On The Art Of Doing Nothing
There really is something to it.
Hi nice people, it’s nice to see ya.
When I was in first grade, there was a class assignment to fill out a list of our favorite things. Favorite food. Favorite sound. You get it.
And one of my favorite things was a blank sheet of paper. Why? Maybe it was because as a young child I enjoyed drawing. The blank page was the paragon of possibility. A blank page can become anything. Creating something from nothing.
And for the better part of my life, that’s been a happy place for me. Every day is a blank page- which is why doing nothing seems like such a waste of time. I’m an archetypal daydreamer who never actually daydreams. There’s metaphorical drawing to do!
The thinking mind is what is busy. You have to stay in your heart. You have to be in your heart. Be in your heart. The rest is up here in your head where you are doing, doing, doing.
- Rom Doss
The trap is we’re constantly doing, but still wasting time.
Yes, this is a nod to iPhones and social media, but I’m not here to lecture- you’ve already been cornered by a friend who’s (mis)quoted TEDTalks at you. We know that our attention, the one currency we truly have no matter the number in our bank account, is being apprehended by our smartphones. We should also eat more vegetables and exercise regularly, too.
Awareness is not the problem, resilience is.
Which is why I love when my wife and I declare a day to be a “do nothing day”. But of course I can’t just do nothing. These are usually my writing days. But writing, to me, is like being on vacation. Being in a writing “flow”- which I consider artistically sacred- is the closest I’ll get to stepping outside of time and space. I am, in a sense, doing something- but I, myself, am nothing.
My inability to simply do nothing makes the beach my natural enemy. To be clear, I love the beach, but what exactly am I supposed to do there? The answer, of course, is nothing.
This past week, I gave it a go. What I discovered is Adult Nothing does not mean being bored. Similar to “do nothing days” in the apartment, the beach offers the same opportunity, just with constraints (do people take their laptops to the beach? If so, I never want to become that person).
I packed out a couple issues of The New Yorker— a publication that has become more coffee-table centerpiece than reading material— at least since the abundant Adult Nothing of the pandemic. Back then, I’d read every article of interest, attempt the crossword, and even underline unfamiliar words and make flash cards like I was studying for the GRE (this, if you can believe, was “fun”). I reverted to that— and it was wonderful.
I moved on to a podcast between two comedians that inspired me in my early days of comedy and caught a little bit of wisdom, which inspired me to jot down some ideas in my 5x7” notebook (aka 'beach-sized'). I went for a run. Which was, in its way, relaxing.
The blank page asks me to create something from nothing. The beach had me creating nothing from something. Even better, I felt like myself. Out there, floating, becoming nothing even as I was doing something.
🙋♂️ FAQs About Doing Nothing
You have questions, we have… nothing.
Q: Can I do nothing while multitasking?
A: Yes, this is called “having a middle management position at a fully remote company”. I’ve put together this simple LinkedIn job filter for you.
Q: What if I accidentally start thinking about my to-do list?
A: Create mental distance and buy yourself some time by rethinking your to-do list as to-to-do list.
Q: Can I monetize doing nothing?
A: Yes, I'm pretty sure this is what crypto is.
Q: How can I explain my new “do nothing lifestyle” to my overachieving friends and family?
A: Acknowledge that, at first, this lifestyle may seem strange- but there are real health benefits to doing nothing. If that doesn’t work, turn the tables by shaming family members who are into healing crystals or still listen to 2010s era stomp-and-holler folk-rock bands (Mumford & Sons, Lumineers, et al).
Q: Can I outsource my nothing?
A: Yes, you can Venmo me (@huntergardner) and I will do nothing for you for $20/hour (rates increase tomorrow, so act now!)
📝 Nice News
An octopus snatched a diver’s camera- and started filming itself // Ugh, everyone is an influencer now! Sea for yourself
Apparently you can treat symptoms of Sleep Apnea by… blowing in a conch shell // Just don’t go all Lord Of the Flies on us, ok? No snores thanks to the sea shore
28 national parks in the US now offer on-site adaptive mobility devices // That’s a fancy way of saying “all-terrain wheelchairs”. Take a hike
😃 Nice Person Of The Week: CJ Hoke
In her own words, CJ Hoke is an LA-based writer creating women-driven comedy with heart. Her latest credits include work on Apple TV+’s Shrinking and ABC Daytime’s General Hospital. She won the 2022 JHRTS Script Competition (Half-Hour Pilot) for her script, Hookers, and her work was featured on The Bitch List. She’s rep’ed by Tara Dombrowski at Sandstone Artists.
