Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Jenny Odell, Black Inc., $29.99.
American artist, writer and educator, Odell gives us food for thought about rethinking our approach to life.
Said to be one of former ‘US President Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2019’, this is an enterprising, though intricate and trendy paperback that initially can be regarded as a self-help manual, but it actually develops into a widespread political platform.
The boundaries between work, leisure and rest have thawed due to economic insecurity and fast-paced technology. The impact of modern life’s incessant claims on our time and attention continue to increase.
It’s a rousing analysis of the forces vying for our attention – and our personal information – that redefines what we think of as productivity and reveals what we’ve been too distracted to see about ourselves and our world.
Nothing is harder to do these days than nothing. However, in a world where our value is determined by our data productivity, doing nothing may be our most important form of resistance.
So argues Odell in this field guide to slowing down. She sees our attention as the most precious – and overdrawn – resource we have. Once we can start paying a ‘new kind of attention, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, re-imagine humanity’s role in the environment, and arrive at a more meaningful understanding of happiness and fulfilment’.
‘Far from a simple anti-technology screed, How to Do Nothing is an action plan for thinking beyond capitalist narratives of efficiency and value. Provocative, timely, and utterly persuasive, it shows us how to preserve our inner lives and bring about change in a world that needs this more than ever.’
What is the benefit of doing nothing? Apart from a feeling of being ‘alive’ and being interested in ‘nothing for the sake of nothing’, you get improved creativity, enriched empathy and enhanced mental health.
