The benefits of doing nothing

Facing an expiring lease with little flat hunting success and a seemingly never-ending road of rain-fuelled nights in laid ahead of me, I found myself back in my childhood bedroom, blocked into a liminal space, surrounded by four nostalgic white walls.

Leaving my life and flat in Amsterdam was not easy, but the housing crisis caught up to me. Swapping inconsistent rain for slightly more consistent rain, my decision to go travelling was made shortly after returning to the UK. Equipped with a portion of “free time” I hadn’t been granted since the golden-hued days of my school summers, the topic of doing nothing and procrastination began creeping around the corners of my house. From the unemptied glasses lining the dishwasher to the square-shaped glasses of my watchful parents, productivity seemed to be the only acceptable pastime. In writing this article I’m aware of the lucky position I’m in, with a family home to return to and my own savings to rely on, the option to do nothing for a few weeks was a privilege. However, many of us will face these moments of transition in life, stillness along our pathway, forced pauses among the chaos, unemployment, trips abroad, time off work, sick days, seconds or seasons of time in which we have the choice to do nothing.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines procrastination as “The action or habit of postponing or putting something off.” Other than organising my travel plans and meeting up with old friends I had little to do and yet I felt as though I was putting something off. What was I postponing? Why did I feel guilty for not being productive? Why did I feel lazy for not working towards something during a time I wanted to dedicate to de-stressing? Is doing nothing ever beneficial?

“Seconds or seasons of time in which we have the choice to do nothing.”

Is doing nothing ever beneficial?

Aware that this may be the only month in my life in which I wasn’t busy worrying about work or working, I wanted to embrace it, but the term “lazy” continued to overwhelm my thoughts. Writing for Forbes, Sarah Jeanne Brown mused on this concept back in 2021 stating, “Breaks lead to breakthroughs.” So much unconscious shame seems to be embedded into my peers and myself surrounding the idea of doing nothing, as Sarah so simply put, “We act like we have to earn rest. You deserve rest. You need rest to function.”

Procrastination

Doing nothing as a form of rest and as an antidote to burnout should be practiced without guilt, shame and with the intention of allowing boredom to arise. Procrastination, on the other hand, doesn’t allow you to rest, not truly. More often than not your mind is preoccupied with whatever task you have been putting off. Procrastination is not intentional rest it is the avoidance of tasks.

“So much unconscious shame seems to be embedded into my peers and myself surrounding the idea of doing nothing.”

In Thomas Ling’s article for BBC Science Focus he spoke with Durham’s Professor Fuschia Sirois about the psychology behind procrastination. Although procrastination often serves as a tool to mitigate stress, Sirois stated that “People who chronically procrastinate – people who make it a habit – have higher levels of stress and a greater number of acute health problems.”

Despite the tired stereotype that procrastinators are lazy, many are actually perfectionists, putting tasks off out of a fear of failure or low self esteem. A 2019 New York Times article puts forward a similar perspective, concluding that the habit of avoiding tasks, despite their importance, stems from the need to self regulate emotions. Whether that is a lack of desire to do a task because you find it boring or because it stirs up negative emotions about your inability to do said task, the decision to avoid it is about controlling negative emotions.

Toxic productivity

Right, back to the good kind of doing nothing I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Inundated with self-help podcasts and TikTok accounts dedicated to teaching us about monetising every spare moment we have, it’s no wonder why we feel a pang of shame when we just want to take some time off and be “unproductive”. Jess Cording’s 2023 article for Forbes described toxic productivity as “the uncontrollable need to feel productive at all times, at all costs, and it can become harmful to your mental and physical health.”

Oftentimes our achievements or productivity become tightly interwoven with our identity and this is a dangerous cycle. Looking after ourselves and taking dedicated time to rest is a form of self love and not a sign of failure. Letting any one thing define you is never a good idea and entirely inaccurate to the truth of who you are. Your career, the number of tasks you tick of your to do list and how late you stayed at work does not nor should it define you. As Browne states, “It’s time to do less so you can accomplish more.”

Take a break

In concluding this piece a part of me feels as though I have written it purely to excuse a week of rest, the inner critic calling me “lazy” has not been entirely drowned out and isn’t this exactly the problem. I’m not suggesting you tuck yourself away from the world into a duvet for two weeks and live off takeaways and TikToks but next time you catch yourself in a moment of apparent idleness, don’t be so quick to judge, boredom can birth creativity after all.