You know the story: a million things to do and only 24-hours in the day. The challenge of keeping life on track while carving out time to be sane etc. is something we all experience and we often wonder how major achievers, especially high profile personalities, are able to “do it all.”

In a recent interview, we asked Kristen Bell, “what are your tricks for not wasting time?” She responded with a majorly grounded scheduling tip we didn’t expect, but definitely appreciate.

Here’s what The Good Place actress and mama of two had to say:

“Keeping a really good calendar and weirdly enough, scheduling in time to waste. I know this is counterintuitive, but to me wasting time my brain’s way of saying I needed a break. It’s your brain’s way of saying I need to meditate right now, whether that’s actual meditation (which I think is awesome) or whether that’s just surfing the internet and blindly looking at design sites and saying I feel like I can breathe, I’ve done a little self-care.

Scheduling self-care even if that self-care is wasting time and flipping through a magazine or organizing your junk drawer or whatever you feel is “not productive.” Sitting on your couch and closing your eyes for five minutes. I think a schedule is important but only if your schedule includes time where you’re allowed to blow off steam because if you don’t, you’ll explode. That’s proven, that is science. Your brain needs time to decompress. “

With our cultural obsession with productivity these day, do Kristen Bell’s notes resonate with you? We love the idea of scheduling in time to waste on purpose. Share your thoughts and your own tips for juggling work, life and living below!

Get more health and wellness wisdom from Kristen Bell here!