So. It is summer. All I want to do is … Nothing.

Yep. Nada.

I’ve been struggling with my to-do list, which is lengthy, and just really not feeling it. I don’t want to ‘To-Do’. I don’t want to do anything.

I want to goof off and play hooky. I want to nerd out on my phone for hours. And when I get tired of that. I want to watch Friends. All of them. I want to fill my mind with cotton candy fluff. I want to doodle and read Facebook.

The struggle is that there are many things, productive-mind-vegetable-type-things, that I really want and need to get done this summer. So, in the midst of all that struggling to be productive, but really not, I called a dear friend.

“Maybe you could just do nothing really well for a week. Give yourself permission to rest. Just goof off, if that is what you want to do.”

Beautiful.

So. I gave myself permission to do nothing this week and here I am – productive.

I’m here to say that if you are struggling with procrastination and To-Do-ing, try doing nothing.

No. Really. Try it!

It is wonderful. 

Doing nothing is freeing. AND it is wildly productive.

Without trying. Without pressure.

I’m just doing the stuff I like. The stuff I enjoy. The stuff that is beneficial to me and my family. It is easy. I’m being easy in myself and energy has become available for things without trying or forcing.

Now, everytime I do something productive I feel like I am really bad at this doing-nothing thing. I thought with my procrastination skills that I would be way better at it than this.

The truth is, often when we feel pressured we don’t even know what actually needs to be on our list. What we really need is rest, play, cotton candy fluff. That rarely makes the list, but it is tremendously important.

If you are living a creative life, rest and goofing off are important. They are vital to fresh ideas and much needed perspective.

It is the cross-pollenization that is necessary to generate new ideas. We need that restorative break. Regularly. We need the cycle of rest and activity to be truly productive and creative.

So, run an experiment. Goof off this week and see what you get done! ?