5 Ways To Push Yourself to Do Absolutely Nothing
I know you read the title and was like, "huh".....but let me tell you, this here is serious business. Doing absolutely nothing is an art that has been mastered by very few people. It takes willpower to be a bum for a few hours. I personally know this because whenever I get some free time, I have to talk myself into doing nothing, and then I find myself feeling guilty sometimes when I bum out. But not anymore!
We live in a time where messages like "hustle everyday," "no time off," "no sleep," or "sleep when I die" are constantly being planted in our psyche. And my response to those messages is an elegant middle finger gesture. Taking the time to rest our bodies and brains is imperative. When we do so we preserve ourselves, we feel more energized, and are more productive when it is time to grind. Currently I've been using my free time wisely, and I must say I'm getting good at doing diddly-squat. If you want to join in on this movement, check out 5 Ways to Push Yourself to Do Absolutely Nothing below.
1. Get it in your mind that you deserve some time to just do nothing - Often times we feel guilty when it comes to being unproductive because society wants us to believe that we are always supposed to be on the go. Get that out of your heads and remember this is your life. You run your race at your own pace....and in order to run the race, you must rest.
2. Get your work done - I'm the type of person that likes to have everything done before I sit down....this way my list of "things to do" won't be on my mind while I am trying to rest. Go hard during the week so that you can take a day on the weekend and do nothing. Let "doing nothing" be your reward for a productive week.
3. Pick a designated "me time" - Everyone in my circle knows when I am about to hibernate. I call my loved ones to let them know I'm entering "Sam's world" and I'm about to shut my ringer off. Pick out a time that you want to just do nothing and call those who usually ring your phone and let them know to take their crap elsewhere for the next hour or so....of course this excludes emergencies.
4. Get in the bed earlier - If I've had a long day with no personal time, I try to at least get in the bed earlier than my usual sleep time so that I can chill out and do nothing. If I can't make myself sit on the couch for a few hours, surely I can make myself sit in the bed and do nothing before falling asleep.
5. Just do it - If all of the above fails, then just simply sit your butt down and do nothing! You owe it to yourself! The world will keep spinning if you don't cut the yard on a particular day, run that lap when you said you would, write that report, or wash those dishes. Time is of the essence, and I wholeheartedly believe that we should do what we have to do to survive, but we should also do what we want to do as well.
Bum out my friends, you deserve it.
- Samjah Iman