RazzWorks

Is it alright to relax and do nothing?

Have you noticed how the days are filled up with things to do, people to meet, tasks to be completed, and places to go? Why so busy all the time? Time disappears like sand through your fingers. Is it to fill in every moment of your day to have an excuse why there isn’t any time to work on the things in your life that you perhaps should really be working on?

Anytime a spare moment to do nothing shows up, the first thing done is grab the phone or any other electronic device that is close by. Just to check to see if anything got missed on one of your social media platforms, or to check voice mail, text messages, or emails in case some new information might have got missed. When in alot of cases it was only about 30 minutes ago when a fair bit of time was spent scrolling and skimming through all of that information.

The thing you need to understand is that all this busyness is not healthy for your personal wellness. As a matter of fact, it’s not uncommon to feel stress or anxiety. You will recognize this anxiety by the part of you that hints at the message of: I never seem to have time for myself, or I wish I had a moment to think. The message itself might only be at the back of your mind however it’s there nonetheless.

It is OK to relax and do nothing. It is even healthy to give your mind a chance to take a short break. Now don’t go kidding yourself with the idea that using the bathroom or driving to some place, is your quality time for you to have a moment to do nothing. Seriously you know you’re in that sitting position because you are busy doing something. If you don’t take a little bit of time for yourself, soon that little message in the back of your mind could very well turn into a conscious feeling of never having any time for yourself. When the busyness reaches this point, the stress and anxiety can become overwhelming.

To Do nothing, or Not to Do nothing, that’s the Question.
The Thought Struts across your Mind Signifying Nothing.

Have you had that feeling like you never seem to have any quiet time for yourself? If so have you ever considered asking yourself why? Or do you just assume it’s because of the demands of everyone and everything else in your life? Most likely unknowingly you did the same thing as hundreds of millions of people have done around the world. Grump and growl about it to anyone who might listen, figuratively shrug your shoulders because of the frustration, accept the fate of not getting any quiet time, or getting to do something you would like to do, then go back to your busy life.

The most common and basic reason why a person gets the feeling of not having any time for themselves is due to the habit or routine that a person has built for themselves over the years. Whenever a moment presents itself where you could choose to sit and be quiet and do nothing. We sabotage the moment by making ourselves busy by finding some little thing to do or to fill our minds with more information from our phones. It’s a routine we are used to and familiar with. Today people commonly live a lifestyle of information overload; a continuous input of news, gossip, latest trends, social notifications, videos, and messages every spare minute of the day, all at our fingertips.

After finishing that little task or receiving more information you realize you spent more time on it; longer than you intended to. Oh, crap, I’ve got to be somewhere, or I almost forgot there is something important I’m supposed to be doing right now. Then you’re back to go-go-go, busy-busy-busy until the next bit of free time that gets sabotaged again. The bottom line is when you realize how you spend those moments of time when you could choose to do nothing but didn’t. The fact is that we did it to ourselves, unknowingly, because that is how we live in today’s society.

Do Nothing, because Nothing Really Matters.

The worst thing about all this is that the next generation is learning from us that you need to be busy all the time, you have to answer the text right away, and you have to keep up with what’s going on every minute. Work more hours, run around doing little favors for everyone else because you got free time and they have to work or be somewhere else. Read more information, answer my text right away, where are you, what took so long. Then they start feeling they have no time to themselves. Sadly they are right because they have been trained to have the habit or routine to fill in any spare moments by doing some little task, or gathering more information on their handheld devices.

Here’s a question for you. There are times you choose to be busy, work harder, and get as much as possible done, so you can later put your feet up and relax. For example, you go out of your way to get tasks done Friday and Saturday to be able to rest and enjoy yourself Sunday. Sunday rolls around and somehow you end up doing stuff. So the question is. What in the world was the point of being so busy Friday and Saturday if you don’t bother with ‘doing nothing’ on Sunday as you planned? Maybe the scenario is a little different however means the same thing. Work hard at something all morning so you can do nothing in the afternoon. Afternoon shows up and your off doing something else.

Why is quiet time important for your personal health?

