The Art of doing Nothing

Every time you open Instagram, you see someone has cooked a new dish, painted something beautiful, written a poem or discovered some new talent. And if you, like me, find yourself doing nothing or being unproductive, then let me tell you two very comforting words – it’s okay.

Ever since we have been in Quarantine, there has been a constant pressure to be “productive”, to learn something new, and to explore new hobbies and we have been continuously told to “utilize this free time properly”.

There has been a constant pressure to “do”, instead we should have been told that surviving this is enough. Getting ourselves through this is “productive” enough. We need to understand and accept that life is really hard right now. Not being able to do something “great” is not a personal failure. You do not need to focus on becoming more productive, finding new hobbies, playing up your feelings.

This is an unprecedented and unknown situation and none of us know how to deal with it, you are not alone. The world is in a state of collective grief, uncertainty and anxiousness, and maybe this is piling into your own. But hey, we are all in this together, all 7 billion of us. So, take it one day at a time. Take it one movie or one show at a time. Take it one breath at a time. You are allowed to just survive instead of trying to thrive. If stuffing yourself with your favorite snacks makes you happy, then do that. If sleep makes you happy, then take a few naps. If cooking makes you happy, then do that. It doesn’t have to be Instagram worthy, it just has to make you happy.

You do what you must do to keep going and every time you feel overwhelmed by everything happening around you, take a pause and just breathe.

Doing nothing is also doing something, and that’s enough.