Fast Company posted a great short article on the need for “creative pauses” in our over-connected lives. The article succinctly laid out the current connected landscape.

“Interruption-free space is sacred. Yet, in the digital era we live in, we are losing hold of the few sacred spaces that remain untouched by email, the Internet, people, and other forms of distraction. Our cars now have mobile phone integration and a thousand satellite radio stations. When walking from one place to another, we have our devices streaming data from dozens of sources. Even at our bedside, we now have our iPads with heaps of digital apps and the world’s information at our fingertips.”

I completely agree, we live in a world that might just be too connected too much of the time. Isolation and interruption-free space is sacred and necessary. People need to think.

It’s no surprise then that many of our world’s most successful people knew how to put down the iPhone and get away. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of talking with former Chicago Mayor Daley. He spoke about his need to unplug on Sundays and how he would spend hours just reading a book and thinking.

In a world obsessed with short-term productivity there isn’t always room for just thinking but in a creative and innovation based economy, like America’s, just thinking is vital to long-term success and growth. So figure out ways to unplug and let your brain run free. It’ll pay off in the long-run.