The fine art of doing nothing

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Did you know there’s a day dedicated to doing absolutely nothing? Yes, it’s called Do Nothing Day, celebrated on January 16. Okay, celebrated might not be the right term, because remember, the moment you start celebrating, you’re doing something, and that defeats the whole purpose. Of course, I observed the day and, instead of writing this article on that day, I decided to fully embrace the occasion by doing… well, nothing. I think I nailed it.

Now, if you ask any motivational speaker about Do Nothing Day, they’ll give you a sermon about how it’s not actually about doing nothing. Instead, they’ll tell you, it’s a day to pause, reflect, and take a mental break. “Free yourself from the constant demands of work, technology, and obligations!” they’ll say, conveniently ignoring the fact that just listening to their advice feels like work.

Then we have some people who have honed the art of doing nothing into a fine craft. We all know that one friend who can stare at a wall for hours and call it meditative practice. Or the one who lies on the sofa seemingly doing nothing but claiming to be doing couch calisthenics.

The Italians have a nice term for it: Dolce far Niente. Translated loosely it means the sweetness of doing nothing. But to clarify it does not refer to being lazy; instead, it is something along the lines of ‘taking the time to smell the roses…’

The Dutch have a term for it too- niksen- doing absolutely nothing.

The closest French term I discovered is se tourner les pouces, which translates as ‘twiddling one’s thumbs.’ But that might not be doing nothing because you are in this case doing something.

Doing nothing sounds deceptively simple, but in practice, it’s a Herculean task. Our brains are wired to do something—anything—at all times.  

And maybe that’s the beauty of Do Nothing Day. It challenges us to step away from the relentless productivity treadmill, if only for a moment. It’s a reminder that sometimes, it’s okay to just be—to sit back, relax, and let the world spin without our input. Because in those quiet moments of nothingness, we might just find a little something: peace, clarity, or maybe even the realization that doing nothing isn’t as easy as it seems.

I'd agree with Leslie Nielsen who once said, perhaps while sitting idle: “Doing nothing is very hard to do… you never know when you're finished.”