It’s important to make use of the brief points of quiet time between things. It’s very important to take advantage to do nothing even if it is only for 2 minutes. It’s important for your well-being. It’s an opportunity to learn and discover your true self. It helps you to see, understand, and realize how you feel about something. And if that something is something that deep down is bothering you it gives your mind a chance to express that so the negative feeling gets let out and dissipates so you can move on. It gives your inner thoughts a chance to let you know what you really crave, want, or need for life to be better and more fulfilling. It gives you the chance to be reminded of the important things you may have forgotten about or didn’t realize.

I have absolutely nothing on my mind because it’s
a time to be still, be quiet, and do nothing.

What do you suppose will happen if you use those moments or deliberately choose to spend some time where you do nothing? When you take the time to just be. Nothing more, nothing less. No thinking about what should be done in the future. No dwelling on things of the past. Just relaxing and appreciating the quiet time with nothing going on. You’re going to find that life somehow becomes a little less stressful, life starts to become better, and you start getting a sense that you do have some control over your time. You become more grounded in who you are and what you stand for. You somehow become a little more patient with others and calmer when things are not going your way. You start to see things a little more clearly, and when you are working on things in life, you become more focused.

Is sitting in full silence normal?

For many taking the time to do nothing is a foreign concept. Taking or making the time to be quiet is difficult because of being so used to always filling every second of the day with getting things done. To many, it almost feels awkward because of being so used to being busy all the time. So much so that even when company stops by they can’t sit down to have a little chat. Instead of spending quality time with their guest they feel compelled to wipe down the counter, get dishes started, sweep the floor, and so on. Perhaps you decide to give it a try. You sit down for a minute, turn off your phone, and attempt to just relax.

But wait, not even 30 seconds have gone by and something pops into your head that you need to do right away. I understand what you’re going through. Years ago I was the same way. So much so that I’d be by myself, attempting to spend some quiet time by myself and I just couldn’t do it. More often than not, I would end up calling a friend and suggesting we go grab a coffee or something. It took several attempts over time for me to learn to relax and enjoy my own company.

So the question of whether it’s normal or not to sit quietly and just relax; well, normal depends on who you ask. After all normal simply means what a person, group of people, or society considers an acceptable way of doing things. Consider this. Two different types of jobs or companies. One focuses on the quantity of goods produced/sold. Normal would be to work hard, and fast, producing as many goods as possible in as little time as possible in order to meet demand. Sounds normal enough, and for many companies, it is a normal way of doing business.

But wait. Don’t forget the other job or company. They focus on quality. Everyone is to do their best, producing the finest, and paying the highest attention to detail. At some point, there could even be an inspection to make sure there are no flaws or mistakes in the final product. The product may even cost more to the client, however, the company wants to make sure their clients are 100% satisfied with the end result. Sounds normal enough, and for many companies, it’s a normal way of doing business.

Much To Do About Nothing, for Nothing is Very Important

So the real more important question would be. Is this something you could see yourself doing as a normal habit or routine of how you spend some of your time, during your normal day-to-day way of life? Because I took the time to work at slowing down and taking some to sit and relax quietly, it is now normal for me. Normally each morning after a few thoughts go through my head about what I will do with my day, I sit, relax, and do nothing before I start to tackle the tasks of the day. I find it gives me more focus. Also, it’s normal for me to, later in the day, do it again; pause and do nothing for a few minutes before tackling the next set of tasks for the day.

Years ago when I first started it, as I indicated earlier, it wasn’t easy, because it was not part of my normal routine. I was busy managing a company, building a portfolio, and doing investments. Basically, I was always mentally busy-busy-busy. Which can become exhausting, creating the feeling of not having any time for yourself.

I most certainly wish I knew back then what I know now. It would have saved me alot of frustration when trying to quiet my mind for even just two minutes. What kept happening was each time I try to relax, my brain would start spinning out of control with thoughts of this, that, and the other thing. Today it has to be even more difficult to simply just stop and do nothing if you’ve never done it before. This is due to having the entire world of information sitting right there next to you. Your mobile phone just tempting you to pick it up and thumb through it. Whispering ‘it will only take a second.’ Luckily for you, there are some things you can do to help steer you in the direction of just sitting and relaxing, which is closer to doing nothing compared to picking up your phone.

