Doing Nothing is the New Doing Something

Did anyone else read Lauren Mazzo's article on Self about doing nothing with loved ones? It was absolutely such an amazing perspective, of course, we have to discuss this more.

In the era of curated parties, have we lost the art of simply rotting?!

You know that we love a themed girls' night or planned dinner party just as much as the next girl. But, you probably also know that we love just sit around and rot, too but what about the days when we did that at a friend's house? Or after dinner with your family when you did nothing but just talk? Or invite your S/O on a simple errand with you?

In this article, Lauren explains how unstructured time can have positive impacts on your health. When we feel the pressure to stick to a schedule or plan, it breaks down the creative freedom to let our minds wander and increases the amount of stress. The article goes on to say that without a set agenda, we can see a reduction of stress, anxiety, depression, and an increase in stronger relationships, creative freedom, and time spent in candid conversations.

With a decrease in attention span, or my "TikTok attention span" as I like to call it, there has been an increase in feeling like we ALWAYS have to be doing something. I know I am such a victim of this. That constant pressure of needing to feel busy is very much alive. I want to be able to post something on my Instagram story or have something to say to the "What did you do this weekend," question at work. But, I want to take Lauren's message more seriously and start doing more unstructured 'nothing!' Here's what I'm doing to embrace this:

More Weeknight Hangouts

With less time to plan during the day, I think a more spontaneous mid-week hangout will be great for embracing this! I'm going to challenge myself to stop overthinking inviting friends over just on weekends and start doing more unplanned nights.

Spontaneous Plans

I constantly run into something on socials or in conversation and say to myself, I want to do that sometime. I'm going to cut out some time and start reacting in the moment (within reason of course!)

Setting My Phone Down

Half of the need to do something comes from the comparison of social media. There's such FOMO of seeing someone else doing something fun, so I am going to try to set my phone down more and focus on the present. I think this will help with gaining back more attention and appreciation for doing nothing. When I am on my phone my brain is always on, taking in new content and information. This will shift my mindset that I don't always need that rush of content and soaking in other things around me.

Fewer Structured Activities

I find myself pairing an activity with every time I have someone over or as an excuse to invite a friend to do something. But, I want to try to disconnect this and focus on having no plans at all or coming up with something to do at the moment.

We hope you take the time to read the article (linked above!) and embrace this more in 2025!