Doing nothing is often underrated in today’s busy society. But learning to just be and not ‘do’ for part of your day or week, is one of the best self-care gifts you can give to yourself.
The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy is a beautifully written book by Jennifer McCartney. Be happy, live better, sleep soundly, eat mindfully. It’s all too exhausting for the sloth, who is mindfulness in action: contemplative, deliberate, relaxed and focused. Sloths don’t log steps on fitness trackers and find sleep more restorative than a 6am run! It really is OK to be a sloth!
In today’s society, to do nothing is almost impossible. Doing nothing is not laziness, it’s simply learning to sometimes put down your tools and just be – we are human beings, not human doings! In his book Healthy at 100, John Robbins examines the four longest-lived cultures on earth. All of them at dusk simply stop picking berries or whatever for the day when the light fails. They never go ‘I must first get to the end of this hedge, before I eat my dinner’. For this reason, most of the cultures live long healthy lives, only getting very ill near the end of their lives.
We used to do less. Social media has a lot to thank for that. And TV. Remember the girl who would play noughts and crosses on the screen, at the end of the evening? Today, the TV is on 24 hours a day (mostly bilge) and people are endlessly surfing the net or scrolling for news and messages on their phones. You don’t have to join in. It is leading to stress and comparisons and exhaustion. Decorate your home, don’t spend hours scrolling Pinterest for homes that look better than yours.
Our brains work hard and need a rest! Boredom is a good thing sometimes, as it allows the light in, so that you have those little ‘aha’ moments, on how you want to live your life. If you work from home, take regular breaks and do nothing, then come back renewed. If you sit on the couch, you don’t have to switch on the TV. Just stare into space for a little while, thinking of nothing. It gets better with practice! Stare into the fireplace, like a cat!
Don’t always be accessible. Obviously you may be needed for emergencies. But if you know it’s not important, say you’ll call back. Don’t let people call you umpteen times a day, just to talk. Say you need a little headspace, so you can then be more interesting and agreeable, when you do have a chat. Give up watching repeats on TV. If you’ve seen the episode (however good) 10 times, you don’t need to see it again.
A study at University of Virginia found that more people would rather have an electric shock, than be alone with their thoughts! This is why it’s important to get used to being in your own company. If there are things that come up you can’t deal with, take up meditation, find a church or get some therapy. Spending time alone to recharge is one of the best things you can do for your mind, body and spirit – and that means you are better to cope with the outside world too. This will lead to happier relationships, and happier work. And you won’t absorb so much ‘second-hand stress’ from others.
Doing nothing is NOT selfish. It means you are better for yourself and others. If you’ve ever travelled on a plane, you’ll get told in the event of an emergency, you have to put on your own oxygen mask, before your baby’s. This sounds selfish – but if you go unconscious, you won’t be any good to your child. Likewise, people who are severely disabled are left behind on evacuation. Not to be selfish – but because someone able-bodied has to run to get help, to tell the emergency services exactly where the disabled passenger is. Sometimes to help others, you have to look after yourself first. Self-care ends up being care for others. If you get so stressed you end up giving yourself an ulcer or heart attack, how does that help your family who are left behind?
Tips to Help You Do Nothing!
Heather Stillufsen for Etsy
- If you have indoor space, then sit with a cup of tea and stare at the wall. If you have a garden or are in the park or at the beach, spend a few minutes doing nothing. Don’t buy a newspaper that day, just look at the horizon. If you are going to ‘do something’ look at the horizon with your dog!
- Don’t feel guilty for doing nothing, unless you are on an emergency deadline. Sometimes things can wait! Get used to not confusing ‘doing nothing’ with laziness.
- Don’t succumb to social pressure to do something. You don’t need apps or teachers to help you do nothing for a few minutes. In fact, you may like it so much, you may learn to spend more than 6 minutes a day doing nothing!
- If you really can’t bear it, think about what you do like and incorporate that. Watching your dog play in the park or listening to your favourite music. These are ‘doing something’ yet sort of doing nothing too!
Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing. Of just listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering. Winnie the Pooh
Thinking is generally thought of as doing nothing, in a production-oriented society. And doing nothing is hard to do. It’s best done by disguising it as doing something. And the something closest to doing nothing, is walking. Rebecca Solnit
A Book to Help You – Do Nothing!
