
Vitamin Nothing
Eyes closed, thoughts wander by, an idea connects…
Whether returning from vacation, waking from a nap, or riding a single deep breath’s trailing exhale — energy flows, tensions release tensions, and ideas form from what seemed to be nothing.
Doing nothing can of course be a good thing. While it may even be a trope by now, I wonder, what is nothing?
There are practical parallels to nothing.
A closet, for example, when overfilled makes getting to things difficult. What we can get to is either wrinkled or just in front. Meanwhile, when there’s empty space, one supposed form of nothing, getting to what we want becomes much easier.
There must be a parallel to engaging our lives, work, and play.
But, What Is It to “Do Nothing?”
Turning to what may be our resident experts, teenagers, we hear with rare exception, in response to what they’ve done with their day,
“Nothing.”
But nothing cannot simply be staring at a wall. Even sleep has active components.
So I ask,
“What does doing nothing look like?”
“I’m on my phone,” “playing games,” “talking to friends,”…
Asking further eventually reveals worlds of connection, creativity, music, art, humor, and more.
Apparently, even nothing is something.
Still, what then is “nothing”?
Is it a sense of release from responsibility? A responsibility to others? from ourselves? Could anything beyond responsibility be just one of a myriad species of Nothing?
A Practice
What if we make nothing an art form or a path of mastery? Such a practice must be a rhythm of structure and a lack thereof. Some even find it useful to schedule unstructured time, particularly as the weights of adulting accrue.
But then, how much is too much Nothing?
Is it when we feel good and ready to do Something? Is it when the world demands Something from us? Is it only when we parent ourselves through a proxy of lists, calendars, and timers to say, “That’s enough for now”?
An Approach
Personally, I add the word “Leisure” as a deliberate part of my daily visits. (See below) That Nothing may last a few minutes or hours. But once a day, I must acknowledge to myself, this is my time.
Is that it then? Is Nothing when I have the sense that I own this moment of time?
Whatever it is, when I cannot make it to Nothing, my day feels crowded, strained, or perhaps better said, unhealthy.
Nothing, in this way, is both a vital resource and a useful measure. Somewhere, I need my daily dose of Vitamin Nothing.
– Kourosh
PS – My daily set of visits is what I refer to as my “guide”. I haven’t written much on it outside of the Waves of Focus where it stands as a central concept, but you can get a bit from here: A Guide’s Strength
PPS Today’s post was inspired by this Reddit Post: Remember, doing nothing is also productive.
Join the Weekly Wind Down Newsletter
Get a weekly letter about getting to play and meaningful work. Start getting where you want to be with calm focus. You’ll receive free samples of:
- Creating Flow with OmniFocus
- Taking Smart Notes with DEVONthink
- Workflow Mastery
- PDF on beating deadlines with ease using the Touching the Keys Technique
Recent Posts
“Technological Empathy” – An Interview with the Mac Power Users Podcast
Last week, I had the pleasure of chatting with David Sparks and Stephen Hackett on their Mac Power Users podcast. As always, I had a lot of fun waxing eloquently, not so eloquently, and everywhere in between on matters of technology, with a momentary ode to boardgames...
Forgetting the Most Important Part
What happens when you try to describe what you do for a living?
Being able to concisely describe the essence of something is not simple, but it can be powerful when you know how
Want to know more?
“Wait, what were you talking about?”
“Wait, what were you talking about?”
Finding Ease in Mastery
Mastery is not about force. “Hard work” is not something distasteful to force ourselves through.
When our Systems Collapse
"It's all going well. Uh oh." Even when things are seemingly going well, when you are getting your work done and making it to the things you enjoy, many of us can feel frightened that it will all come crashing down. Something will get missed. Many things will get...
Finding a Way Forward When “I Just Don’t Wanna”
Finding a Way Forward When “I Just Don’t Wanna”
The Authority Within
Being told what to do, even telling ourselves what to do can sometimes kill motivation.
First Excitement, then Frustration, then the “Click”
We can find the same patterns of learning just about anywhere
A Fallacy of “Trust”
A Fallacy of “Trust”