The appeal of doing nothing

I had a great conversation with my friend James last night, about the power of being exactly in the moment that you're in, without spending time and energy on anticipating whatever is next.

It got me thinking (and I still am), about two things in particular:

1. Should we set aside specific time in our schedule to do nothing, or is it something that we should learn how to do in the midst of everyday activities?
2. Why is it sometimes so hard to achieve?

For the first question, I think there's value in both approaches. Before this conversation with James, I was thinking about making plans for Saturday, because I have none. Now, I'm thinking that planning nothing at all is the most appealing thing. This doesn't mean I literally won't do anything, because first thing in the morning, I will probably make a list of 5 small things to do that will take no longer than 10-15 minutes each. (This is part of my new effort to improve both my productivity and my sanity). The point is, though, that there is nothing that I have to do, nothing that I must accomplish, and nowhere that I have to be.

Still, setting aside a day, or even a evening to plan nothing isn't that practical. This is actually okay with me, because I like my life this way - the alternative sounds rather boring, really. Which means that we must find ways to relax in the midst of the things that we do every day.

This brings me to the second question - how do you achieve this on the regular basis? I'm still figuring this one out, but one thing I've decided - part of it is about being comfortable in your own skin, being able to just be who you are, wherever you are.

At the moment, though, I'm just looking forward to not doing anything tomorrow.