If you mean work/product/big picture specific... probably a few hours a week.
I was stuck on a coding problem for the entire afternoon one day. For whatever reason things weren't clicking and I couldn't solve the problem I had. I went to bed and as I was waking up the next morning, the complete solution came to me.
I wasn't dreaming, but I was in that hazy half-awake half-asleep mode where I'm not consciously thinking about anything.
I've had this happen a few times before where I go to bed stuck on a problem and miraculously wake up with the solution. It's a very strange (but happy) feeling.
I used to do this with coffee, but I found the caffeine was actually shifting my energy window forward, even shortening it. Now I'll do calisthenics and spend a few minutes outside, taking deep breaths, if I need to wakeup before I sit down.
The amount of time varies, depending on what's going on in my life. I may spend more time journaling, note taking, reading, or just staring out the window and chewing on the thought. I have sessions that last fifteen minutes and others that last three hours.
In general, patience, strategy, and self-motivation have helped me achieve goals I would never have dreamed of 10 years ago.
I can think through some smaller issues in my office, leaned back in my chair, feet up on my desk. But it's easy to get sucked back into the screen.
I sometimes have brief moments of hyper-awareness as I approach sleep, where sounds are rich and images vividly detailed, but as soon as I attend to the experience it fades, like the wood-elf party in The Hobbit[0]. After reading about how USAF pilots used to be coached in the 1940s to fall asleep quickly (by flexing and relaxing body parts)[sorry, no reference yet], I started trying/not-trying to sneak up on the elves. One way I set the stage is to imagine my consciousness at the edge of the solar system, then galaxy, then universe, and further and further, then holding it there longer and longer. Another way is to look at the colors inside of my eyelids and allow those to be seeds for abstract art and eventually concrete, recognizable images materialize. This took about two years of practice and now I have no anxiety about falling asleep, can do it quickly and without nagging my partner to turn the light off. It is such a delight to finally see and hear the previously-elusive autogenous art. I don’t know how long the experience lasts, and unless I’m interrupted by a loud noise or touch it almost always leads directly to sleep.
Other factors: I’ve been off alcohol for more than a year, and reduced coffee to hot water added to the dregs of my spouse’s French press. I don’t run as much as I used to, and I feel running and lifting more would help me sleep better. Good luck!
The spot wasn’t magic. I’m convinced that it was the amount of time I spent walking. It was enough to start loosening my tight mental grip on the problem and let my mind roam. That relaxed mental processing was immeasurably valuable.
In a few weeks, I’m choosing to go back to office. What I’m looking forward to most is reaching that spot on my walk home.
My routine is waking up at 6AM, taking a cold shower, and then sitting down on the tile of the bathroom, freezing cold, and thinking about my next startup. I feel like this is my way of Beating the Averages[3].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calm_(company)
To actually answer the question, probably around 6hrs per week. I work on half wacky theoretical idea projects and half code monkey implementation
Carved out time to "sit and think"? I consider this a suspect method, because undirected thinking on demand is difficult. (It might work for you. It doesn't for me)
Carved out time to contemplate a specific problem? Depends on how many big problems are at the stage where that makes sense. I'd say 1-4h/week.
Making random connections and sort-of daydreaming about them for 5 minutes? All day, every day. It ends up in a commonplace book. I don't currently review the book, the act of taking the note alone is valuable enough. If I notice I keep thinking about something, I transfer it into a doc and grep through that during directed sessions.
I have to be careful that the thinking doesn't turn into unsubstantiated worry and fretting though.
I have to manage my thoughts.
I journal every morning right after I write my to-do for the day, which is pretty much self-reflections.
I also have a weekly review on Sundays where I reflect on my week, what I did well, what kind of sucked etc.
For work, I contemplate first, then write code second. A lot of times I do it while typing my thoughts. An actual example after a failed test
> FAILED: the container doesn't have git so it can't run...so that means git tagging should happen prior to the gradle or docker container...
> I kind of like this because that means it will only have to happen once outside both workflows....which eliminates a bunch of the issues
> I need an init workflow in a way....checkout workflow
> I can't test this, I think test jenkins pushing to prod gitlab is causing issues. Commented it out.
In terms of what you might call "mentally detoxifying contemplation", physical work on my house and yard and whatnot is great. I think the mentally salubrious effects of hard work are the real deal and too much overlooked these days.
I've recently started to re-connect with acquaintances around the globe via virtual coffee meetings (video calls), and with a steaming pot of hot liquid in tow (even decaf does the job, it's more about holding on to something steaming than caffeine for me) this can be quite contemplative. I try to do one such call per week, typically towards the end of the week, and often I manage, occasionally not when work is too crazy.
It's not as good as physical travel to see people, of course, but we all need to make the best of the current situation. (Speaking of travel, train rides and walking are great activities to foster contemplating - see also https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philosophy-Walking-Frederic-Gros/dp... ).
BTW, stay safe, all!
The gambler dies, and his son gets the money. Now his son is a new gambler who lives in a different city. If he plays in other casinos he could win or lose, but in the long run his earned money will be 0 too.
It means that for a gambler to actually win he must win only once, then he must not play ever again, or any other gambler with his money, since entropy is "connected" to that money, because money makes part of the same system.
Overall it has been productive. I've explored countless ideas, learned about new topics, articulated my views, understood concepts and viewpoints I disagree with, changed my mind on some both ways in the process. It has been a little counterproductive. It is easy to get lost in your own head after a while. Overall I wouldn't recommend spending so much time in deep thought, but spending a decent amount at least for some period in your life will really help you discover who you are, who other people are, and things about the world around you that you wouldn't otherwise.
So overall 10-20 hrs a week, with the third outlet consuming the maximum time
But the accidental ones, those are the real deal. As an ever fateful watchmen, just when I stray a little, a wild thought pops in my head which takes my focus for at least half an hour, where my imagination goes wild on the ride.
I would say it happens once or twice per day at least, and I must say that I noticed it became more often after I started listening to audiobooks. I don't know exactly why, but I would assume it stirs the imagination?
for me, contemplation occurs in the echoes of meditation.
Also i like to go on long runs with no headphones. This helps me step back and process whatever is happening and think of new approaches to rough problems when I’m not in the weeds of the problem.
Anything that triggers boredom, IMO, is a healthy tool. Sometimes thats a day off in solitude on a long hike. Other times it’s just a vacation where I don’t bring my laptop.
I used to think about the future and dreams and stuff... nowadays, I don't think I'll ever really find a place I fit. So I live in the mountains, and nature is very good up here.
One thing I've noticed is that thinking is like a habit. It does not matter what topic I think about, I can sit there and be in my thoughts for days and sometimes even weeks.
Or it can be that i need to process something emotionally.
I believe it is healthy to spent time on. It's your therapy some how.
Methods:
* Long conversations with a fellow contemplator * Long replies to certain intriguing ideas on internet forums with fellow contemplators * Also digesting as a subconscious activity all the time
(An example of an action would be my setting a reminder for me to contemplate further in the future.)
The Internet has rob me of that.