My Confession
Look, I’m gonna level with you. I’m a terrible person. Not in the ‘I steal candy from babies’ way, but in the ‘I can’t sit still for five minutes’ way. It’s a problem. A real, honest-to-goodness, committment-issue problem.
It started in college, probably. I was that kid who had three part-time jobs and was president of the chess club (which honestly nobody asked for but here we are). I was always doing something. And then, I don’t know, I just kept doing. I moved to London, started working at a magazine, and suddenly I was the person who’d stay late to finish an article, then go home and reorganize their spice rack. Like, who does that? This guy.
Anyway, last Tuesday, I had a bit of a breakdown. Not a full-on, ‘call the authorities’ breakdown, but a ‘sit on the kitchen floor at 11:30pm eating cold pizza and questioning all life choices’ breakdown. My friend Marcus found me like that. He took one look at me and said, ‘You need to learn how to do nothing.’
Doing Nothing: The Lost Art
So, I decided to give it a shot. I mean, how hard could it be? Turns out, really hard. I scheduled a whole afternoon to do nothing. Just sit. Maybe read a book. Maybe not. Just… be.
I lasted 36 minutes. Then I was vacuuming. I don’t even know why. The place wasn’t dirty. I just… couldn’t not do something.
I told my colleague named Dave about this. He laughed. ‘You’re like a dog with a stick,’ he said. ‘You just gotta drop the stick, man.’
Which… yeah. Fair enough.
Why Are We So Bad At This?
I started asking around. Turns out, I’m not alone. We’re all terrible at doing nothing. There’s this constant pressure to be productive, to be achieving, to be… something. I mean, look at social media. Everyone’s posting about their latest acquisition, their newest project, their ‘journey’ (ugh, don’t get me started on that word).
I read this article once, over coffee at the place on 5th, about how our brains are wired to seek out and complete tasks. It’s some evolutionary thing. Back in the day, if you weren’t busy gathering berries or avoiding saber-toothed tigers, you were probably lunch. So now, we’re stuck in this loop of always needing to be doing something.
But here’s the thing: that’s not always a good thing. I mean, look at the physicaly and mental health crisis we’re in. Burnout is a real thing, people. And it’s not just from working too much. It’s from never giving ourselves a break. From never learning how to just… be.
The Power of Doing Nothing
So, I decided to try again. This time, I set some ground rules. No cleaning. No organizing. No ‘quick’ projects. Just… sitting. Maybe with a book. Maybe with some music. Maybe just staring at the wall.
I made it to two hours this time. And you know what? It was amazing. I felt… relaxed. Like, really relaxed. Not the ‘I’ve had three glasses of wine and I’m about to pass out’ kind of relaxed. The ‘I am at peace with the world’ kind of relaxed.
I told my friend Sarah about this. She’s a yoga instructor, so she’s all about the ‘mindfulness’ and ‘being present’ stuff. She said, ‘That’s great, Jamie! You’re practicing non-doing.’
I said, ‘Non-doing? That’s a thing?’
She said, ‘Yeah, it’s a big deal in Eastern philosophies. It’s about accepting the present moment, not always striving for something else.’
Which, honestly, sounds a little woo-woo for me. But hey, if it works, it works.
Practical Tips for Doing Nothing
So, if you’re like me and you’re terrible at doing nothing, here are some tips. They’re not gonna be perfect, and they’re not gonna be comprehensive, but they’re a start.
First, schedule it. Yeah, I know, it’s ironic. But if you’re like me, you need to treat ‘doing nothing’ like any other committment. Block out some time in your calendar. Tell yourself, ‘This is my time to do nothing.’
Second, find a comfortable spot. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It can be your couch, your bed, a park bench. Whatever. Just make sure it’s comfy.
Third, give yourself permission to do nothing. This is the hardest part, honestly. Our brains are wired to feel guilty when we’re not being productive. So, you gotta actively tell yourself, ‘It’s okay to do nothing. I deserve this.’
And finally, if you find yourself starting to do something, stop. Just stop. Put the book down. Turn off the TV. Close the laptop. And just… be.
Oh, and if you’re looking for some extra tips, check out yaşam tarzı günlük gelişim ipuçları. I mean, I haven’t read it, but the title sounds promising.
A Tangent: The Joy of Boredom
You know what else I’ve been thinking about lately? Boredom. Like, real, honest-to-goodness boredom. Not the ‘I’m bored so I’ll scroll through Instagram’ kind of boredom. The ‘I’m just sitting here with nothing to do’ kind of boredom.
I think we’ve forgotten how to be bored. We’ve filled every spare moment with something. With our phones, with our laptops, with our endless to-do lists. And I think we’re worse off for it.
Boredom is where creativity comes from. It’s where ideas are born. It’s where you start to question things, to think outside the box. But we’ve lost that. We’ve lost the ability to just… be bored.
So, maybe that’s another thing we should be practicing. The art of boredom.
Anyway, I’m gonna go now. I’ve been sitting here for about 15 minutes, and I’m starting to get that familiar itch. The ‘I should be doing something’ itch. So, I’m gonna try to ignore it. I’m gonna try to just… be.
Wish me luck.
About the Author
Jamie Carter is a senior editor at a major London magazine. He’s been writing about lifestyle topics for over 20 years, and he’s still not great at doing nothing. You can find him on Twitter @jamiecarterwrites, where he tweets mostly about cats and bad TV.
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