The Lost Art of Doing Nothing is a book about how the Dutch practice the art of niksen – the absence of a goal that does not serve any purpose at all! Don’t you think it’s time for a break? Plagued in a world of nonstop pings and notifications, we have lost the knack of zoning out, kicking back and slacking off. Even when pandemic-induced lockdowns forced people to clear their calendars, many filled their days with Netflix and doomscrolling. The Dutch have it figured out. Niksen is their best-kept lifestyle secret – the art of doing, well, nothing. It’s the opposite of productivity, and it’s incredibly good for your mind, body, creativity and wallet. If you’re waiting for an invitation to go lie down, this book is it.
The Campaign to Keep Sundays Special
Heather Stillufsen for Etsy
The Keep Sunday Special campaign began for religious reasons, but many people are now seeing the benefits of having a rest day each week, simply because it’s a good idea. Obviously we still need emergency staff and priests and taxi drivers and carers etc to work weekends. But we have now created a 24-7 society that is making people exhausted and stressed. Even just a few decades ago, nearly all the shops were shut on Sundays, and you could enjoy a day to yourself, without worrying about Muzak, 24-hour supermarkets, parking hazards and the like. You don’t even have to make it a Sunday (it can be Saturday if you’re Jewish!) But try to make one day of rest per week a part of your life.
It’s not just religion or rest. People who take jobs often now are almost forced to work Sundays, even if they don’t want to for any reason (could be looking after relatives or pets). 91% of people who work in large shops would prefer not to work on Sundays. And most small shops don’t open on Sundays, so by keeping big stores open, this is helping to kill off income from the small indie traders who need a day off, in order to have a life.
Most big supermarkets are now out-of-town. By allowing Sunday trading, this means more traffic on the roads, even on a day of rest that could be used to create quieter communities. In the Colombian city of Bogota, Sundays are designated car-free. An idea created by a former environmental Mayor, 75 miles of the roads are turned over to walking and cycling, which could not be done if all the shops were open every Sunday, as people would need cars to get to them.
In her book The Weekend Effect, Katrina Onstad writes of her life in France, working as an au pair. Like many countries across mainland Europe, most things simply shut down on Sundays. There are no shops open and even people who are not religious treat the day as a sacred rest away from normal life. Try having a Sunday off from the internet and social media (no checking your emails unless urgent), or work.
The Californian town of Loma Linda is known for having the highest number of healthy people over 100 in the world (even the local cardiac surgeon worked in his 90s, saying the only issue was the patients’ faces as they saw how old their surgeon was, just before they went under the knife!) The town is full of Seventh Day Adventists who live a healthy vegetarian life. But one thing they also do – is keep Sundays sacred. Apart from emergency jobs, nobody works or does much on Sunday apart from rest, pray and eat.
Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week. Joseph Addison
Today is Sunday, so please conduct yourself accordingly. Sleep in, sip tea, lay around in your pyjamas, listen to good music, and indulge yourself in an afternoon map. Anon
Do not let Sunday be taken from you. If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan. Albert Schweitzer
Books to Help You Slow Down
Feeling life is too busy, frenzied and frantic? A core value of the zero waste lifestyle is to live simply. This does not mean giving up aspects of life that you enjoy. Rather walking away from rushed consumerism, and learning to live a simple, slow and more contented life. Here are some lovely books to help you do just that.
Slow Living in a Busy World is a book of stories and lessons, to encourage readers to find lifestyles that are not tied to chasing after things outside of themselves. The author and her husband left the busy life of New York City a few years back, to live a simple, slow life in France. Reminding you that your worth is not your work, follow Helena as she learns to live a quiet life that is slow, playful and more fun.
Time doesn’t actually move quickly. We just think it does. What we do with our days, is how we spend our short but beautiful existence. When we begin our day from a peaceful place, we’ll remember that feeling throughout the rest of the day. We’ll have a measurement, to remind us of the energy and values we want to embody for the remaining hours. Your mindful morning practice is not the time to scroll on social media, or respond to emails. It’s a time to get quiet, and listen to the inner whispers of your heart, that can only be heard when you are get really still and silent. Helena
Helena Woods is a storyteller and photographer, who has been writing stories since she was 7 years old. She currently writes a monthly column for Radiant Life magazine.
Slow Noticing is a playful and engaging book, to remind you to put down your phone, pick up a pen and tune into the only moment that matters – the one that is happening right now.
