Working up to my limit was not easy. This assignment was interesting because I felt like it should have been easier than it was. This summer I got very fed up with my phone, I felt like I had a hard time putting it down and getting away from the overstimulating mess that is the internet. I read a Substack article called “The People Who Don’t Want You to Sleep” by Sara Eckel which inspired me to be more conscious of when I was on my phone, and if that was something I actually wanted to be doing. So, this made me think this assignment would be easy since I had a little practice, but I was wrong. What I had been practicing was not true boredom, it was just a departure from my usual habits. This was a real exercise in patience. What I had perceived as nothing mostly just equated to silence. The best way I found to approach this was by meditating, I had a little existential crisis because I felt like meditating is a form of action itself, and anything I could think of as nothing felt like it was still something. I ultimately settled on meditation as the closest thing to “doing nothing”. I began by sitting in silence on my floor. It was easy to start thinking of all the things I needed or wanted to do. The itch to stand up and do anything else was intense, but eventually I tried to just let my thoughts pass by. They would pop into my mind, but I wouldn’t address them. It felt empowering to reclaim my attention and energy. I had to start at 5 minutes and slowly work my way up to the full 32 but it was good. I am trying to build meditation into my daily routine, even if I only have time for 5 minutes. Working at nothing is a good way to feel more in control and decenter technology as such a main part of my life. Especially with graphic design I feel like I am always on my computer, always “plugged in”. I noticed the last few days I have a little bit of an easier time putting down my phone and doing literally anything else.
