This summer, I learned an essential life lesson I would like to share with you: I have come to the conclusion that doing nothing is often the best something.
For those of you who lead busy lives, the art of doing nothing can provide a surge of energy and a boost of productivity. Making time for nothing is healthy; it is fulfilling, and it is necessary in order to do your best in all other somethings.
Over the past two months I have dived into intentional nothingness, based on some suggestions I found in an old RealSimple Magazine and my own experimentation. Below are ten of my favorite nothing practices that will fuel your own idleness.
Challenge yourself to allow the reading of this list to be the last something you do for awhile.
- Turn off your computer. And your iPhone. And your iPod. And your iPad. And your music. This is going to be difficult. You might find yourself going mad at first, but curl up in a quiet corner, preferably outside, and just sit; alone in silence.
- Find a patch of interesting ceiling tiles and stare. You will be surprised at how relaxing and entertaining this can be.
- Read Wikipedia articles. Start with a random subject, read the entry in its entirety and follow links until you’ve been swallowed up in a world of trivial information.
- People-watch. It is best if you enjoy this fruitless activity outside in public view. Hidden people-watching is actually called people-stalking. You don’t want to do that.
- Eat a piece of fresh fruit. This takes no preparation or cleanup time, and provides a scrumptious break from daily tasks.
- Create horrible and temporary art. Color in a coloring book, or doodle some abstract sketches. Make a leaf sculpture and let the wind blow it away.
- Purposefully single-task. Multi-tasking is sloppy and so last year.
- Take ten deep breaths. See how long you can make this exercise last.
- Brag about nothing. Instead of complaining about how hectic your schedule is, joyfully proclaim about how little you’ve done in the day.
- Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy. Set weekly time to find peace and rest. And no matter the costs – don’t skip it.
