I’m a recovering workaholic
Let’s be real here. I’m the kind of person who schedules ‘free time.’ Last Tuesday, I blocked off 36 hours for a ‘mental health break.’ I mean, who does that? Oh right, me. And probably you too, let’s not kid ourselves.
I’m Sarah, by the way. Senior editor at a major publication (you’ve heard of it, trust me). I’ve spent the last 20+ years telling other people how to live their lives. Funny enough, I’m not always great at taking my own advice.
My friend Marcus changed my life
About three months ago, Marcus—let’s call him that, his real name is way less fun—sat me down over coffee at the place on 5th. You know the one, tiny tables, always crowded, great pastries. He looked at me and said, ‘Sarah, you’re an idiot.’
I laughed, obviously. Then I asked, ‘Why, because I ordered a croissant again?’
‘No,’ he said, ‘because you’re always doing something. Even when you’re not working, you’re planning, or cleaning, or reading self-improvement books. You never just… sit.’
Which… yeah. Fair enough.
The great nothing experiment
So, I decided to do nothing. Like, actual nothing. No reading, no scrolling, no ‘productive’ anything. Just sitting. Staring. Existing. I started small, 10 minutes a day. It was harder than I thought. My brain kept screaming, ‘DO SOMETHING!’
I told my colleague, Dave, about this. He laughed. ‘You? Doing nothing? That’s gonna be like watching paint dry.’
‘Screw you,’ I said. ‘I can do nothing with the best of them.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Prove it.’
And so, the challenge began.
Why are we so bad at this?
Turns out, doing nothing is hard. Like, really hard. We’re all so committed to being productive, even in our downtime. It’s like we’ve forgotten how to just be. I read this study—okay, fine, I skimmed it—about 214 people and their committment to ‘me time.’ Spoiler: most of them were lying. They were doing stuff. Always doing stuff.
I get it. I do. There’s this pressure, right? To be always on, always improving, always… something. But honestly, it’s exhausting. And honestly, it’s completley unsustainable. We need to give ourselves permission to just be.
Tangent: The art of napping
Speaking of doing nothing, let’s talk naps. I used to think napping was for the lazy or the old. Then I visited this conference in Austin—hot, by the way, like really hot—and some guy started napping at his table. Just like that. No shame. I was impressed. Now, I nap. It’s amazing. If you’re struggling with sleep, check out these uyku kalitesi artırma ipuçları. Trust me, it’s a game-changer.
Back to nothing
So, here’s the thing. Doing nothing isn’t about being lazy. It’s about giving your brain a break. It’s about letting your mind wander, make connections, just… be. It’s physicaly impossible to be creative or productive all the time. We need downtime. We need nothing time.
I’m not saying you should stop pursuing your goals or being productive. But maybe, just maybe, give yourself permission to do nothing. For 10 minutes. Or an hour. Or a whole day. See what happens. You might be surprised.
I know I was.
Anyway, I gotta run. I have a meeting about nothing. Irony, right?
About the Author: Sarah Johnson is a senior editor with over 20 years of experience in the magazine industry. She’s a workaholic trying to reform, a nap enthusiast, and a firm believer in the power of doing nothing. You can find her on Twitter @SarahJ_Writes, where she tweets about editing, napping, and the occasional celebrity gossip.
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