Doing nothing can be harder than it sounds. The hand reaches for the phone, the mind starts a list, and rest turns into a task. These six practices are ways of resting without a purpose. They are optional, and they are not for moments when someone needs you or something urgent needs doing. Do them when you can.
1. Set a small window
Pick ten minutes. You might set a timer so you do not have to watch the clock. Tell yourself you can do nothing for that long, and then go back to your day. A small window is a manageable place to begin.
2. Choose a comfortable place
Sit or lie somewhere you feel at ease: a chair, a sofa, a bench, a patch of floor. Let your body be supported. If you are somewhere public, choose a place where you feel safe. Rest is the point, and it does not need to look like anything.
3. Look out of a window
Let your eyes rest on whatever is outside: a tree, a wall, passing clouds. You are not trying to learn anything. When your attention wanders, you can come back to the view, or follow the wandering and see where it goes. Orienting can be a way in.
4. Let your hands be empty
Put the phone face down or in another room. If you need it reachable for alarms or for someone to get help, keep it near and silence only the notifications that are not essential. Let your hands lie open on your lap or the arm of the chair. You might notice a pull to pick something up. You can notice it, and let it be.
5. Let the breath be ordinary
You do not need to do anything with your breathing. Notice a few breaths if you like, and leave them alone. If counting or slowing the breath feels like a task, skip it. Attention on the breath is optional.
6. End without evaluating
When the time is up, stretch, drink some water and get on with your day. You do not need to ask whether it worked. If you felt restless or bored, that is allowed. A practice of doing nothing does not need a good result.
When doing nothing is hard
If you feel restless, guilty or anxious when you stop, you could start with something gentle: a warm drink, a slow walk, or sitting with a book you do not need to finish. Doing nothing can come in steps. If sitting still is hard for you, tools for people who can’t sit still may suit you better.
What counts
There is no rule about what counts as doing nothing. Staring at a wall counts. Listening to rain counts. Sitting in a bath counts. A walk with no destination counts. Scrolling may or may not feel like rest, and you can judge that for yourself. You decide what rest looks like.
Rest and your responsibilities
If nobody depends on you for those minutes, no handover is needed. If you are caring for children, a relative or someone who is unwell, a child napping is not permission to be unavailable. Pause only for the time when the required supervision or monitoring is covered. That means a competent adult you have agreed with has taken over, including medicine alarms and emergency steps. Keep your phone reachable for alarms and help. Do not do this while driving or in any situation that needs your attention.
Guilt about rest
Guilt about resting is worth looking at. You can notice the thought, “I should be doing something,” without obeying it. You might ask where it came from and whether it is helping. Resting can be a choice, and it does not need to be earned.
Small ways to start
If ten minutes feels like too much, begin with one. Stand at a window while the kettle boils. Sit on the step for the first minute after you get home. Take the first sip of a drink without doing anything else. These tiny gaps can be enough to practise leaving a moment empty, and you can lengthen them if you like.
Planning a quiet hour
If you want more than ten minutes, you can plan it. Tell the people you live with. Do the urgent thing first. Put a note on the door. Keep the hour free of chores if you can. If you find it impossible to take, start smaller.
When rest does not help
If you are tired all the time even after resting, or if low mood, hopelessness or distress is getting in the way of daily life, seek support now from a doctor or therapist. You do not need to wait for it to last a certain time. Rest is not a treatment for everything. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, contact a crisis line or your local emergency number.
Related: a daily somatic routine.
