit still, be quiet, and do my work.
School screwed me up.
People with ADHD rarely fit in there. But more on that later.
First, let’s talk about moving to think.
Our greatest thinkers agreed
Earlier this year, I wrote about Dame Gillian Lynne (co-creator of Cats & Phantom of the Opera) who learned at seven that she also had to move to think.
“When I joined dance school, all of a sudden I was around people like me, people who had to move to think”
Dame Gillian Lynne
Like Gillian, there will be a natural way that you think.
For Gillian, it was dancing.
For me, it’s pacing.
Movement allows me to focus my thoughts.
I do my best thinking standing up, with a whiteboard, pens, post-it notes, and space to roam.
I do my worst thinking sitting down and staring at a computer screen.
I wanted to know if there was any evidence that walking, pacing, or general movement helped with thinking.
What I found was both surprising and, on reflection, bloody obvious.
Darwin, Nietzche, Aristotle, and many other greater thinkers moved to think. Nassim Taleb talks about the importance of walking for idea generation.
“If you need to listen to music while walking, don't walk; and please don't listen to music.”
Nassim Taleb
And now so does science
The idea that movement is beneficial for thinking is now backed up by science.
Research has indicated that physical activity, even just standing, can lead to improved cognitive function.
In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, it was found that walking can increase creativity.
The researchers conducted experiments where they asked participants to come up with new ideas while they were either walking or sitting. The people who were walking generated significantly more creative responses compared to those who were seated.
Further, a study in the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity suggests that even short-term physical activity has a positive impact on brain function, task performance, and concentration.
When will schools wake up?
The above is obvious.
So, why are schools still forcing kids to sit still, be quiet, and do their work?
While some schools have started to recognise the importance of physical activity in learning, most still adhere to the traditional methods that stifle movement and, potentially, free thinking.
My school trained us into lemmings that lack the confidence to be different. A place where free thought was quietly quashed.
I was different. Therefore I was ignored and ostracised.
It was borderline Orwellian.
I don’t want any kid to experience that.
The journey to transform our old-fashioned educational systems is a long one, but with collective effort, it's achievable.
But how do we start?
How do we bring the dynamism of movement into a classroom setting without descending into chaos?
How can we convince traditionalist educators to break free from the 'sit down, be quiet' mentality?
I'd love to hear your thoughts, experiences, and ideas. Please share them in the comments section below.
I’m an ADHD (although I didn’t know it for decades) person who has to move to think (and soothe). I’m not sure how we help schools except to reinstate what used to be PE/games lessons daily. During my school years I was lucky enough to be in dance lessons every night and even then I struggled to sit in class and focus. These days if I need to think I walk and keep walking. My daughter also has ADHD and I was fortunate to be able to homeschool her from 10 to 16. We learned everything in 20 minute intervals! She passed her exams and is at college now. High school would’ve crushed her.
I remember perfectly well that when I had to study for a theory exam, I would take my notes, get up and start reading aloud over and over again while walking around the house, then without notes, but always walking. And that's how I survived College with my ADHD