The other day, I attempted to do nothing.
No deadlines, no obligations; my calendar was quiet. I told myself I would sit in my chair, stare at the ceiling for as long as I could and let my mind peacefully wander. Not even five minutes in, the persistent echoes of tasks I should have been tending to whirled around my head.
“Shouldn’t you be catching up on the book you just bought? What about the yarn sitting in the corner of the shelf? There’s so much to do.”
Pretty soon, I was practically tearing apart the shelf above my desk, suddenly convinced it needed rearranging. I spent the rest of that day doing various productive activities, but none of them felt as meaningful as they should have. I’ve learned that I’m not alone in experiencing “the itch” — what I call the restless urge to stay busy. Even when there’s nothing to accomplish, stagnation feels like weakness. Why is it so hard to just exist?
The guilt of taking time off to rest has been ingrained within many of us from a young age. We’ve always been rewarded for material output — maintaining a high GPA, receiving trophies and medals from competitions, and even earning our first paycheck. In contrast, no one has ever received a pat on the back for taking a healthy day to reset and relax. In a culture where one’s worth is tied to achievements, it’s easy to see why we always try to achieve the next challenge.
One of the largest causes of our inability to do nothing is the impact of hustle culture on society. You’ve most likely seen it in action, with phrases like “the grind never stops” and “no days off”. Even though taking breaks is becoming more normalized, these breaks are still somehow optimized. Creating the perfect mid-evening smoothie, performing a guided meditation or workout, or even curating the perfect playlist to listen to music. Leisure activities are now performances to ensure we have optimized our free time. Rest and relaxation, our opportunities to shut off the brain, have become scheduled and structured.
Perhaps the main reason that we can’t simply sit still anymore, however, is right in our hands. The constant flurry of media presented to us through our cellphones has rendered us dependent on consumption. Whether it’s watching a TikTok, binging a show, listening to a podcast, or just mindlessly scrolling on the Internet, there isn’t a dull moment where information isn’t being fed to us. This distraction keeps us from unlocking our true thoughts, fears, and ideas. They remain hidden under the pile of news, posts, stories, and external thoughts occupying our headspace.
How do we break free from this exhausting cycle? Ignoring “the itch” doesn’t mean abandoning productivity; it means redefining it. Resting isn’t the adversary of success; it’s what allows us to sustain it. Learning to be comfortable with stillness, to embrace boredom without immediately seeking distraction, is a skill worth developing. Maybe next time, I’ll try again to do nothing. And this time, I’ll let myself sit with the discomfort, just to see what happens.
