That hour of nothing could be the most important hour of the day

For many of us, life can feel very busy. Whether that is related to a job, studying, bringing up a family, a packed social calendar, or a combination of all, making time that is just for ourselves can be a challenge. Even if you can squeeze in 30 minutes or an hour during the day, are you someone who needs to justify this to yourself as productive? Going to the gym, practicing yoga, going for a walk, reading something educational, might all be good enough “excuses” that you can give yourself to take some time out of your day, but how many of you would also allow yourself an hour to sit and watch TV, to flick through YouTube, to have a lie down, without chastising yourself for “wasting time doing nothing”?

I certainly do not want to argue against activities like the gym or going for a walk; in fact, I hugely encourage them and the various mental and physical health benefits they bring (I am, after all, a practitioner of walking therapy). I write this article to suggest that we shouldn’t need to work so hard to justify the time that is our own. There should be no judgement on one choice being more worthy than the other. If it calms us down and allows us to centre ourselves again, then it has served a purpose and given us what we needed in that moment, setting us up for what is to come in the rest of the day. You can choose your motivation and method of how you relax, and it can be guilt-free.

The Dutch use the word niksen to discuss doing nothing for the purpose of doing nothing, without the need for an outcome. I agree with a lot of the premise of this idea and would encourage others to read more about it, but in writing this article I want to deviate slightly from this and put forward the idea that nothing doesn’t exist. Everything is something. Many of us put pressure on ourselves to be productive, but do we sometimes fail to recognise how important it can also be to rest and relax? For me, these actions are not nothing, they are fundamental in how we can get through the days and weeks in a healthy manner. When your phone has been in use for several hours, its battery will eventually run down and need to be recharged. We are the same. In an ideal world, maybe we can get what we need from sleeping overnight, but often this is not the case, and we will require additional time in the day to reset.

Feeling busy can be used as almost a badge of honour and a show of success, but to be more productive, we need more rest. Rest is good for us. It can allow the mind to slow down, lower blood pressure and lower heart rate. This rest can also energise us for the remainder of the day, giving added clarity and focus to tasks. Also, the definition of what is productive is an interesting question to ponder here. Is being productive only about how many emails you might do, or how many words of that essay you will write, or can it also be about your mental health and how you feel the remainder of the day?

How can we do ‘nothing’ without the guilt of feeling we are wasting part of the day, or feeling selfish that we are neglecting the needs of others? Can we say no to more things without the belief that we are letting others down? I appreciate that this will not always be easy. For those who have busy jobs, young kids to look after, upcoming deadlines, etc, finding time that is just for you may seem almost impossible. But is it necessary?

Focusing on our own needs can be the very opposite of selfish. It is important to be kind to others, but it is also important to be kind to ourselves. To do this, we need to be the best version of ourselves. Is that the version that is tired, stressed, always thinking of the next thing needing to get done and not able to focus on the moment? I would argue not. Finding a way to switch off can bring huge and necessary benefits, and there is no right or wrong approach to doing this.

So, whether it is an hour a day, or even 30 minutes a few times a week, your body and mind will let you know what you need. Listen to both and give yourself a break. It is not time wasted. You deserve this time, and everyone in your circle will benefit from the you that emerges from it. Embrace the idea of doing nothing. Because that nothing is a very important something.