Key Messages
How To Stop Worshipping Efficiency And Start Enjoying Life Again
The Do Nothing book offers a helpful reminder that efficiency is not the be all and end all– that it’s actually more important to value leisure time.
We’ve become overly focused on productivity and efficiency, leading us to focus too much on metrics and not enough on quality of life.
By overemphasizing productivity over leisure, we’re actually causing ourselves harm as our bodies and emotions become stressed out, unhappy, and physically ill.
The authors offer an insightful diagnosis of what has gone wrong in the past, coupled with practical strategies for how to set things right going forward.
Among those strategies is learning to value leisure time over efficiency: taking breaks often throughout the day to rest our minds and bodies; immersing ourselves in activities that don’t require tangible metrics; replacing “quantity time” with “quality time” in family relationships; avoiding one-size-fits-all solutions; and understanding the importance of verbal communication.
By focusing on what really matters–leisure rather than efficiency–we can learn to take better care of not only our bodies but our mental health as well.
The Cult Of Efficiency: Are We Working Too Hard For Our Bosses’ Benefit?
The quest for productivity is nothing new.
Even way back in the days of the Industrial Revolution, factory owners began to pay wages per hour instead of paying workers for tasks.
This sparked a dramatic shift in what was expected from workers, and paved the way for modern expectations that we should be tackling more and more goals with greater efficiency.
It also gave rise to a belief system known as ‘the cult of efficiency’ – one that implies that busy-ness is synonymous with success.
Not only did this attitude become normalized then, but it’s been further cemented into our societal expectations by popular faith in the American Dream; if you work hard you can get ahead in life, right?
Sadly though, all this extra work usually doesn’t mean extra money for the employees – instead it’s mostly benefited the bosses due to changes to CEO compensation since the early 1960s.
Instead they’ve been taking home bigger and bigger paychecks while our own take home pay hasn’t kept up with inflation.
So although it may seem like we’re just a perfectly modern generation at peak productiveness, don’t forget about where these attitudes stem from!
Our fixation on productivity goes back decades and has unfortunately taken a toll on many of us who strive day after day to climb ever higher……..even if there’s not much reward waiting for us at the top.
The Industrial Age Gave Rise To The Cult Of Efficiency, Making Us Feel Guilty About Taking Time Off
The Industrial Age brought a significant change in worker compensation – instead of paying employees for tasks completed, they started paying people for the hours clocked up.
This seemingly small difference had a powerful psychological impact on our attitude towards leisure time, however.
When we start to attach a monetary value to our hours, leisure begins to seem increasingly wasteful and indulgent.
This is still the case today, and has been seen in experiments such as one from UCLA wherein participants were asked to estimate their hourly wage before listening to classical music.
Those who did this reported feeling much more eager for the music to end than those who hadn’t thought about it.
This notion of wasted time when taking leisurely pursuits is reflected in what researchers refer to as “polluted time,” which occurs when we take time off but remain intensely focused on work agendas or everyday stressors.
The flexible nature of modern work schedules means that areas of our lives once considered sacrosanct are now open targets for productivity standards; many people find themselves unable to truly relax and enjoy life away from their jobs, no matter how hard they try.
The consequences of polluted time are highly detrimental, both physically and mentally; taking real breaks from work helps with creativity and increases productivity, while overworking can lead to six percent annual income increases at best coupled with increased stress levels and exhaustion.
That is why it is so important that we recognize the cult of efficiency that pushes us towards overworking and feeling guilty about enjoying leisure time–and fight against it!
How Efficiency Has Become A Mindset That Impacts Even Our Personal Lives
It’s not just at work where efficiency has become a top priority, we have started applying it to our personal lives too.
We’re so driven to stay on top of our workloads that it often makes its way into how we manage our leisure time.
Take for example the idea of “quality time” with family and friends.
We try to find moments where we can make the most of our relationships and pack in meaningful experiences by maximising the quality of spare hours.
This results in us viewing family life through a business lens, which was once confined solely to the workplace before its intrusion into our off-time lives.
Moreover, being busy after work is now associated with great social status – especially among those with college degrees who are twice as likely to report working over 40 hours a week compared to those without degrees.
Social media is also filled with posts boasting of which accomplishments require long hours, sending out a message that busyness means prestige and high stature.
In today’s world, even during our non-work activities, being efficient is seen as an essential signifier of success.
We Sacrifice Meaningful Human Connections When We Strive For Efficiency
It is a sad fact that our focus on efficiency has led us to sacrifice meaningful human connections.
