Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving

by Celeste Headlee

In fact, a survey of 485 separate studies demonstrated conclusively that people who like their work are more likely to be healthy in body and mind. Also, they are less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression than those who are either unemployed or who don’t like their jobs.

Still, we know that for every extra year a person works, their chance of suffering dementia drops by 3 percent.

The bottom line is that work is not always good and healthy. According to data from the United Nations, work kills more than twice as many people annually than war does and more than both drugs and alcohol combined.

Decades of research demonstrate that we are more creative, more insightful, and generally sharper when we allow ourselves a significant amount of leisure time.

If our minds never come to rest, there is never an opportunity to wander into new directions.

Focus is required for directed work, but idleness is necessary for reflection.

Since belonging is a fundamental need, seeking out isolation is not good for you. And yet, more and more of us are avoiding other people and think it’s more efficient to work from home and order delivery of our meals, our groceries, our pet supplies, and anything else we can get without going to the store. Seeking out isolation may be at the heart of our rising stress. It is certainly not doing us any good. Quality social interaction isn’t just good for you—it’s essential. The need to belong underlies many of our best impulses.

These are the essential qualities of a human being: social skills and language, a need to belong that fosters empathy, rule-making, music, and play. We excel at these things, and we need them in order to be healthy.

Research shows employees who feel more detached from their jobs during their time at home are emotionally healthier and more satisfied with their lives. They’re less likely to feel emotionally exhausted, and they report getting better sleep.

Sometimes striving to improve on everything we do can impede progress. Stop becoming and just be for a moment.

A growing body of evidence suggests that quality leisure time, meaning leisure time that is truly disengaged from work concerns, will ultimately make you better at and more satisfied with your job.