On a personal note, CJ is one of my new favorite kinds of people: an Internet pal turned real-life friend. She’s a “writer’s writer” in my mind and when we met up in LA a couple years ago I think we talked about… everything except comedy writing? Simply put, she’s delightful. Ok, here’s CJ:
What’s something nice that someone’s done for you lately?
When I finished a draft of a new feature, my husband threw a surprise party for me at a restaurant we both love! I thought it was just going to be the two of us, only to find all of our friends were waiting when we arrived to celebrate. It was such a sweet show of support and encouragement- I know it’ll stay with me a long time.
You're currently on hiatus from Shrinking. How have you been spending your time?
I’m writing this from my grandmother’s lanai on Maui! As soon as I knew when we were wrapping, I booked a flight out to see her. She’s 96, and we’re soaking in a full two weeks of snorkeling, crossword puzzles, and Jeopardy together. I’ve had a few adventures on my own, too: I went to Cat Yoga at an animal rescue (yes, it was as cute as it sounds) and to a French conversation group upcountry.
Creatively, I’ve been working on a feature that’s going to be announced soon- I received notes on the first pass and am chipping my way through the second draft. I’m also producing a couple of short films and shepherding two shorts and a feature through the festival circuit.
Other hobbies of note: reading a lot of “Available Now” books off Libby, pilates, podcasts (Dimenson20 and Dungeons & Daddies, mostly), embroidery (to have something to do during the podcasts), catastrophizing, and naps.
For millennia humankind has struggled with being alone with our own thoughts. Why do you think that is?
Prefacing this with the fact I’m not a neuroscientist or an anthropologist: I’m guessing that being alone with your thoughts can be hard because in the absence of additional external input, you wind up ruminating over what’s already in your mind, which tends to be things you wish you’d done differently or better, or attempts to prepare for future scenarios. Humans are an incredibly creative species with brilliant imaginations, and our reptile brains take advantage of that: “Oh, you have a minute where you’re not trying to eat or avoid being eaten? Cool, cool, let’s find all the ways to make sure you can eat and not be eaten in the future, too.”
I also posit that we struggle because humans are meant to be social creatures; we raise our young way longer than other mammals, we live together in complex groups. Maybe this issue of being alone with our thoughts is at its heart a survival drive- if you feel so uncomfortable alone after a certain point, you’ll always come back to the pack.
What was the last creative idea you had that just seemed to occur to you (perhaps out of nowhere). Do you remember what you were doing when the idea struck you? Did you follow through with it?
I’ll often have ideas for lines or moments that I scribble down in my latest notebook or notes app. They don’t necessarily develop into anything at the moment, but I think of them as seeds- you’ve got to plant them to see if they’ll grow. Things tend to show up either when I’m extremely busy and taking in a lot of new information or when I force myself to slow down and really look at the world around me. The latest few I had while standing on the beach with my feet in the surf, watching the sunset, and I haven’t followed through with any of them yet. I believe there are absorptive and generative periods of being an artist, and I’m focusing on being a sponge right now.
Any tips for adults who want to do more— nothing?
If you’re just starting out on your path towards nothingness, I’d recommend finding a structured nothing like a yoga or pilates class. “But CJ!” you say, “That’s something!” Sure, okay, it’s something, but it’s something where you can’t look at your phone, can’t check your email, can’t send a text- you have to be fully absorbed where you are. Consider it something to ease you into the more difficult nothings, into realizing the world won’t fall apart if you’re not constantly plugged-in and pushing forward.
From there, you can try branching out to other quiet dollops of nothingness: taking your morning coffee with a crossword puzzle, or walking around the block while listening to music, or finally watching a movie you’ve meant to see. Nothing wasn’t built in a day, so be kind to yourself and don’t worry if you can’t go from 60 to 0 immediately. It’s okay to take your time.
Get to know more about CJ over on her website- and see her funny for yourself by watching Shrinking on Apple TV+!
Something Nice On Your Way Out ✌️
Watch // I’ve revitalized my love of baseball this past summer and really enjoyed this YouTube video on the physics of baseball pitches. (Yes it’s 10 years old, but physics is even older, I’m told).
Listen // The subject matter is not-to-so nice but a friend recently recommended (which is nice) a book about a massive fraternity-led drug ring called Among The Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story. I’m specifically recommending the audio book because it’s hilarious to hear a journalist talk academically about “fratting”.
Read // The Pudding has done the math on the best possible way to dice an onion.
That’s all for this week! In the spirit of doing more nothing I’m taking off the rest of the month from The Nice Times- but premium subscribers will get something nice in their inbox later this month.
Be sure to click the ♥️ if you had a nice time!