(Or: Why My Most Profound Thought This Month Was Still “Maybe I Should Get a Dog”)
We’ve talked about mindfulness (Week 1), to-do lists (Week 2), being gloriously alone (Week 3), breathing with intent (Week 4), and why “work-life balance” is nonsense (Week 5).
So what’s left?
Nothing.
Literally.
This week, I want to explore the fine art of doing sod all. Not because I’ve run out of ideas (though let’s be honest, it’s close), but because in the middle of all the thinking, breathing, planning, pacing, and questioning… there’s a moment where your brain just goes:
“Mate. Sit down. Shut up. And for the love of God, stop trying to optimise yourself.”
And in that moment, I found myself thinking the most persistent and entirely unprompted thought of the last three weeks:
Maybe I should get a dog.
Still haven’t.
Still haven’t not.
Still thinking.
The Dog Thread, Revisited (and Intensified)
Let’s recap.
In Week 3, I confessed to holding a full one-man debate about dog ownership in a Houston airport car park. I sat motionless in a rental car, quietly unravelled by the sheer volume of peopleing I’d endured that week.
In Week 4, during a failed public meditation on a plane, my mind wandered back to dogs—how they breathe properly, stretch without calling it yoga, and never question their right to stare into the middle distance for 17 minutes.
In Week 5, I spoke of rhythm over balance, and it occurred to me that dogs live in rhythm beautifully. They nap, play, sniff, eat, stretch, and repeat. No calendar sync required.
Now here we are in Week 6, and I’ve officially admitted:
Doing nothing—when done right—is where the good stuff lives.
And every time I try it, the dog thoughts return.
Not in a productive, logical way.
Just a gentle: “Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a dog here?”
Doing Nothing is Not Wasted Time – It’s Brain Maintenance
If “to-do” lists are the concrete slabs of modern productivity, pointlessness is the overgrown, sun-drenched side path with a bench and a view.
You don’t build a better life by filling every hour.
You build it by allowing space.
Why?
1. Default Mode Network (DMN)
When you’re not actively focusing on anything, your DMN kicks in—an intricate network associated with creativity, self-reflection, memory consolidation, and imagination. It’s the part of the brain that lights up when you appear to be doing absolutely nothing.
Like staring out the window wondering if you should name your imaginary spaniel “Nigel.”
2. The Zeigarnik Effect, Reversed
Remember that Week 2 villain—the Zeigarnik Effect? The psychological nagging from unfinished tasks?
Turns out, when you stop doing, your brain often resolves these open loops for you—in the background. You do nothing. Brain does admin.
Miraculous.
3. Cognitive Incubation
This is the posh term for “the idea hits you when you’re in the shower.” Or the bath. Or gazing at a pigeon from your living room. Creative breakthroughs love stillness. Not Slack notifications.
How I Now Practise the Art of Doing Nowt
1. Chair Staring
My favourite chair. Feet up. No phone. One lukewarm cup of tea. I sit until something in my body says “move” or the mug grows mould.
Either way, success.
2. Fake Dog Walking
Since I don’t own a dog (yet), I now go on “dogless dog walks.” I nod at other dog walkers. I carry a tennis ball in my pocket so I look legitimate. I am not OK, and I love it.
3. The Potter Cycle
Ten minutes of doing absolutely nothing.
Ten minutes of tidying something small (a drawer, a shelf, my thoughts).
Ten minutes of sitting down again, admiring the thing I tidied like I’m in a retirement home advert.
Repeat until dinner.
Productivity Culture Will Convince You This is Lazy
You’ll feel twitchy at first.
Useless.
Worried someone will barge in and say:
“Excuse me, shouldn’t you be monetising this moment?”
Ignore them. That’s the cortisol talking. That’s the ghost of LinkedIn past.
Doing nothing is not laziness. It’s the compost from which ideas grow.
It’s emotional digestion.
It’s recovery.
It’s the exact opposite of burnout.
It’s also where you can sit and think ridiculous but honest thoughts like:
“Maybe I should get a rescue greyhound named Sheila who only eats toast.”
We Need More Pointless Moments
Let’s reclaim:
- Staring into space without explanation
- Watching clouds instead of screens
- Napping without guilt
- Asking philosophical questions about dogs you haven’t bought yet
These are not breaks from life.
They are life.
The soft, silly, soulful bits that don’t make it into the strategy deck but keep you sane.
Back to the Dog
Maybe I will get one.
Maybe I won’t.
But the fact that I want to—while doing nothing, thinking nothing, being nothing useful—is proof that pointlessness works.
It tells me what I actually want.
Not what I should want.
Not what’s expected.
But what’s real.
That’s what nothing gives you: a way to hear your own truth without needing a spreadsheet to validate it.
Next Week – Week 7: Building a Memory Bank
I’ll explore how to spot, store, and savour the moments that make you who you are. The ones you don’t see coming. The ones you often only appreciate in hindsight. Like the time you sat on a bench for 40 minutes and ended up naming a fictional golden retriever “Alan.”
For now, I’m off to stare at the trees and imagine how many biscuits per day it takes to raise a well-adjusted Jack Russell.
Back soon,
Steve
