I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, doing nothing started to feel… wrong.
Like if you’re not being productive, not working toward something, not improving something—
you’re wasting time.
Even when you’re not.
Doing Nothing Feels Like You’re Doing Something Wrong
You ever finally sit down after a long day, ready to relax…
and within five minutes, your brain goes:
“Alright, what should we be doing right now?”
Not what do you want to do.
What should you be doing.
And now suddenly, relaxing feels temporary.
Like you’re just killing time before you get back to something “important.”
It’s a constant state of flux.
You’re always in standby mode, ready to “jiggle the mouse,” because the screensaver calling you out for relaxing somehow feels like failure.
The Mental Checklist Kicks In
For me, it’s not even always guilt.
It’s more like a check-in.
I’ll be sitting there, doing absolutely nothing, perfectly fine with it…
and then I’ll stop and think:
“Alright… is there something else I’m supposed to be doing right now?”
And now I’m running through the list:
Laundry.
Clean up the place a bit.
Grocery shopping.
Get gas.
(Which, by the way, I was supposed to do after the gym… and completely forgot until just now.)
So even when I’m relaxed… I’m not fully relaxed.
There’s always that quick mental audit happening in the background.
Where That Comes From
For me, a lot of that definitely comes from work culture.
There’s always something to do. Something to stay on top of. Something you could be doing better or more efficiently.
And that mindset doesn’t just stay at work.
It follows you home.
It turns into this constant feeling that you should always be doing something.
The Office Space Problem
And honestly, part of it feels like we’re all living in some version of Office Space.
You’ve got the whole Peter Gibbons mindset of:
“I wouldn’t say I’ve been missing it, Bob.”
And then there’s the whole motivation conversation, where it basically comes down to:
Why would anyone be motivated to work harder… when working harder just means more work?
And don’t even get me started on the “multiple bosses” thing.
Because that part is way too real.
It feels like no matter what job you’re in, there are always like eight different people who can pop up at any moment.
And if you so much as pause for a second—just exist for a moment—you can almost hear it:
“THERE’S ALWAYS WORK TO BE DONE.”
Relax.
I promise the world isn’t going to stop spinning if I take a breath.
Some of these people act like catching you standing still for five seconds is their life’s purpose.
And I get it.
This might be the only “power and influence” some people feel like they have.
I hate to break it to you…
it’s not real.
We’re here to do a job, get paid, and then go live the life we actually want to live.
I don’t take work home with me.
And I’m definitely not going to pretend to be busy just to make someone else feel important.
The Influencer Effect
And if work culture wasn’t enough…
now you’ve got the internet adding fuel to the fire.
You’ve seen these videos.
Some “guru” standing in front of a car that costs more than most people’s houses…
talking about mindset.
Meanwhile, that car still drives on the same roads, uses the same gas, sits in the same traffic…
as a Toyota Corolla that costs a fraction of the price, lasts longer, and gets you to the exact same destination.
But yeah—definitely worry about what some random person is going to think during the five seconds they see your car at a red light.
That’s what matters.
And then comes the routine.
“You want to be successful? You need to wake up at 3:27 AM.”
Okay.
“Then go run a 10K.”
Sure.
“Then invest in five duplexes.”
Of course—because we all just have that kind of money lying around.
And somehow, this all turns into the idea that even sleep—
something you will spend about a third of your life doing, and literally need to function—
is a waste of time.
Because you should be grinding.
Every second.
Of every day.
At some point, it just becomes exhausting to even listen to.
Did I also mention that the “guru” always has some “discounted course” to show you how to get rich like them for a cool $5,000?
But don’t worry—that’s the discounted rate.
They just need enough people to fall for it… oops, I mean, “take that leap.”
The Extreme Version of It
And then there’s the other side of it.
The people who take that mindset and run it straight into the ground.
I’m talking about the workaholics.
The ones who have over 240 hours of “use or lose” time off…
and just don’t use it.
On purpose.
They don’t even get paid out for it.
They just… don’t take it.
That’s literally free time. Free money. Free life…
and they give it away.
I’m sure their employers love it.
Especially when most of those jobs are “at will” anyway.
(Which is exactly why I already went on a whole rant about “Take The Vacation,” but that’s a different conversation.)
“Oh, I don’t have anything to do on vacation.”
That’s. The. Whole. Point.
In fact, your mindset should be:
“I don’t have TO DO anything on vacation.”
One of my best friends had the perfect response to that:
“What do you do on the days you’re not working? Just do that on vacation—and get paid for it.”
The Irony of It All
The more you try to stay on top of everything…
the more it feels like you’re never actually caught up.
You’re always doing something, thinking about something, planning something—
and somehow, it never feels like enough.
At some point, you even start planning your time to relax.
Blocking it out. Scheduling it. Trying to “fit it in.”
And that’s when it really hits:
If you have to plan your time to relax…
then you’re probably already working too hard.
Relaxing isn’t supposed to feel like another task on your list.
How relaxed could you possibly be if you always have a set time when you’re not allowed to be relaxed anymore?
What Actually Helps
And this is where it gets interesting.
Because the only thing that really seems to help…
is the exact opposite of all of that.
The simple stuff.
Quiet moments. No expectations. No pressure.
The kind of things that don’t have a purpose.
Just existing for a little bit.
Take a deep breath.
Close your eyes for a bit.
Relax.
No one on their deathbed ever says, “I wish I would have worked more.”
It’s always the opposite.
As it should be.
Bringing It Back
That’s why those small reset moments matter so much.
The quiet store.
The late-night calm.
The moments where nothing is required of you.
No productivity. No expectations.
Just space.
Closing Thought
Maybe the problem isn’t that we’re not doing enough…
maybe it’s that we’ve forgotten how to just be still.
And maybe…
doing nothing isn’t wasting time.
Maybe it’s exactly what we need.
Maybe the one thing we need to “work” on the most…
is how to do no work at all.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this, folks.
Until next time!
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