Ask HN: How to deal with the constant urge to do or create something | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to deal with the constant urge to do or create something

3 pointsr92956 comments

I'm tired. I had an exhausting year at university and at my part-time software engineering job. I went through a lot of stress and developed anxiety. I decided to go back to my hometown for holiday and do nothing to recover from this.

However, I'm unable to just sit and do nothing. A friend has an idea for an app, and I somehow got involved. I also started to compose another album. A couple of days ago, I was thinking of starting the reading I have to do for next semester (and almost did). My brain just keeps pointing at TODOs and "wouldn't it be nice" and "why not this" and I seem to not be able to help myself.

I have 20 more days here and would like to do nothing!

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For me, sometimes “doing nothing” is literally doing nothing: neither napping nor thinking. Other times, “nothing” means surfing Reddit and making music.

It’s all about intent. Abandon plans! Stop scheming! Without expectations, everything and nothing are equally unexpected.

Imagine a beach ball on the water. It’s incapable of doing anything, and yet it responds to every force with an appropriate reaction. Dive in the pool, and it rolls with the waves. Pull it underwater, and it shoots back to the surface!

It’s fun to live like a beach ball. By doing “nothing”, I find myself bouncing from adventure to adventure.

When I stop doing things, it gives the universe a chance to play with me; I become like a kite in the sky.

[1] https://taylor.town/nothing

Your shopping list and to-do list and bucket list are bottomless. Your lists grow until you decide they’re complete.

Decide that your TODOs are already complete! When nothing remains on your lists, there's only "nothing" left to do :)

[2] https://taylor.town/nothing-fulfills

Do something that's not productive or responsible or related to your long term goals! I have this too, and I think part of my strategy is that I'm not trying to get rid of the desire to do stuff. I'm just looking for stuff to do that isn't related to any goal or person/project that puts pressure on me.

Some stuff i like to do: trying to learn bike tricks. Making random origami. Drawing and planning tattoos i want to get. Listening to podcasts about weird history or crime stories. Making models and minis.

you and me both. there's nothing wrong with doing, you just have to do different things. put the screens down and go outside as Mother used to say. i found feeling physically exhausted rather than mentally is pretty refreshing. do jobs around the house, buy some wood and build something in the garden or whatever. just reduce on the computer related pass times and don't do any uni work, that's a sure fire way to get burnt out which isn't great considering you've barely entered working life.

Enjoy this gift. Believe me, the other way is much worse...

Meditate, it will surely help.

Girlfriend...or get stoned

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