About the Meaning of Doing Nothing.

Jules Heartly | February 27th 2023

After many years of being a multitasker, I was recently asked to engage in  monotasking. 

The straight forward request went even further,  to learn the art of no-tasking.  In other words, to do nothing without guilt,  or to forget  about tasks for a given period, eliminating the shoulds, and the musts and the why nots. 

But exactly  what does it mean?

Well, it all depends, I thought, as I set out to leave a blank page in my calendar/agenda  and declare it my day off.

Was that enough? 

How would I fill my day without filling my day?

My day off, on paper was a clean canvas to paint on.  The thing is, I had to do very little painting and use the minimum amount of colors (Figuratively duh).

So I decided the first thing was to put my mind in the right mood, after all it is all about attitude. About perception.   And what better place to start?  

Just be!  I reminded myself,  But being for me, may also mean, to be whom I have been up to this moment.   A person always doing something, always engaged in an activity or even better in more than one at a time.  Incapable of doing nothing else while watching a TV program.  Probably saying just be, wasn’t enough then.

 No, it was more like having my thoughts fly like discarded pamphlets, scattering in the wind, and let my mind and body to focus on the wind only.  Observe its sudden shifts and when it finally gets calm, hear its silence,  like shadows smoothly taking over the streets.  Doing it all  with a sense of joyful freedom, of liberation, of mindful contemplation of a happy moment.  

So, there I was on one of a series of pursuits at the art of what the Dutch call “practicing Niksen”.

And Oh My goodness!  My dear friend/reader,  it was a struggle!  I sat down on my yoga mat in  my studio, in a comfortable position and slowly looked around the room.  As I did my eyes stopped at my bookcase and fixated by the first row of books: The Ones I haven’t read! 

“I should schedule some reading time.” I thought.  “Or perhaps that would be “the nothing” activity I could do!” Another thought expressed in my mind.

Then I began rehashing the details of why I haven’t read one of them, in particular, the one it was purposely sticking out of the bunch.   The specific one, I had been meaning to read first rather than any other or the ones next to it, or the publications  I had started reading on my Kindle. 

I started to feel more anxious about all things I could be doing and I wasn’t doing, and even guiltier now that I was there noticing it even more, and doing far less.  I did NOT feel calm.  By the contrary, I felt unsettled. 

Right then, of course I  remembered my to-do list, the same one I had to turn off, in order to pursue this experiment. What a horrible sensation came to me! “How productive I may be when I am putting off my personal obligations and my own commitment to my projects?”

I called it “quits” for my exercise, and I read an article by D. Chopra on the subject of practicing doing  nothing, which definitely justified my feelings: 

“If the idea of spending time relaxing and doing nothing is uncomfortable, you are not alone. Society has shifted toward prioritizing hyper-productivity, making the notion of doing nothing seem unproductive and inefficient. If there is time left unfilled during the day, there is an urge to fill it with something. It’s no wonder people have such a hard time relaxing and enjoying moments of nothingness.”

It all sounded good, and the fact I wasn’t alone in the struggle felt as smooth as cream pouring into a cup of coffee.

I still needed to figure out how to practice Nothingness.  So I read more about #NIksen.  This Dutch practice talks about  a “ time without devices, without a screen, without immediate gratification. “

Instant gratification!  The same thing, we look for when we pick up our phones, and scroll through the social media applications etc.  It made sense, but still didn’t address my other issues, like my to-do list, and productivity concerns. 

I kept on reading.  When Niksen or #nothing-ing  is practiced “…You’re able to be.

Niksen enables us to take a step back from whatever we’re doing to just let everything be as it is without being an active participant in it. Ideally, practicing Niksen and allowing your brain to wander “can enhance creativity,” says Katie Krimer,a licensed NY Social worker and author.

“It frees up space we use to ruminate so that all that energy that is utilized to focus on doing something can be freed out. We can get room to be more productive and perhaps do our work with a calmer, less judgmental approach.”