If you’re trying to do nothing, attempting to just be, wanting to just sit and enjoy a little quiet time but you just can’t seem to do it, if you feel compelled to do something, try some of these other techniques. By practicing these other ideas in the end you will eventually learn how to also do nothing.

Opportunity: Waiting for a response to a text or on hold during a phone call
Technique: Focus on Breathing
time-frame: < 30 seconds
With this method, you can either just observe how you breathe, or you can deliberately inhale, hold, and exhale a few times. You can also just take a deep breath and smell the air itself. You just focus on breathing so your mind and/or heartbeat can slow down, so you can relax. It’s not uncommon to use this in combination with either being mindful or being in the moment when the opportunity presents itself.

Opportunity: Finished a task and just before starting the next task
Technique: Be mindful or Be Aware
Time-frame: 30-90 Seconds
It’s when you take a brief moment to pause and observe. Without judgment, you observe how you feel, or what kind of thoughts are floating through your head. You can also use this time to pause and just observe your environment or observe one particular thing. Perhaps a brief moment observing the weather. Observing some tool you might be using and realizing how helpful this little invention is. For example, a simple can opener. You generally do it for a few seconds and then go back to whatever it was you were doing before you paused for that brief moment

Opportunity: Waiting for an appointment, or a food order to be ready
Technique: Be in the moment, the here and now
Time-frame: 5-20 minutes
This method of relaxation is when you take the time to slow down and simply watch and take in everything that is going on around you. Perhaps you’re at a family function like a wedding. You take the time and watch how everyone is interacting with each other, observing all the work that was put into making decorations, food, and such. Or you sit outside on a nice day and just listen to the birds, waves, and wind, feel the sun, rain, or snow on your skin. This method is great for building positive memories to look back on.

Opportunity: Leaving in less than an hour or stuck waiting for awhile
Technique: Count from 0 to 100 and/or 100 back to 0
Time-frame: 20-45 minutes
When doing this method, the length of time it takes to complete varies depending on how slowly you breathe. Once you get to the double digits. For example number 28, you breathe in on the twenty and breathe out on the eight. The point is not to merely count but to focus on the numbers themselves. For some people, it is very easy because they can see the numbers clearly in their heads. For others, like myself, it’s a little more difficult because instead of seeing them, the numbers are spoken words. When I do it, I can hear myself speak inside my mind. With practice, it improves concentration while at the same time discouraging random thoughts.

So if you’re having trouble with taking time to just be, or do nothing, just give one of the other methods a try. You will find it especially helpful when you have one of those days when things just don’t seem to be going your way. To help relieve the annoyance of things going wrong, take the time to use one of the other methods first and then afterward take 5 or 10 minutes and just do nothing. Just make it a point to look after your personal wellness by taking the time to do nothing when you can.

Go Ahead I Dare you to Do Nothing

Go for it! Do nothing! You wanted an excuse so you can relax and not think about anything. You’ve been hoping to have 5 or 10 minutes of quiet time; Time to put your feet up and chill. Well now you have the perfect reason for doing so, it’s good for your health, your personal wellness, your overall well-being. Use the reason that suits you best and try it out. Even if only once a day for the next week. There are lots of pockets of time between all the things you’re busy with to spend picking at some little task or checking your phone to see if you missed anything. Just use one of those moments that pop up here and there to simply do nothing. You have nothing to lose when trying something new. Who knows, you might enjoy it. Next thing you know you start deciding to do it two or three times through the course of your day. The worst that would happen is that it becomes a normal part of your lifestyle.

Today is a perfect day to start giving yourself a moment of peace. After all, the only thing you can be certain of is that you have today, this moment in time. No guarantees of tomorrow. So there is no time like the present, take advantage of it.

Found this article to be interesting? Please click like and share. What are your thoughts about doing nothing? Let me know in the comments below.

Razz