Our teenager, Julian, is visiting us for a couple of weeks. Wait, as of a few days ago, he’s no longer a teenager. Wow, we have a twenty-something. Ok, moving on…
I came into the living room the other day to find him sitting on the couch staring off at the wall in front of him. Admittedly, the first thing that came to mind was the scene of Puddy and Elaine on a plane in a classic episode of Seinfeld. Then I caught myself. Why is that weird, someone doing nothing? Or why is it even weirder when we’re in public, just thinking quietly or enjoying a moment rather than pulling out our phone or pretending to be busy? In a Harvard Business Review article, the author mentions analyzing holiday letters since the 1960s and seeing a spike in them of the phrase ‘crazy schedules.’ When we’re not doing stuff, we feel like we have to pretend we’re doing stuff. That’s weird.
Since the new year, in my looking back at the previous one, I’ve realized I need to be better at setting hard stops on when I’m in work mode and when I’m Dad, or husband, or friend. Part of that includes finding time, seeking out time in fact, for doing nothing. Like Julian, I guess. The kid is onto something.
