I know the title of this blog post sounds quite weird but… I was working on my side-hustles and making my dreams come true whenever I had a chance but at the same my to-do list becoming longer. Therefore my true do nothing time was turned into do everything and it led me nowhere. I noticed myself being tired almost all the time and not appreciating what I have now. So I thought, what if I could do nothing productively?
Multitasking All The Time
When we have a lot on our plate, multitasking in many cases is the only choice we have. But then more and more often the time we’re supposed to have only for our own pleasure turns into doing one thing while thinking about other and doing a little bit of another.
It doesn’t matter how much I want to just have a cup of tea and watch a movie or read a journal, after ten minutes my minds aren’t at this moment anymore and I’m making plans what should I do next and eventually bring my notebook or laptop and start working. The only do nothing time I manage to have for the past few months is when having a shower or applying a facial mask… These periods of time are so short that it’s impossible to
These periods of time are so short that it’s impossible to keep the balance of work and rest. I found myself looking for weekends more than ever and every Sunday hoping to have a proper do nothing time the next weekend. As I understood it’s never gonna happen and that I need to have do nothing time in the evenings in the middle of the week as well (yup, it’s like that when you’re working full-time and have more than one side hustle), I decided it’s time for a change. It’s time for a productive do nothing time.
Do Nothing!
For me, doing nothing is doing nothing related to my side-hustles or work, doing something pleasant and consciously enjoying it. This is how my mind can have a rest and I can find the inner balance.
The first thing I decided to practice in order to do nothing was one thing at a time. My biggest problem was that I was multitasking all the time and couldn’t sit still for more than one hour. So I made myself during those one hour or a bit shorter periods to do only one thing that would be pleasant. If I read, I only read and have my phone (the main distraction) away. If I take care of myself, I don’t try to do something else at the same time, for example, while waiting those 15 minutes for a face mask to wash off. I just take that time and enjoy it. Oh, and I also started walking to work. It takes almost one hour to go there and back home but I find it incredibly therapeutic and good for my inner balance.
Also, since I started practicing one thing at a time, I also began to appreciate those moments consciously. When I tried to do nothing before, not only I multitasked but also my minds weren’t at that particular moment. And even when I’m doing just one thing, I always need to remind myself to be here consciously as well. This was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me because it made me have quality do nothing time and live those moments to the fullest.
Well, and the last thing I practice is having my do nothing time planned. Waiting only for the weekends to have a rest was a bit devastating I’d say. While working all day long and then working at home drained out my energy and obviously I was tired all the time. Therefore, now I have a plan on what days I need to have do nothing time and when I should concentrate on work. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I try to spend around half an hour doing nothing and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it’s around one hour. On weekends I still have to work on my side hustles but on Saturdays, I try to have around four-six hours of free time and on Sundays it’s half a day.
Since I started practicing this do nothing productively routine, I have much more energy and motivation to follow my dreams. I felt like I was working all the time when I was multitasking and not appreciating what I have. Now it’s completely different. My passion for what I do came back and I look not only for those do nothing times but also for the time to work. The decision to do nothing productively improved the quality of my life incredibly and I couldn’t be more happy about it!