How To Do Nothing
Last Updated: 20 March 2026
28 Nov 2025
Introduction and Chapter 1
Hello! Here are some notes and questions that I've been grappling with after reading the aforementioned portions of How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell.
Introduction + Chapter 1 (Nov 2025)
Ideas that struck me
Introduction:
- Being busy in today's context can take different forms. However, for the purposes of this introduction, Odell is saying talking about occupying our time in a way that results in selling our time and information --> engaging in a cycle of self-involvement --> creating needs in ourselves that we previously didn't have.
- Doing nothing means... seeing + accepting what is already there (even things that we may perceive as flawed or "useless") --> manifests in connection with the self, others and the environment --> striving for a "placefullness" (vs place-lessness) = getting curious about the ground on which we stand - who was here, what was here + who/what survived, continues to exist here?
Chapter 1:
The chapter opens with considering the current state of things (primarily, the internet, social media etc): there's just a lot of noise and fury. But the question is - is this actually a form of oppression? Silence is the first step to helping us understand that we do have something to say.
"... Stupidity's never blind or mute. So it's not a problem of >getting people to express themselves but of providing little gaps of >solitude and silence in which they might find something to say" - >Giles Deleuze, Negotiations. (See Footnote 1)
- Labyrinths, gardens and small museums - the physical nature of such places means that one cannot rush straight through. Conversely, one cannot be a passive observer and refuse to move at all. Instead, the twists / turns force a participant to enter a state of contemplation (architecture that facilitates doing nothing). Perhaps, this provides a refuge from our everyday anxieties + desire for shortcuts + preference for noise.
- Decline in public spaces that allow for such contemplation related to a decrease in labour movements, who fought for: "Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight ours for what we will!" (See Footnote 2) They fought for the right for a worker to determine themselves what to do for 8 hours - a right to refuse.
Tools of resistance:
Repair: Choosing to keep ourselves well and whole through the act of maintenance can be counter-cultural, especially when the expectation is to participate in structures that ultimately lead to the human body falling apart.
Empathy:
- achieved via Deep Listening as put forth by the artist Pauline Oliver's, which entails paying attention (listening) to everyday sounds (urban/in nature), words/tunes/sounds from our own consciousness, or any actual music/media consumed. (See note 3)
- trying to understand the perspectives of others via sensitivity - i.e. staying open to interacting with someone else, being curious, being aware that one might change as a result of such exchanges. It takes intention and time.
Practices/Questions for consideration
- Staying busy: How busy am I feeling? What's pulling my attention in a day?
- Repair as a Resistance: I know that I often go onto social media when I am feeling especially tired/exhausted. I find myself saying: "I'm tired", as I tap the Instagram button... Can I recognise the patterns that lead to me getting into such a headspace? Can I start to wind down and initiate rituals that would help me enter a state of rest instead?
- Remembering the body: Nowadays, we often exist primarily in a virtual space. What are some practices that I can integrate into my everyday to help me remain aware of my bodily senses?
- Remembering the country: What are some ways that I can get place-full + explore the bioregionalism of the place that I live in (estate, suburb, country, region)?
- "Multi-farious perspectives": Taken by the idea of labyrinths, gardens, small museums. Spending time and walking through. I'm going to look for a space to explore in the next week.
- Empathy as a Tool: Working off what I heard at Neal Shusterman's talk - what are some stories that I can read up on to try to explore new perspectives, new worldviews that are different from mine?
The idea is that I will actually take some time to engage with these questions above... maybe I'll come back with an update? I'll probably choose 2-3 prompts to work with over the next week, and might write a follow-up post about it, just to reflect on how it's going.
Notes on the Process
I've been reading, note-taking and reviewing these pages by way of mindmaps, in order to help me process what I've been reading.
On the one hand, it's started to get a bit tedious because I feel a need to go over the material a few times for me to get a grip on the author's message.
On the other hand, it has been a luxury to acknowledge that I have the time to do this exercise, without fear of critique by others. It has also been refreshing for me to slow down, for once. I often feel that I gorge myself on media.
I do anticipate that I will get somewhat impatient with myself and eventually stop reading this book because of the friction that comes with such copious note-taking? So I might need to consider how to adjust my approach so that it's less involved...
Notes on referencing
I know this is just a blogpost, but I'm still paranoid about plagiarism, LOL. So anyway, I'm just going to take a more diligent approach but it's still a bit loose. I'm reading on my Kobo/Phone via Libby so the page numbering is variable/varied. If Odell/Publisher finds this, please do pardon.
- Quoted in Chapter 1, Odell.
- Roy Rosenzweig, Eight Hours for What We Will: Workers and Leisure in an Industrial City, 1870-1920 (UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 1 - as quoted in Chapter 1, Odell.
- Pauline Oliver's, Deep Listening: A Composer's Sound Practice (New York: iUniverse, 2005), xxii - as quoted in Chapter 1, Odell.