Why the Real Job of Any Creative Is to Do Nothing
2 sustainable and prolific strategies I learned when I finally stopped working.
Many people think that being a successful creator is about working hard, putting in the hours, and grinding your way to the top.
And at first, it seems to be the logical conclusion:
- “The more hours I put in, the more content I produce.”
- “The more content I produce, the more views I get.”
- “The more views I get, the more money I earn, and the more traction I gain.”
In reality, it’s the other way around. The most crucial task of a creative is to do nothing. Yes, it’s counter-intuitive. It’s hard to realize. It’s not what we’re used to from ‘traditional’ work models.
But it’s the most valuable thing I learned as a writer and creative.
Here’s why.
I Learned This the Hard Way
My first weeks of being a full-time writer were brutal.
I was trapped in the ‘hustle mentality.’ I woke up, usually with a heartbeat equalling the rhythm of a galloping horse. Then, I immediately tumbled to my desk, where I would spend the next 10+ hours. I rarely took the time to walk outside and breathe some fresh air. If I was lucky, I remembered to gobble down some easy-prep food.
I thought I was productive. But actually, the opposite happened.
It’s only now — in my sixth month of freelance writing — that I truly realized the importance of doing nothing.
Creative work isn’t a marathon. It’s a series of sprints with well-planned breaks in between.
Why More Work Doesn’t Mean More Output
The huge mistake I made was that I worked until exhaustion. I completely drained my proverbial creative battery. And we all know what happens when we don’t recharge batteries. They go flat.
The device dies.
I paid the ultimate price. Insomnia, random headaches, and increasing anxiety crept into my daily routine. My output crashed. I had to take several days off to reset my mind and refuel my tank of inspiration. Yet, I was stupid enough not to learn from my mistakes. I dove right back into working all day, taking few — if any — breaks or days off.
The cycle repeated — until I looked into the strategies of some of the most prolific creatives.
How Two of the Most Prolific Creatives Did It
I found a shared working habit among the greatest creatives of all time.
Doing nothing.
What do I mean by that? I refer to the absence of all creative work. It doesn’t necessarily mean you literally do nothing (although that can also yield great results). See it more like completing a task that doesn’t directly affect your work — washing the dishes, taking a walk, napping, meditating, etc.
These things are crucial for creative work.
Take Ernest Hemingway, for example. He beat writer’s block by doing nothing. Larry W. Philipps reveals his secret in Hemingway on Writing:
“The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day when you are writing a novel you will never be stuck. That is the most valuable thing I can tell you so try to remember it.”
It sounded ridiculous when I first read it. I’ve always thought I had to milk inspiration to its very last drop. But Hemingway had a rationale:
“That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start.”
Hemingway is not the only creative who leveraged this working habit. Eugene Schwartz, arguably the greatest copywriter of all time, did something similar — but more systematic.
His strategy to become the best in his field?
He set his kitchen timer to exactly 33.33 minutes. During this period, he could stare at the wall. He could drink the coffee beside him. He could do absolutely nothing. Or he could write.
But he could not leave his chair.
When the timer went off, he had to get up — even if he was mid-sentence. For the next 10 minutes, he’d walk around and do something else. By the end of the break, he was itching to get back to writing. He repeated this cycle five times to work a total of three hours and twenty minutes — five days a week.
Hemingway and Schwartz had something in common. Yes, they worked hard. Yes, they were disciplined. But most importantly, they dared to do nothing. They exploited their subconscious to fuel their creative engine.
That’s the real game-changer.
Let’s find out why that’s so powerful.
The Science of ‘Doing Nothing’
Our brains are never at rest.
Unlike your leg muscles that need up to three to four times the energy when walking compared to sitting, your brain is a fairly stable powerhouse. Yes, the brain does need a bit more energy for specific tasks like communicating, writing, problem-solving. But brain scans have found the energy increase to be 8% at most. That’s nothing compared to our muscles.
In other words, your brain is always solving problems. It doesn’t matter whether you’re actively working, staring into space, or sleeping.
Now for the catch.
Your subconscious is much better at problem-solving than your conscious. To prove this, one study presented participants with information about purchasing an imaginary car and asked them to make the best decision possible. Some subjects were distracted while others worked consciously on the problem. Surprisingly, the ‘distracted’ group made significantly better decisions.
Lesson: Our subconscious is pulling the strings. Let’s stop pretending it’s the other way around.
2 Prolific Strategies for Sustainable Creative Output
Let’s put it all together. I stuffed the lessons from my excruciating experience, the working habits of two infamous writers, and the science of doing nothing into my mixer of restrategizing.
Then I poured myself a smoothie with two prolific strategies — one for the long term and one for the short term.
Steal away according to your needs.
Short term — active breaks
For our day-to-day activities, we can learn from the greatest creatives of all time. Take active breaks. Force yourself to pause to let your subconscious do the work for you.
There are two ways to achieve this.
One familiar method is the Pomodoro technique. This recommends you work for 25 minutes and then rest for five minutes. Then you repeat the cycle until you get your work done. When we combine this with Schwartz’s 33.33-minute approach, we learn two lessons:
- Experiment and find your own time ratio of work and breaks. Don’t set them too short — you want to get your creative juices flowing. And don’t set them too long — you don’t want to drain your battery.
- Restrict your number of cycles. When you reach your goal of the day, close your laptop and relax. You deserved it even if you didn’t produce anything fruitful. Don’t fight it.
Of course, you don’t have to set a timer. Like Hemingway, you could stop when you’re on a roll. Or go to the bathroom at the very first notice of coffee in your bladder. Or get yourself some food the first time your stomach growls.
But whatever you do, limit your work. Stop trying to solve problems to give your (much smarter) subconscious a crack at them.
Take. Breaks.
Long term — work in seasons
At some point in your daily sessions, you will get to a point where everything feels like a hassle. You’re tired. You feel uninspired. Sluggish.
It’s a sign your brain needs a holiday.
That’s completely normal. But ideally, we take our brain to the metaphorical hammock before it shuts down. And that means planning in breaks when you still feel perfectly healthy, creative, and prolific. Again, there’s no golden formula. But there are a few concepts that can help.
My favorite model is to work in seasons. The notion here is that you divide your calendar into two kinds of alternating blocks:
- Blocks in which you set specific goals and immerse yourself in work (without forgetting active breaks).
- Blocks in which you take mini-retirements — going on vacation, pursuing a hobby, reevaluating your life, etc.
For example, in July, my goal was to write 30 articles in 30 days. Then, in August, I followed up this season with a two-week vacation with friends. When I came back from my vacation, I went on another seven-day writing sprint. Then, I took another week to relax, see my family, and declutter my possessions.
The great thing about these seasons is that you always have something to look forward to. It allows you to set artificial deadlines and reach your goals. This also makes it easier to push through procrastination and distractions.
Work in seasons. Switch between immersive work and radical breaks. Reach your goals.
Using these two strategies, I went from a burnout-endangered workaholic to a mindful and prolific freelancer. And the mindset shift that allowed me to do this was never “push through the discomfort,” “work your ass off,” or “grind to success.”
It was doing nothing.
It was working smarter, not harder.
Because consistency beats intensity.
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