Finding Joy in the Art of Doing Nothing

Since a global pandemic started a few months ago, I found myself with an unending amount of free time. For the first time in my life, I had absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to be.

After a few weeks of being stuck at home, I got jaded of scrolling through my phone, watching other people’s workouts and reading articles on how to stay productive during a global crisis. I ran out of closets to clean and hobbies to try out, and the simple thought of learning yet another language became nauseating.

I was — of course — extremely fortunate not to have to go to work and to have a roof over my head where I could have my existential crisis. And we cannot disregard that people all around the world are grieving the loss of their loved ones and their jobs because of this. However, in this time away I explored my thoughts and came up with conclusions while battling my first-world problems.

Five months is a very long time, which gave thousands of creators the time to write articles on how to stay productive and never run out of things to do. But this was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many concerned people and their existential crisis’ — including me.

Learning a new language, baking banana bread or reading a dusty book that you bought five years ago. All of this seemed like enticing and artistic ways of escaping the ordinary and monotonous routine of quarantine. But not one of those things eased my depressing and anxious thoughts — and it certainly didn’t help my identity crisis.

So after a few weeks, I decided to do nothing for the whole entire day. Absolutely nothing. For once, I didn’t feel the pressure to be productive, imaginative or to have my life together. I forgot about my daily to-do list, and I didn’t set an alarm nor a schedule.

Don’t get me wrong, by doing nothing I don’t mean lying on the couch all day and just getting up to get more chips. By doing nothing I mean not do anything out of the ordinary. Not learning a new skill or reorganizing my whole house — not even cooking a homemade meal. Doing nothing can be just peacefully staring at the sky, doodling flowers on a napkin or snoozing the alarm a couple of times without feeling massively guilty about it.

I meditate regularly, and my yoga instructor used to say ‘Come back to centre’. Or what’s the same, ‘Come back to yourself’, to your spirit, body and mind. It’s a term used to describe balance, steadiness and inner peace.

A simple way of grounding ourselves in the act of just being, not doing.

Just think about it; how different would your life be if you made time throughout the day to experience the act of just being? If you made time to do absolutely nothing? Instead of using your free moments to catch up on what Kardashian got surgery or checking your email one last time, what if you just did nothing?

The kind of peace we’re looking for and that we all yearn for, does not exist on a virgin island far away or in an episode of The Big Bang Theory. That kind of comfort exists within each of us and is ours for the taking if we’re willing to take a chance. That’s why finding joy by doing nothing unusual or extraordinary is crucial.

Finding my quiet spot through the loud and fast-paced reality that surrounds us made me a better and more grateful person. And designating a time and a place each day — or week — to do absolutely nothing was one of the greatest things that came out of quarantine.

So to anyone reading this, try doing nothing for one whole day and embrace it. Find joy in that. Because that’s one of the only things that will truly fulfill you in life.