In the rush of everyday life, it can be difficult to slow down, and be present in the moment. The mindful journal prompts in this book can help you to observe, draw and reflect on the world around you. A creative companion that brings together the therapy of mindfulness with art, and fun! Mia Nolting is an illustrator and writer in Portland, Oregon (US).
Slow Travel Journal is by popular London artist Emma Block. Take this guided journal with you on your journals, to write and sketch mindfully on adventures. Contains 75 beautiful watercolour illustrations and thoughtful prompts to guide you. The compact travel-friendly design has a durable case and rounded corners.
Slow Down and Be Here Now is a beautiful book to make you stop, look and be amazed by the tiniest things in life. With charming text and real science, see nature up close. And let it stop you in your tracks, to find true joy in the present moment. Zoom in to:
- Follow dandelion seeds, as they float away
- Watch a pea shoot appear
- See a little snail come out to drink
- Watch a cresting wave
- See a hatching chick
- Look at a bee pollinating a flower
- Watch a hummingbird drink nectar
A wonderful book for inspiring a love of the natural world. The Bookseller
Laura Brand is a writer and mum, who loves sharing creative ideas through workshops for children and adults. Illustrator Freya Hartis lives in Bristol, working from a shared studio. She graduated from Falmouth University with a first-class honours in BA illustration.
The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy is a beautifully written book by Jennifer McCartney. Be happy, live better, sleep soundly, eat mindfully. It’s all too exhausting for the sloth, who is mindfulness in action: contemplative, deliberate, relaxed and focused. Sloths don’t log steps on fitness trackers and find sleep more restorative than a 6am run! It really is OK to be a sloth!
Living Slower is a lovely little book on eliminating excess, with simple ideas to make time for what matters. IN a complex and chaotic world, we hearn to live a little slower, a little simpler. Merissa has slowed down her life to eat better, develop stronger relationships, and save money by spending less. She also spends real time with her children, instead of more screen time. Avoid essential oils and scented candles near children and pets. For houseplants and gardening, see make your garden safe for pets.
Her family now plant gardens and can produce home-cooked meals from scratch. She does what is needed, rather than what is expected. Now she shares what she is learned. This book is ideal for anyone who is tired of feeling anxious, frenzied or disconnected from the natural rhythms of life. Seek God first and take small steps, towards a life more in line with your values:
- Create space in your home and mind
- Make simple healthy meals
- Take a weekly Sabbath
- Limit the influence of media
- Nurture important relationships
Author Merissa A Alink is founder of the site Little House Living, that teaches people how to live a simpler lifestyle. She and her husband live in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where she homeschools their three children. After giving up 75% of their belongings, they now are in the process of founding a ministry.
Be More Snail is your guide to living in the slow lane. Resist the rat race and embrace the steady wisdom of our plant-loving neighbour. Snails are the ultimate symbol of a gentle and fulfilled life. Mindful in their movements and persistent in their pace, there is much to learn from these peaceful creatures that inhabit our green spaces. See safe humane ways to deter snails and slugs! With simple tips and practical advice on how to be more snail, this is the perfect antidote to the pressures of our busy world. Remember:
- Your body is your home
- Eat more plants
- Don’t be salty
- Love your small-space sanctuary
- Explore green spaces
- Appreciate the little things
Meet The World’s Laziest Animals!
- Cats. Big (lion) and small (tabby), all cats like nothing better most of the time, to just sleep, purr and do nothing.
- Sloths are not strictly lazy, they simply have poor digestion, so have to sleep off their food, to garner up enough energy to move! They spend most of their times in trees, and even don’t fall out of them after they’ve died.
- Koalas are also pretty lazy, again due to poor digestion, which is why they munch so many eucalyptus leaves. Like babies, they sleep around 18 to 22 hours a day. Nice work, if you can get it!
- Pandas again have poor digestion, so live on endless bamboo shoots that take ages to digest, so they have to sleep a lot. The only time they get energetic is to make ‘handstands’ to show their pee is higher up the tree than the previous ones!
- Hippos (water horses) are some of the largest and laziest land animals, spending around 10 hours a day asleep. They are so tired, they can even sleep underwater, just coming up now and again to take a breath!
- Cuckoo birds are so lazy, they don’t build their own nests. So lay eggs in nests of other birds, who have gone to the bother of building them!
- Nurse sharks do absolutely nothing if they don’t have to, and are known as the ‘couch potatoes of the sea’.
- Pythons may be scary to most of us. But after they have eaten, it takes them around a week of sleep to digest each meal.
