When did you last do … well … nothing? When did you last stare into space and contemplate … well … nothing.
There are so many ways to do nothing. You can do nothing in nature. You can do nothing on the lounge (no TV or radio please). You can do nothing in the bath. You can sit and stare at anything or at … well … nothing.
Whenever you allow nothing to enter your life, you allow a LOT to enter. It’s in the nothing space that creative ideas are hatched. It’s in the nothing space that a-ha’s come to you. It’s in that nothing space that you finally, ultimately experience what’s happening right here and now. And being right here right now can be surprisingly exciting.
There’s a myth in our society that says doing nothing is wasting time. We’re so busy with so many things. We think we have to keep being busy to be worthwhile. It’s almost like the badge of honour now to say “I am sooooo busy.”
If you’re not sooooo busy you can start to feel a little uncomfortable. Being busy has almost become a sign of how important you are.
But…. do you know someone who takes time to do nothing? Have a good look at them. Do they seem as stressed as their busy counterparts? Do they look happier? Are they easier or more fun to be around?
I bet the answer is YES.
So how do you get more doing-nothing time in your life?
Schedule it in. Mark a chunk out of your diary that is specifically time for enjoying doing-nothing. And do it EVERY day.
Some of the most successful people have a morning ritual of nothing time. They allow time in the peace of the morning (before everything starts getting crazy for the day) to allow their minds to wander, to get fresh ideas for their businesses, to let the creative juices flow. They let it all happen naturally.
And I’m pretty sure it was Einstein who recommended spending a lot of time doing-nothing too. And he was a creative genius. Heavy on the genius. So if he recommended it then surely it has to be good.
I (not a creative genius) recommend that you do nothing for at least 15 minutes a day. Of course you can increase the time if you find that doing-nothing really requires more input and effort from you. I mean it is a new habit after all. Sometimes new habits require a bit more effort to get them REALLY solid in your life. You might need to increase your doing-nothing habit time to half an hour or even an hour a day.
Some people actually get bored in the 15 minutes of doing-nothing. Can you imagine! Getting bored in 15 minutes of blissful, wonderful nothingness. These people obviously need some serious doing-nothing habit forming.
If you are one of the bored with doing-nothing people – persevere. It really does get easier and more enjoyable.
If you have too much guilt about doing-nothing then think of the words of Virginia Woolf. She said “It is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth comes to the top.” So you’re not really doing nothing – you’re uncovering deep, inner truths. Another bonus of doing nothing.
If you’ve worked with me you would know that my first appointment is at 10.30am. That’s because I love doing-nothing in the
morning. I get up early but I have plenty of doing-nothing time.
So schedule your doing-nothing time this very minute and make sure you follow through on it every day of the week. Enjoy!
