Deconnection, the power of quiet time

Forgetting what you wanted to do, losing focus, the feeling that ten things are constantly vying for your attention at once. That’s not a sign that something is wrong with you. It’s what happens to a brain that multitasks all day and becomes overstimulated. In this keynote or workshop, Elke Van Hoof explains where that mental chaos comes from, how it affects your ability to think clearly, and why the solution has less to do with the amount of stress than with its duration.

What this chaos calls for is learning to disconnect. But disconnecting is much more than just putting your cell phone on silent or turning off your notifications for a moment—that’s just the surface level, at best. True disconnection goes deeper: it’s about freeing yourself from the constant overload on your mind, so your brain can once again get the recovery time it needs to think clearly. This keynote goes a step beyond the screen—not by doing less, but by consciously making space for recovery.

You’re replying to an email when a new message comes in, someone asks you a question, and in your head, the upcoming meeting is already starting. We all do it all at once and call it normal. But your brain can’t actually multitask. It’s constantly jumping back and forth between tasks, and it’s precisely that constant switching that wears it out. The chaos you feel isn’t a character flaw—it’s an overloaded system.

Elke Van Hoof explains this using two areas of the brain. There’s the “stress brain,” which sends out alarm signals, and the prefrontal cortex, the “cockpit” that puts things into perspective, adds nuance, plans, and keeps your emotions in check. As long as stress persists, these two areas work together less and less effectively. You gradually lose the ability to think clearly and control your emotions. The chaos in your head is, in fact, that “cockpit” going offline.

The key insight is that it is not the intensity, but the duration of stress that determines the damage. A brief, acute stress response is healthy and normal. Chronic stress, on the other hand, depletes your brain’s recovery resources until its balance is completely disrupted. Think of holding a glass of water: one minute is nothing, one hour becomes a strain, and a whole day paralyzes your arm. It’s not the weight; it’s how long you hold it.

The good news is that this isn’t irreversible. The key isn’t in always doing less, but in managing the duration of your stress: actively building in moments of rest so that your body’s recovery mechanisms can replenish themselves, and giving your “cockpit” space to do its job again. Consciously doing one thing at a time and taking real breaks often prove to make more of a difference than a new schedule. You’ll understand why your mind feels so cluttered and leave with a practical way to restore peace and clarity.