There are days when we feel exhausted and just want to relax the whole day.
Unfortunately, as soon as we think about how others might see us lying in bed, watching our favorite movies on a tablet, we begin to feel uneasy.
And so, we choose to exhaust ourselves further with meaningless activities, just to appear “busy”.
But, is doing nothing really that bad?
I can’t help feel compelled to write down what’s been on my mind lately.
As bad as it sounds, doing nothing offers just as many benefits that most would likely choose to overlook due to the negative reputation associated with it.
To start recognizing them, we first need to understand why “doing nothing” has such a bad reputation and what we can do about it.
When we say we are “doing nothing”, we should actually be referring to our mental state rather than our physical state.
In our minds, we may think we’re doing nothing, but in reality, we’re still physically engaged in activities like breathing, blinking, spacing out, lying down, sitting, etc. — all activities we do without exerting conscious effort.
Even when we consciously engage in activities like listening to music, watching TV, reading comics, walking in the park, doing sports, playing video games, and all other leisure activities, we still say we’re “doing nothing”, a label that others would also apply.
For example, a boss might scold an employee for catching them closing their eyes for a moment while listening to music, telling them to stop “doing nothing” and get back to their tasks soon.
The reason we see these activities as doing nothing is that they are considered non-productive, and being “productive” is often linked to making money.
These activities are clearly seen as a waste of time based on that perception. We are aware that engaging in them won’t be recognized by others as doing something, as they don’t contribute to earning money, and so we consider ourselves not doing anything.
It’s not difficult to understand why we feel this way, as we grow up in a world where our value is defined by how busy and productive we are.
Whether we agree or not, this perception has led many of us, including myself, to feel depressed, worthless, and guilty when “doing nothing”, as we subconsciously label ourselves “not productive”.
It’s important to note that self-worth has everything to do with how happy and content we are with ourselves and nothing to do with productivity.
Also, we should remember the concept of yin and yang, where (+) must be balanced out with an equal amount of (-).
Too much of either (+) or (-) can do more harm than good. This applies to all aspects of our lives, including “doing nothing” vs. “doing something” from a productivity point of view.
It’s truly impossible to make our bodies think and finish tasks with just a very short, if not no rest at all.
It’s not being productive but killing ourselves!
Even machines will eventually break down without a proper pause every now and then.
Perhaps people will understand better the importance of “doing nothing” when their job requires them to produce creative solutions most the time.
They will definitely open their eyes the moment they realize they’re only producing garbage by forcing themselves to stay “productive” all the time.