Alongwith Grit by Angela Duckworth, Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Mary Kondo and Ikigai – this book “Do Nothing” will end up being a much recommended book by Krishnan and I.
The title caught my attention ! It says “Break away form Overworking, Overdoing and Underliving”. Celeste Headlee, the author had me at the last word “underliving”. Am I overworking or over doing, probably not, but am I under-living, yes ofcourse. There are so many things to explore and experience still :):).
As far as excerpts go, I have underlined so many pages and paragraphs that it won’t be fair to the author to reproduce them all here. Also Kindle is taking a full minute to load the highlights :):). I will highlight some new learnings only.
Five Major Highlights from “Do Nothing”
- Cult of Efficiency – The author traces human journey from farming to the Industrial Revolution and then to this crazy cult of efficiency where we clock EVERYTHING. Am actually feeling guilty that I haven’t walked my 10000 steps, when I got to spend quality time with my niece. Yesterday I was down with fever, but I still did some “work” in the morning so that the whole day doesn’t get wasted. We are truly a part of this cult of efficiency.
- Time being equalled to Money – This is the biggest challenge facing us today and why we are on the efficiency treadmill. Every minute lost means money lost. But is it really that ? Very interesting excerpt – “…in the 1600s, the word ‘punctuality’ meant ‘exactness’. Somewhere around 1777 or so, people began to use the word to mean ‘on time’. ……. Time well spent began to mean ‘time during which money was earned’.
- Polluted Time – Ever since mobile phones have become extensions of our arms, work comes home and home goes to office and there are no boundaries ! Even on vacations, people check their emails. Why go on vacations at all?? Likewise, most of the online purchases happen between 9 am to 5 pm. That’s when you are at work !
- Idleness is not equal to Laziness – In our quest to earn every penny and productively use every minute of our time, we have started to equate idleness with laziness but science says differently. Idle mind is not a devil’s workshop but the innovation workshop… when you let your mind wander aimlessly, you usually come up with great ideas. Note : This is not for the really lazy ones who are “wasting” time by sleeping long hours and generally changing their goalposts frequently.
- Multitasking Myth – I have written about this before, The Myth of Multitasking. But the Myth keeps getting perpetuated. Another excerpt to support this – “… Women are expected to multitask, a habit that increases stress and is ultimately damaging to a person’s cognitive abilities.”
Half of the book explains the above points and the other half explains how to get your life back ! I loved the use of the word “back” in place of “hack”. We keep trying different hacks to cook faster, sleep less, eat more but stay thin, etc etc etc.
Mobile Phone addiction
Some statistics from the book – “… Most people touch their phones about 2600 times between waking and sleeping and spend about five hours browsing on them every day.” The smoke breaks or water cooler chats have been replaced with Whatsapp chats :(. Another very important excerpt – “… The light emitted by phones and tablets fools our brains into thinking it’s daytime, for one thing. Most electronics use blue light that has a short wavelength and is highly visible but very energy efficient. Blue light is great during daylight hours. It’s environmentally friendly and it can boost your mood and your energy. …. The problem is, blue light can cause damage to your eyes over the long term, and it can suppress the release of melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall asleep and stay asleep.”
Another short excerpt – “… Further, the phone is very stimulating, both cognitively and visually.”
Probably the most important excerpt – “… The truth is, when smartphones are overused, they have a strong impact on the brain that’s mostly negative. Your mind treats all those notifications that come in as seriously as it treats a fire alarm or a knock on the door.”
Ever since I read these few lines, I have removed notifications from all the apps …. life has actually been better without a bunch of notifications popping up ! We anyway leave our phones in the living room when we go to sleep, this is just another small step to help us stay sane.
In conclusion … another lovely excerpt from the book “… Descartes said, ‘Cogito ergo sum’; I think, therefore I am. He did not say, ‘Laboro ergo sum’; I work, therefore I am.
Get it ? Comprendido/comprendida ? Read the book for the rest !
My rating 5/5