How to Do Nothing
Nothing is harder to do these days than nothing. But in a world where our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity... doing nothing may be our most important form of resistance. So argues artist and critic Jenny Odell in this field guide to doing nothing (at least as capitalism defines it). Odell sees our attention as the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have. Once we can start paying a new kind of attention, she writes, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, reimagine humankind’s role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress. Far from the simple anti-technology screed, or the back-to-nature meditation we read so often, How to do Nothing is an action plan for thinking outside of capitalist narratives of efficiency and techno-determinism. Provocative, timely, and utterly persuasive, this book is a four-course meal in the age of Soylent.
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What Hacker News says
- Neat! I've been reading How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell and enjoying it. It's a bit political for my liking but overall a good reminder to pause and set aside time to just "be" and shelve the programmed drive to constantly be productive as in economically productive. My therapist recently helped me reframe my drive for being productive as being generative, which I have taken a liking to since it encompasses being creative for the sake of enjoying the process with no other end - economic or otherwise.
- If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these books that expand on the same concept:
* _Hyperculture: The Human Cost of Speed_ by Stephen Bertman
* _How to Do Nothing_ by Jenny Odell
The first book more than the 2nd, but the 2nd book is still a lovely read that may help you figure out for yourself how to practically deal with the pacing of modern life.
- check out How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy (Odell, Jenny) ... the punchline is that it is always there, you just have to find a reason to not want it.
Also, going through the feature checklist on https://www.dumbphones.org/ made me realize how many of these things are so helpful. I checked all the ones I would want, and there were no dumbphones that supported them. GPS Navigation, Group Text, Hotspot, WiFi Calling, Rideshare, Camera, Calendar Sync. And, if it can do all those things, its not that dumb.
- "How to do nothing" by Jenny Odell is such a great book. Probably not for the usual reader of Hacker News, but I strongly recommend it to anyone who also starts to feel the fake "productivity" pressure imposed by the attention economy.
Also worth checking more about Jenny Odell's other projects, like The Bureau of Suspended Objects (https://www.jennyodell.com/bso-cjm.html)
- A related book is the wonderful _How to do Nothing_, by Jenny Odell.
If a book seems too much in these busy times, she has a medium post on the same theme.
- My spouse and I do an internet / technology sabbath on Saturdays. No social media, no streaming services or video games. Mostly listen to the couple of records we have, read books, and do other analog things. I started after reading How to do Nothing, and thinking a lot about unplugging from the attention economy.
I find that it does a really good job of resetting / breaking the dopamine cycles. Going a day without being online every so often results in me at least being less tied to the Internet for well being the rest of the week.
