"How to Do Nothing" and Goals

In the "Before Covid-19 Times," I bought How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell. I was hoping to read it to gain insights on how I could become less busy, obsessed, stressed out, etc. Now I am reading it with a different intention: how to actually do nothing, how to survive without all of those things I had before, like seeing friends, running errands, going out to dinner.

What is doing nothing, according to Odell, an artist?

"We still recognize that much of what gives one's life meaning stems from accidents, interruptions, and serendipitous encounters: the 'off time' that a mechanistic view of experience seeks to eliminate.

"The first half of 'doing nothing' is disengaging from the attention economy. The other half is reengaging with something else."

Beautiful. I love it.

Odell continues: "That 'something else' is nothing less than time and space, a possibility only once we meet each other there on the level of attention."

Now that we all live in the time of social distancing, it doesn't mean we need to be isolated. We still can connect, and we can connect with the person that is very likely the scariest to many of us: ourselves.

I love jigsaw puzzles, but I used to view them as a waste of time, even though they gave me peace and serenity. They give me a chance to turn off my thinking brain and my heart, and give them both a rest while I am awake. I need to give myself permission to solve jigsaw puzzles if only because I love them.

I also love quilting. I am going to make a new quilt that I can use to cover myself in the evenings when I sit outside on the condo balcony. Here is the pattern design and the fabric. My Aunt Pat helped me decide on fabric and pattern.

The goal is to have the quilt remind me of a waterfall or a river.

I am also going to read. As much as I love all of these introspective, self-help books, I am also going to read fiction. This is a book about a man who is held prisoner in a hotel in Moscow years ago, which could be interesting...

Or, I can read this, an epic fantasy...

I can dig a little deeper into my piano lessons, and practice more often and with more intention.

I can enjoy the market, mostly all to myself. In February, I had friends visit from California and we went to the Market. Before they arrived, I wanted to go to the Biscuit Bitch for breakfast but there was a line outside the shop. When my friends arrived, the market was insanely busy for February. At the time, I was annoyed at both. Why are there so many people here? Now, I long for that busy day, and wait for the market to become alive again.