(Ish)#3 — Doing Nothing (on Purpose)

This weekend, I packed up the car with sleeping bags, marshmallows, and my two boys.
And—for the first time in probably 8 years—I left both laptops at home.

No personal laptop. No work laptop. No newsletter drafts. No tabs full of half-baked side hustle ideas.

Just a tent. Some fire making supplies. And time.

The truth is: I was fried.
Work had been a mess. My brain was scattered. My mental health felt like it had been driven over by Trump's military parade.
I didn’t need a productivity hack—I needed a hard reset.

So I tried something I almost never do on purpose:
I did nothing.

Not “recharging so I can hit Monday harder.”
Not “strategic rest.”
Just… nothing.

We splashed in the KOA pool for hours.
We threw twigs, leaves, and garbage into the fire that we found around our campsite.
I watched my boys laugh like little lunatics over the fact that our marshmallows were too melty.

After they fell asleep, I didn’t catch up on work. I didn’t write a blog post. I just… sat there. And it was kind of amazing.

💭 Reflection:

There’s a weird thing that happens when you let yourself off the hook.
When you’re not trying to squeeze value out of every moment.
When your only job is to be there.

It turns out “nothing” isn’t empty.
It’s actually full of a lot of things you don’t notice when your brain’s racing.

There's a lot of life to be lived when we slow down enough to notice what's going on around us.

This was my first “do nothing on purpose” event.
I think I might make it a tradition.

What would happen if you planned a little nothing for yourself this week?

Until next week,

—Matt

Writer(ish)

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