Almost from the time my conscious memory serves me, I had always been told to, ‘Do Something’- be it engaging in some sort of activity or listening to music. I could never just while away my time lazing around and watching the tele and me being naive, tried to abide by this ideology and everything seemed to pan out perfectly until when I grew older.

Along with my stature, the nature of the tasks at hand also grew exponentially, demanding higher levels of concentration and devoting more time. The prior ideology of ‘Do Something’ quickly yet steadily turned into ‘Multitask Effectively’! At this point in my life, I was overwhelmed with the tasks at hand and it grew clearer that I had taken up more than I could chew. Thus, the dissatisfaction and my inability to perform well at tasks led to a self-consuming rebellion.

Despite the plethora of ways I could choose to indulge in a fall-out behaviour, I chose one that seemed to be the most lucrative at the time- procrastinate at first and then do nothing whatsoever. Everything initially seemed so harmonious, however the calm soon turned into chaos. Alarmed at the precarious situation I had found myself in, I decided that the best way to handle the situation was to ‘Do Nothing’, superficial that is, self-analysis was the way to proceed. Breaking out of my old behavioural patterns was hard enough and couple that to a trait that went against my fundamental survival instincts, is easier said than done.

In a last ditch effort to regain my lost zeal, I decided that my newly adopted ideology would pay dividends in the long run and it sure did! A sense of purpose and motivation had crept into my lifestyle and my attention spans rose dramatically. Cutting to the chase, I was in a mindset wherein I could effectively perform my work.

Before I knew it, activities which relieved me from the stress in my life, had become an integral part of my routine; returning to my routine with a renewed sense of energy and vigour. Simply doing nothing was an essential part of these activities- NO PHONE CALLS, NO LAPTOPS OR GADGETS OF ANY KIND.

As said by A.A Milne, “Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering“, in this world of mediocrity as a result of multitasking, I urge one and all to try this way of life.