Earlier this week, in the 5:30 AM class, my co-athletes and I began to chat about all the things going on that day and week ahead. May and June can be pretty crazy months; between sports and recitals, graduation ceremonies, weddings, the impending end of the second business quarter, the wrapping up of the school year and the planning for the summer. It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of the season. Coach Gabby challenged us in that moment to let go, for just the one hour that we were in the gym, and allow ourselves to focus on the one reason we walked in that morning in the first place: moving our bodies in celebration of our health and strength. She was right. We had barely begun the warm up stretches and we were already worrying about the schedule for the rest of the day.
It got me thinking. How often in life are we doing more than one thing at a time in the name of efficiency? How often are we doing one task but thinking about several others instead of focusing on the moment at hand? We live in a day and age where we are so connected. Our bosses and colleagues can reach us at any hour of the day by the device we hold in our hands and in our pockets. We have meetings and emails and medical appointments and banking and all other life scheduling in the palm of our hand at every hour. How many of us are going a mile a minute every moment of the day, with the wheels in our minds constantly spinning and staying a few steps ahead?
Raise your hand if you’re guilty of one of the following: Watching a show AND looking at your phone at the same time? Listening to a podcast or audio book WHILE you take a walk. Catching up on emails at your kid’s practice. Dictating messages while you drive. Checking your phone in between sets at the gym. For better or for worse, the ability to be constantly connected can have the effect of making us feel like we have to be ON all the time.
Believe it or not, there is such a thing as doing nothing. Other cultures have words for it. The Dutch call the art of doing nothing “niksen,” which involves intentionally setting aside time in their day to do absolutely nothing. The Italians have the phrase “la dolce far niente,” which translates to “the sweetness of doing nothing.” It’s not about laziness, but is rather about celebrating leisure and finding joy in the simple moments of staying present. When I think about our own culture’s phrases I think about “killing two birds with one stone,” or, “if you have time to lean, you have time to clean!” We are the products of a culture that celebrates getting ahead by working so hard you might actually sacrifice everything else to get there.
Purposefully choosing to do nothing for a brief moment of your day can provide specific benefits.
- Reduced stress: Doing nothing can help relieve stress and anxiety, leading to improved mental and physical health.
- Increased Creativity: When you allow yourself moments of rest or “boredom,” you’re actually providing your brain with time and space to come up with new ideas.
- Improved Focus: By allowing yourself moments of rest and recharge, you may improve focus on other tasks once you get back to work.
- More Satisfying Experiences: By decreasing the amount of multitasking you do, you can enjoy individual experiences more.
So, how can we, as people who are often so tied to efficiency and productivity, actually be successful at doing nothing?
- Start small. Try just ten minutes a day at first, a couple times a week. This could mean sitting with your coffee in a sunny spot and really feeling the sun on your face and enjoying the taste of your coffee without also looking at your phone or reading or driving.
- Schedule it. Just like meetings and appointments and classes, you can block off fifteen minutes of time where you commit to walking away from all distractions and screens and tasks and just sitting somewhere quiet to recharge. If you don’t actually plan for it, you will likely never find the time.
- Try to be more aware about the number of tasks you’re completing at the same time. While I love taking a walk while also listening to an educational podcast, it’s also a joy to take a walk along the beach without doing anything else at the same time. That can really get your creative juices flowing!
Challenge yourself this week to carve out a brief moment of peace where you step away from your phone, computer, chores, calendar, to-do list, and be still. You can focus on your breathing, or look out at the ocean, or sit in your garden, or chat with a loved one while actually being fully present. Be aware of how often you’re physically in one place (like the gym), but mentally several steps ahead. Focus on the present and allow yourself the luxury of doing nothing except the one task at hand. By incorporating more moments of “nothing” in our day-to-day, we can decrease stress, improve our creativity, and create more meaningful experiences in our lives.
