The Subtle Art of Doing Something While Doing Nothing

If you’re confused by the title of this blog post, you should be. But what you should also know is that there is context that you should know before clicking off. And a good story.

I’ve been writing for more than ten years now – with a one or two breaks. But life never ceases to amaze me in the beauty of thoughts in others and the conversations that can happen between like minded me.

Is it a coincidence that I’ve smoked a pipe for nearly the same amount of time as writing? Do you need to have a quirky past time if you’re a writer – or is it an inevitability of the vocation?

One of the things I like about writing is the productivity that it can generate with otherwise ‘dead’ time. Put it this way – I write in that time that I used to:

• Plan for ways to leave my last job
• Watch reality and fishing shows on T.V.
• Look at porn
• Watch sports events that I had no real interest in

That’s doing something. But what about if you were doing nothing? And can you really do nothing?

“Thinking is generally thought of as doing nothing in a production-oriented society, and doing nothing is hard to do. It’s best done by disguising it as doing something, and the something closest to doing nothing is walking.”

Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking

The Art of Doing Nothing

Let me throw this out there into the conversation – when was the last time you did nothing. No productivity, no meditation, no entertainment or consumption – nothing. You just ‘existed’.

It’s hard to do isn’t it? And I think we’re losing our ability to do this important mental and physical task (can doing nothing be a task?).

But let me rewind a bit to a conversation I had with an old friend – old as in we’ve known each other for 7 years or so (that’s a long time in Neil friendship years) and old as in he retired this year.

We were sharing pipe smoking philosophy and agreeing on the ability to smoke a pipe and not much else. Pipe smoking is different to cigarette and cigar smoking in that it takes a long time to smoke a well packed pipe – up to one hour. And you have to work – packing and drying and relighting. It’s a skill that you acquire over time.

(Side note – I’m not advocating anyone take up smoking a pipe. It will probably make you die sooner and turn your mouth into a cancerous hellhole).

My friend told me how he walked his dog and smoked at the same time to fill in the time – that it was doing something while doing nothing very much at all. Smoking was the same for me when I used to fish – I’d throw out a line, fire up the pipe and that was me for the next 45 minutes or so. Doing something while doing nothing.

Because doing nothing is the ultimate freedom – imagine not having any responsibilities, cares, no notifications or work colleagues asking you questions. Even for a short hour or two – that would be bliss wouldn’t it?

But its not something you’re really allowed to do. Not by society, and not by yourself. If ‘thinking is thought as doing nothing in a production-oriented society’ then lets make a pact together – let’s do nothing more often.

If you just go for a walk, not an exercisey walk – a stroll, you’re considered a weirdo. If you just sat by a river or loch for two hours, the same diagnosis. Add in a fishing rod or a dog on a lead and BOOM – you’re now doing something while doing nothing.

So lets do nothing. But while you’re doing nothing – do something. Walking the dog, smoking, fishing, hunting – whatever it is that lets you into that head space where you can think – do that.