ime to make sure no one thinks I’m a minute miser. If you’ve been following the Redeem 5.2 series there’s a distinct possibility I’ve created that perception.
Dude! Enough with wringing the last drop out of every minute! Take a nap already! Waste some time doing crazy stuff with the kids! Let your hair down and do something utterly useless!
Or, as a New York Times bestselling author puts it: “Stare at a spot on the wall as long as you can.” Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist
Time doing “nothing” is invaluable – and I’m really good at it! It helps detach the mind, get out of routine, and can reveal ruts. Occasionally it removes mental obstacles (usually of my own creation) that are blocking a beautiful view.
It’s amazing what can be thought about when thinking about nothing.”
Does forgetting someone’s name ever sidetrack your entire life? In the days before Google we had to dig into our own memory to answers questions. So occasionally, getting totally obsessed with answering a critical question took time.
I remember a group of friends becoming desperately consumed with answering “a life comes to a stop” question; “What was the name of Curious George’s keeper?” You know, the guy in the yellow hat? I know you’ve been there, random questions that no one can answer and it DERAILS your life.
The answer came to me…at 2AM…while sound asleep. To this day, I’m not sure why my friends didn’t share my enthusiasm at the revelation? They actually sounded mad when I called them that morning! What? 2 AM is in the morning.
The point? Answers to questions, discovering a path through a challenge, ideas, creative inspiration and even the simplicity of joy can be found in the useless. It’s amazing what can be thought about when thinking about nothing.
(Ok, timeout. I have to ask this question: can you think about nothing? Kelsey and I have this debate all the time. She swears it’s “not possible” to think about nothing. I, for one, can. I can think about nothing. Not for very long mind you, eventually I get hungry.)
Time in!
Be deliberate about being useless.”
…Where were we? “Thinking about nothing…” – It can be so important that nodding in agreement isn’t enough – schedule those times! Be deliberate about being useless. Make sure to take those walks, drive down roads with your spouse to places beyond cell service (or turn the thing off and leave it at home), get lost on purpose, blast that playlist you’d never admit having and dance! Buy a hammock.
It’s important to make an additional point; Yes, schedule useless time, but the thinking stops there. Huh?
This is not time away to “think clearly” – important, but that includes an agenda. Useless time is different from brainstorming sessions – valuable, but that includes a stated goal. There should be no agenda, no goal, no expectations for useless time. By mentally disconnecting in useless activities, leaving the grind behind, you may find the perfect answer to questions you were paying no attention to.
Kleon goes on to quote a co-worker, “When I get busy I get stupid”. That quote has less to do with being busy and is more about the importance of down time. Busy becomes routine and routine can drain the life out of a person. Yes, a core idea behind Full of Days is finding value in the routine and the mundane, we have no shortage of opportunity to practice it. Part of finding that value is making sure to hold routine at bay. Get too wrapped up and routine will suck the effectiveness right out of you.
Still not convinced about the usefulness of uselessness? Two rock climbers are fond of calling their mountain hobby “conquistadors of the useless” (Terray) – the rock climbers names are Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins. Never heard of them? They grew up and founded Patagonia and The North Face.
The inherent danger? An hour doing nothing unchecked will grow into an afternoon (still ok) then an evening (ummm…) and into another day and beyond. I still get stuff done, but not the important. Priorities give way to one mindless project after another. Again, no one project being an issue, but stringing them together, one after another, can become a career.
Build in that useless time.
P.S. Curious George’s keeper? Yeah, he doesn’t have a name. Now go back to sleep =)…and don’t call me!