Before the Industrial Revolution, most people lived in small communities and had a need for both close friendships as well as good companions and acquaintances, which all provided emotional connections.
However, this is not the case today as many of our social needs go unmet, even though we can have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook.
On top of being emotionally painful, isolation has been shown to have serious effects such as decreased lifespan and an increased risk of cancer or heart attack.
An example that shows the issue in microcosm can be seen when comparing texting someone with actually speaking with them.
Texting may seem more efficient because it allows us to send messages any time and each person can keep a record of what was exchanged; however, there are important aspects that cannot be conveyed via text such as emotion or tone which are essential for establishing meaningful connections.
This can be demonstrated by recent studies which showed that brain activity begins to resemble the storyteller when their story is heard out loud (this phenomenon is known as speaker-listener neural coupling).
No amount of emojis sent through email or text message can emulate this effect.
It’s clear then that our focus on making life more efficient has started to diminish meaningful human interactions – consequences which we cannot ignore!
Stop Comparing Your Life To Others And Focus On Your Own Achievements On Social Media
We all know that the age of social media has made it far too easy to compare ourselves to other people, and often not in a good way.
The instant access to millions of people means we can easily compare our lives to those who appear more successful or productive than us.
The pressure to post our accomplishments – running marathons, baking elaborate cakes – makes it even worse, as it encourages us to share information about what we’ve done.
We all know that feeling of envy when we scroll through our feed and see others seemingly achieving more than us.
And that’s why it’s so important for us to resist the impulse to make direct comparisons with others.
After all, there is no one-size-fits-all definition of success or productivity – your definition is probably different from mine!
Instead of endlessly comparing ourselves with others, let’s learn how to evaluate our own achievements without worrying about what other people are doing.
The only person you need to compete with is yourself – enjoy and appreciate your own successes rather than trying (and failing) to outdo those around you!
It’S Time To Rethink Our Relationship With Efficiency And Prioritize Leisure
Slowing down can help us to improve our quality of life, though we all worry that taking time out from productivity isn’t something we can afford.
Natures Nutrition‘s Do Nothing Book Summary asserts that it is possible, though it may require a few changes in the way that we approach our days.
Most of us have trouble pinpointing exactly how we are using our time – studies have shown that people frequently overestimate their work hours, for example.
So what’s the solution? Improving time perception can help us achieve true leisure and cultivate better decision making and even more compassion – and it is achievable with the right tools.
The Berlin Academy of Music finds that some of the best young musicians were both aware of how much they practiced as well as how much they socialized and relaxed; this shows that awareness is key in being able to set aside a chunk of time every day to be idle but still in control.
With a more conscious outlook on life comes enhanced decision-making skills and improved quality of life, as many good things also come out of doing nothing once in awhile.
The Perils Of Pursuing Efficiency At The Expense Of Meaningful End Goals
To recover our leisure time, it is essential to understand the difference between means and ends.
What this really means is that it is important to distinguish between activities which bring us closer to our goals – the ‘means’ – and what those goals actually are – the ‘ends’.
Consider as an example getting a job in order to earn a good salary and raise a happy family.
Getting the job is a means of that end goal but it’s important to remember not just the process but also why you’re getting the job in the first place.
The same goes for something like eating healthily; this could be seen as a means of living longer but it’s not just about sticking to your meal plan – It’s also about being mindful of what goals you are aiming for by leading this healthy lifestyle.
What happens if we start focusing too much on productivity rather than these end goals? We can get so caught up in ticking off checklist items that we forget to ask whether anything we’re doing makes us happier or improves our lives.
This is why it’s important to take some time out every now and then to reflect on what you are doing and how those activities are contributing towards long-term attainment of your desired outcomes.
If accomplishing something doesn’t add any value whatsoever beyond passing satisfaction, then it may be prudent to drop such tasks from your life.
That way, you’ll find yourself with more time available whereupon you can work towards achieving meaningful milestones and also enjoy some well earned rest without guilt!
Wrap Up
The Do Nothing Book offers an important message about how we live and work in today’s world.
We are so focused on maximizing efficiency that we have forgotten the joys of leisure and true relaxation.
This is leading to increased stress, loneliness, and even physical illness.
The solution? Make time for genuine leisure activities like nothing in your life.
One actionable piece of advice offered is to change your email signature to explain that you do not immediately respond to messages.
This will help manage people’s expectations so you can make time for meaningful rest and relaxation every day.
Taking this action could greatly improve your overall wellbeing as well as your relationship with the workplace!
