When You Don’t Know What To Do, Do Anything
It’s better than doing nothing.
So.. You’ve played all your games, you’ve watched all those movies, and you’ve seen way too much Netflix. All you’re friends are busy and you’ve got a whole afternoon to yourself. What do you do? Well, you do anything. Cause it’s better than doing nothing.
This is something I grapple with thanks to my wavering weekly schedule that sometimes gets busy and sometimes gets quiet. I’ve got a whole weekend of no plans and I’ve reached that stage where everything in my house has been done. Nothing is really piquing interest. So what do I do? I write. I go for a walk. I go on the internet and do weird quizzes. I play music and dance to it. I might even try that cool cheesecake recipe I found.
But sometimes you may think that just because you’ve played all your games or watched all your movies, that they can’t be enjoyed again. Sure, you know what goes on, you’ve played all those levels and you know how that movie ends, but you did enjoy it before. You might just enjoy it again. There is nothing more relaxing than playing a game that you’ve already played. Heck, you may want to play it differently this time? Maybe up the difficulty or search for cool hidden easter eggs? Maybe there are side missions you can complete?
The irony is, doing nothing is a misnomer. You can’t place a verb before an action if the action is assumed to be non-existent. People think doing nothing is lying in bed, staring at the ceiling; but then you are doing something. You are staring at a ceiling. And while you’re staring at the ceiling, you will be thinking. That’s doing something too. But, let’s face it, staring at the ceiling is not all that fun, either. So why not do something. Anything, really. Put on some shoes and go for a walk. Go do online quizzes or write a blog. Rearrange your movie collection. Read up on the day's news. Meditate. Clean. Don’t think about it, just do it.
This mantra could even be said for life decisions. Are you stuck on finding the next career path? No idea on what to do next? Then do anything. When you do things, you open up your mind to what you like and dislike. You might think that horticulture is not really your cup of tea, but how do you know if you haven’t done it?
And thinking and worrying about not knowing what to do is not productive, either. It’s a hellish loop that only brings you down and wastes your time. It’s also not productive to think about what it is you want to do. This is especially true if you’re having one of those days where you really don’t feel like doing anything. In the back of your mind, you know what you enjoy. Perhaps you’re a puzzle kind of guy, so why not go online and find puzzles that you like? Perhaps you enjoy photography? Then get those shoes on. Perhaps, like me, you like writing? Then get to it. You might think you're stuck on ideas, but that’s just your mind worrying. Just like the idea of doing anything, the same can be said about writing anything. What do you like to write about? Travel?Science fiction? Politics? It’s a big world out there, with limitless things to write about.
If you’ve got this far, give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve done something. You’ve read this article. Why not keep up the good work and find another article to read? In the meantime, follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using the username @theoutoutdoors and check out my website.
