{"id":2318,"date":"2015-03-13T11:47:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-13T17:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/?p=2318"},"modified":"2022-09-14T09:47:43","modified_gmt":"2022-09-14T15:47:43","slug":"notdoing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/notdoing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Challenge of Not Doing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/dobe15.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2319\" src=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/dobe15.jpg\" alt=\"The Challenge of Doing Nothing\" width=\"648\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/dobe15.jpg 648w, https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/dobe15-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is for the do-ers, myself included.<\/p>\n<p>It seems like we are always doing something, even when we aren&#8217;t doing anything. Doing nothing means different things to each of us, but it usually boils down to not getting anything meaningful accomplished.<\/p>\n<p>Taking a closer look at doing nothing usually reveals lots of activity.<\/p>\n<h2>When you do nothing are you &#8230;<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>picking up around the house?<\/li>\n<li>reading?<\/li>\n<li>texting?<\/li>\n<li>watching tv?<\/li>\n<li>talking on the phone?<\/li>\n<li>spinning your wheels?<\/li>\n<li>lurking on Facebook?<\/li>\n<li>procrastinating?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I ask, because even now that I&#8217;ve built a life that has space for doing nothing, I have a real struggle in not doing. I don&#8217;t schedule my days full of meetings or obligations, but I do spend time engaged in <a href=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wake\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">my morning routine<\/a> doing things like: writing, meditating, exercising, and enjoying a smoothie.<\/p>\n<p>Then, I work for a few hours on writing projects or <a href=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/work-with-me\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">helping clients with their projects<\/a>. I take a long break over lunch so I have time to eat lunch, take Guinness for a walk, and then take a longer walk myself. Lovely, but still doing.<\/p>\n<p>Next, it&#8217;s\u00a0another work block and then my evenings are usually doing something with my husband. Not everyday is like that, but most.<\/p>\n<p>I remember when I used to work full-time with crazy deadlines and stress, saying yes to everything, thinking that I would kill to have time to do nothing.\u00a0Now that I have the time, I resist nothingness.\u00a0Maybe you resist too?<\/p>\n<h3>Why we resist doing nothing:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Do-ers like getting things done. We get a high from ticking things off the list.<\/li>\n<li>There is always more\u00a0to do; things we want to do, and things that need to be done.<\/li>\n<li>We are\u00a0afraid that if we do nothing, people will think\u00a0we are lazy or incapable.<\/li>\n<li>We are afraid that if we do nothing, we will become lazy or incapable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/donothing15.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2320 size-full\" style=\"border: 1px solid #040404;\" src=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/donothing15.jpg\" alt=\"The Challenge of Doing Nothing\" width=\"650\" height=\"650\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/donothing15.jpg 650w, https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/donothing15-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/donothing15-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While I love the freedom of my days and feel blessed to have the time and energy to do the things I really want to do, I have been pulled to do nothing lately.<\/p>\n<p>I believe there are real benefits, but I haven&#8217;t spent enough time not doing\u00a0to know for sure. There is only one way to find out what not doing has to offer.<\/p>\n<h2>Join me for a little challenge in not doing.<\/h2>\n<p>For the next 7 days, schedule 10 minutes to an hour for not doing. Also, while you are not doing \u00a0&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>No notebook nearby for all of the ideas that come up<\/li>\n<li>No napping or formal meditating<\/li>\n<li>No distractions or devices<\/li>\n<li>No background music<\/li>\n<li>No apps for that<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When the excuses rush in,\u00a0(&#8220;I don&#8217;t have time for that.&#8221; &#8220;Her schedule is more flexible.&#8221; &#8220;This is crazy.&#8221; or &#8220;I have better things to do than do nothing.&#8221;) recognize your\u00a0resistance. If you really can&#8217;t find\u00a0time to do nothing, <a href=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/cut\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">make cuts.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m going to start with 15-30 minutes a day and reassess after 7 days. If I enjoy the time, and observe that it contributes to health, love, or creativity, I&#8217;ll go for longer stretches.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m starting to think that all the doing, even the really meaningful doing dilutes our\u00a0energy, commitment and purpose. The doing is compromising the reason we do.<\/p>\n<p>Are you in?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is for the do-ers, myself included. It seems like we are always doing something, even when we aren&#8217;t doing anything. Doing nothing means different things to each of us, but it usually boils down to not&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-simplify-your-life","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.1 (Yoast SEO v25.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Challenge of Not Doing - Be More with Less<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is only one way to find out what not doing has to offer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/notdoing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Challenge of Not Doing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is only one way to find out what not doing has to offer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/notdoing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Be More with Less\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bemorewithlessdotcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bemorewithlessdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-13T17:47:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-14T15:47:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/dobe15.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Courtney Carver\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bemorewithless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bemorewithless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Courtney Carver\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/notdoing\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/notdoing\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Courtney Carver\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2239981d8cb0a390981bb0355976c6f4\"},\"headline\":\"The Challenge of Not Doing\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-13T17:47:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-14T15:47:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/notdoing\/\"},\"wordCount\":552,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/notdoing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/dobe15.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Simplify Your Life\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/notdoing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/notdoing\/\",\"name\":\"The Challenge of Not Doing - 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