every minute doesn’t need to be productive
This morning I walked to our local coffee shop to work from there for a couple of hours—it takes about thirty minutes to get there.
On the way home, I decided not to finish the podcast I'd been listening to on the way there. Instead, I walked home with just my thoughts and stayed present with the nature around me. Sure, I could have kept listening to the podcast to be “productive” and make the most of my time, but I felt it was a better use of thirty minutes to just be.
When I first started the walk back home, my mind was racing, still thinking of the work I had been doing and the work I needed to do when I got home. About five to ten minutes into my walk, I noticed the sound of my shoes gripping the walking path. I found my Self focusing on the sound and realized I was no longer thinking. For lack of a better term, I was walking in meditation.
As my walk continued, I noticed the birds chirping, saw a few turtles sunning on a stick in the lake, and even caught a possible message from the Universe. I wrote about omens yesterday; sometimes they show up in non-traditional ways.
I enjoyed the walk home so much more than the walk to the coffee shop, even though on the way there I was entertained by a podcast and not wasting my time doing “nothing.”
We are lucky to live in a time where we can be more efficient and more productive than we could have been in the past. There were no podcasts back in the day, so a drive might have just consisted of listening to music, talking to someone else, or just being with your own thoughts. On the surface, that doesn’t seem very productive, but today’s walks got me thinking that sometimes doing nothing is the most productive thing we can do because it helps us focus when it is time to work.
A break from doing provides rest, conserves energy, and interrupts life's busyness.
I’ve added an hour of walking to my daily routine as I prioritize hitting the magical 10,000 steps, and I’m going to require my Self to make that hour podcast-, technology-, and phone-free. Just me, my thoughts, and possibly some walking meditation.
I know that hour of non-productivity will be more than made up for once I get back to work.
Society has made the goal to be hustling, grinding, and maximizing productivity, but not every moment has to be a hustle, grind, or productive.
The next time you go for a walk, or a bike ride, or even a car ride, try doing it without anything distracting you and see how you feel by the end of the trip.
What do you have to lose?
See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,
JC
