Doing Nothing is So HARD!

I recently read an article about ‘lying fallow’ that argued that people, like crops in the field, need to have downtime for growth and health. The author wasn’t referring to taking vacations or your weekends—she argued that even work requires some time to be ‘dormant’, time to just think, to be unproductive because you are absorbing and observing.

And yet, this need for ‘downtime’ is not universally acknowledged. The ‘always on, always responding’ culture created by technology, the global economy and social media can be oppressive but also seductive.

Practicing real downtime and protecting it from constant interruption can be like an act of resistance. Friends and family may push back if you don’t respond immediately, employers may not, initially, understand the benefit of what appear to be unproductive activities, you own internal ‘time well spent meter’ will sound the alarm. But there is a benefit to be discovered, if you allow yourself this time to be an observer, a thinker instead of a constant ‘doer’. Rest, reading, relaxation, repose… whatever you choose to do while not DOING can help you be more creative and effective the rest of the time—whether you are solving problems, writing poetry,  raising children, managing a workplace team, or just living your life with mindfulness.

This is a challenge that I share—as I also have to fight my own nature in planning time to do nothing. I am suggesting, though, that you think about this concept, without your phone in hand! Then take 15 full minutes, this week, (it is a start!) to people-watch in a busy place, to read something that inspires you, or to walk quietly in nature without a device or a companion. Give yourself some ‘lying fallow’ time. It will probably be hard and feel ‘unproductive’. But it will be worth it.