As I kept gathering information on the know and on the how, I had the idea, at some point I would be able to accomplish nothing-ing, even though, for most of my life I had been quite a good sample specimen of the “kind of cultural brainwashing that tells us compulsive busyness is a requisite for being a decent human being and a decent employee.”

Having ADHD and acting most of my life like “a Super-Woman”, outshining at multitasking, I have found it challenging to just sit and be, without the screen or the book, or Youtube program or the podcast blaring in my ears, “…without “constant cognitive engagement,” as Susan Malley (co-author of the book Fully Present) calls it. 

She too  insists on the importance of just being. “…When we do this, we activate something in our brains that neuroscientists call the Default Mode Network (DMN), which allows us to connect new dots and come up with novel ideas and even assess ourselves and psyches in new ways.”

With all this sounding so convincing and tempting to do, I hurried to schedule a time for doing nothing.  I joyfully added it to  my to-do list. 

Needless to say, it  did not work. The act itself generated anxiety.  Just being next to my other listed tasks, made it impossible to exist. If I were to do it, I would be neglecting other priority tasks and if I didn’t do it then I would be feeling bad about myself.

What was I doing wrong?  Well, a number of things, but one that comes to mind is forcing the process instead of  easing into it.  The idea is to  do it when it pops in your mind at first instead of scheduling it.  Let it happen when it does. Allow it! Accept it.  As you would do with an unexpected breeze coming your way.  Embrace it. Enjoy it.  Let it be. 

Of course, if you have the opportunity of a flexible schedule, you may slip it in there, as a 5-15 min break where you just allow yourself to look out the window or so,and observe let’s say the clouds, or the rain falling, without judgment.  Just plain observation.

So finally, after numerous attempts I was finally able to make progress in my NIksen practice , and the sensation achieved was worth the try!  

As Deepak Chopra  had said,  “Experiencing nothing, “it’s the idea of finding pleasure in idleness or relaxation. It is the ability to savor an experience, relishing the feeling of wholeness as it fills what is empty”.  

For me the impression was lasting, and I did taste the sweetness of this exploration.

But why was it so hard to get to live that experience?  Well,  I had made a number of mistakes, a couple of them worth to mention:

1-  First, I thought that by “goofing” around with my phone,  or watching TV,  I was doing nothing. Since I was not accomplishing anything or tackling any activity or crossing out anything on my to-do list, then I probably was doing nothing!  

But as Deepak had mentioned too,  what is required of the act of Nothing-ing,  “is a different sort of doing nothing, much more than laying around scrolling on your phone,” or in other cases browsing TV channels  “ …the actual nothingness ….”  offers the opportunity to be in the moment in whatever way you choose and, in the process, improve your life in surprising ways.” This could also be accomplished by meditating, but not everyone is able or comfortable doing it so. 

2- Secondly, I left myself feeling guilty of doing nothing or not being productive, ignoring the fact  that  taking care of myself  gives me the capacity to not only be better at what I do (a/k/a productive) but also of being more patient and effective when dealing with other people. And not doing it may lead me to being burned out .

Today, as  I am learning the benefits of this practice, I have increased my trust, my certainty.I will get back to my projects, I will get them ahead. I have faith that when I chill for a bit, the whole world continues moving at its own pace, far from crumbling down. 

 And at any time,  more than I could  imagine, I will  always have things I could be doing,  and there is NO WAY I could wait until the to-do list is empty or the reading list completed to enjoy the moment of nothing-ing.   By the contrary, NOTHING-ING/Niksen IS NOW A PRIORITY! Improving #MentalHealth is a stepping stone for overall physical health. 

Right now, the superwoman in me, has been anchored in the “observation” deck, for the  daily benefit of watching the clouds, or watching the arrows of sunlight glint through the leaves of my backyard trees. Left in silence, with the wind tapping against the windows, and the birds flapping away their freedom demonstration, all while my favorite music is playing in the background.

And with all that being said and done, I have a question.  Do you have to try hard at doing nothing? Or how do you practice it?

I would love to hear from you.  Write me a comment! Tell me your story! 

Thank you for reading my blog. 

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