Struggling with doing nothing

Doing nothing should be easy. Right? You just stop for a while and let everything else disappear. Nothing is left but a feeling of serenity embracing you. But, is it really so easy? Are you struggling with it too?

Multitasking is a no

I admit, I am terrible with doing nothing. The never ending list of things I must do, should do or would like to do is constantly spinning in my head. I never feel I have done enough because there is always more I could do. Like when I am reading a goodnight story to my kids and I do it so automatically, I do not even know what I read, because I was thinking about something else that needs to be done that evening or next day at work ...

I do not like myself much for doing things like this, because I am not really present at that moment and I am not enjoying what really matters. My kids are growing up so fast. How many goodnight stories are left to be read to them before they will be too big for them and they will not wont to cuddle before saying goodnight?

Doing nothing is not a bad thing

Do you ever feel doing nothing is a bad thing? When I go for a walk through woods to have a time for myself I never let myself to stop and enjoy the moment. I am on a mission to walk. If I would stop for a second, I would be »afraid« somebody might see me doing nothing, so I continue fast. Isn't that stupid?

Schedule time to do nothing

I am actually on a few days’ vacation right now. This should be a time to pause, time to do nothing. The reality is, I have made myself a list of things I must do or should do, things I did not have enough time before this vacation and need to be done. Somewhere among the tasks that need to be done I completely forgot what the essence of vacation is. I need to stop, I need to plan the time for doing nothing the same way I plan everything else. And you know what? I need to set higher priority to that. If I am sincere, there are tasks on my list way less important or urgent, so they can wait and the world will not fall apart because of that.

Be prepared to take advantage of not planned opportunities to do nothing

I have done my domestic chores planned for the evening, there is still some time left before starting going to bed routine and kids are playing by themselves in the room. What now? I promise myself I will no longer quickly clean something I haven't planned; I will not aimlessly walk around the house or start pushing the kids to bed a little earlier. Next time this happens, I will go quickly to my room, shut the door, close my eyes for a minute or two, breathe away the stress and just practice the art of doing nothing.

If you share my struggle, I ask you now, to shut down the computer, the phone and your eyes and give yourself a gift of doing nothing right now.