The Importance of Doing Nothing
Coming from someone who often feels guilty when I am not productive.
I’m writing this mainly as a reminder to myself as I struggle to relax without having this nagging feeling that I am wasting time. Yet, despite the nagging feeling, I always feel happier after having a lazy day than I do when I don’t let myself stop. It definitely took me a while to learn how to relax in a way that works best for me, so now I want to share my findings with you.
Have you ever been lying in bed watching TV unable to concentrate because there are so many things on your mind? Me too. Have you ever tried to have a day of rest but felt like you were wasting your life away and should be doing something more extravagant with your weekend? Me too. Funnily enough, even when we face these troubles, we remain in the same position on the couch — paralysed by the pressure of productivity.
And what’s the result of all this stressing? We are not productive. Great, now we’ve not managed to have a peaceful or a productive day. This is when time really does get wasted. So how do we prevent our minds from racing when we don’t want them to?
Organise Your Relaxation.
It sounds really silly to organise something which should not require any organisation, just as organised fun is not fun anymore. But, it’s not as crazy as you think. Let me give you an example of what I mean;
During my weekends at university, I work for a couple of hours every Saturday morning and usually have no plans on Sundays. Because I have to wake up early for work on Saturdays anyway, I make this my productive day. I do all my washing, homework, food shopping, and cleaning on this day so that I may rest on Sunday. This makes my lazy day feel like a reward, and I no longer feel as though there is something I should be doing because I did it all on Saturday.
Getting all my errands and chores out of the way at the start of the weekend means that, the next day, I can not be busy even if I want to since there is nothing left to be done. This — for want of a better word — forces me to relax and allows me time to do things I enjoy. Then I am energised and recharged ready for the coming week.
If this didn’t already sound like overkill to you, I actually plan which day will be my ‘do nothing’ day far in advance. For instance, on Monday I will know whether I have a busy weekend or not, so I plan what I’m going to do on each day. This means I can look forward to a lie in and a chill day which gives me motivation to get through the week.
I know what it’s like to have a non-stop schedule and I find that busy people aren’t good at not being busy because we’re not used to doing nothing. I used to feel unaccomplished and useless if I had not made the most out of every second of every day, but then I discovered that taking time for myself is just as important as doing a million and one things in the space of 24 hours.
You should remember this, too! You are not a failure if you did nothing today, nor will you be a failure if you do nothing tomorrow! Self-care is vital for our energy, and you will find that you can make more out of your week if you leave yourself a day or two to have some lovely leisure time.
The weeks where I don’t give myself a break for the whole 7 days always end up being less productive than the ones where I work really hard for 5 days and then properly rest for the other 2.
Give it a try! Your body and mind will thank you, I promise!