Productively Doing Nothing

A recent doll: Holding Potential: It’s in the Roots, sticks, cashmere, clay, hag stones, yarn and thread, cloth, Milagros, 14 x 7 x 4, 2026

It’s September and the year is almost three quarters gone. Below are some of my ramblings on the productivity of inaction; of naps, resting and just doing nothing. ​

Not apples but a view of the Dupont Center Farmer's Market that we go to every Sunday.

​Transition from Summer to Fall
We are in that transition time between summer and fall. Many traditions celebrate the harvest at this time, a time of ripening and leaning into all the seeds that we have planted earlier in the year, metaphorically and literally. It’s also a time of gratitude for the gifts of the year so far. In terms of the weather, it can still feel like summer, at least here in DC where I live, warm and sometimes humid. Yet, there are signs of fall as well-leaves beginning to change color and beautiful apples showing up at the weekly Sunday farmer’s market. 
 
How can we bring that sense of freedom of summer into the rest of the year?
If you were lucky enough to take some time off in the summer, it can feel challenging to get back into the rhythm of the fall. For me, I am feeling the weight of all that I want to accomplish by the end of the year which feels not that far away. Then, the thought occurs to me, what about doing nothing? There is something freeing about the summer and vacation time, a sense of permission to rest and stop doing. A reminder of those childhood endless summers of freedom. What if we could bring that feeling of freedom into our day-to-day life? 

Helen Frankenthaler, an abstract expressionist who worked in the mid to late 20th century.

​Helen Frankenthaler on not working
Yesterday I came across a video of the celebrated painter, Helen Frankenthaler, talking, in a 1972 Q & A at Portland State University, about not minding those times as a painter when she is not working. It could be for a day, or even months at a time. She said “it doesn’t mean I am not thinking or symbolically working…everything you do has to do with actually beginning to paint again.” She famously also had times of doubt and uncertainty about her work but still, even when she wasn’t working, she felt that thread of connection to her art. It was a part of her identity, so that all of her life was about being a painter. Everything in her life came back to painting in the end. 
 
Can sitting and thinking be just as productive?
And I remember having a conversation with an artist a while back who said, “sometimes my most productive times in my studio are when I do nothing. Times when I am just sitting and thinking or resting.” I think about that a lot. I notice that I have tended to internalize that sense that if I am not actively working in my studio, I am not achieving. It is a helpful reset to remember that those quiet, fallow times are also important, or maybe more important than the active times. Especially at this time of year, when suddenly the pace picks up and we feel pressure to accomplish things. 

The post card that my husband had on his desk at his lab back in the 80's

​The Liberating Power of Naps
I also especially love the “Nap Minister” who shows up on my Instagram and on Substack. The founder, theologian, activist, and performance artist, Tricia Hersey, says, “we examine the liberating power of naps.” She also has a book, Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto. Her focus is Black women but I find it helpful as well. From her book description: “resistance (to the cultural pressure to be productive) is a battle cry, a guidebook, a map for movement, and a field guide for the weary and hopeful. It is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism.” What a powerful reminder!
 
 
Any time can be Nap time!
Yes, naps! My husband had a postcard on his desk when I first met him, “When in Doubt, Get Horizontal: Any time can be Nap time.” At the time, my husband was starting medical school when 48-hour shifts were the norm. He really knew how to nap any time! And he could get what seemed like a full rest out of just 20 minutes of sleep. Not me! But maybe that is not exactly what I am getting here, those naps that happened to the chronically sleep deprived! And yet, I love the message of any time can be nap time and say it often. 

An image from our recently summer vacation in Jamestown, RI

​Dream time of Winter
We are coming soon into that dreamtime of the year, the dark of winter. I am partly writing this for myself because I have a difficult time with winter, the cold, the short days and feeling less connected to the daily rhythms of nature because I spend so much time inside in winter. So, let’s remember how important napping and sleep is. How important rest and reflection are, slowing down. Noticing what is around us. And those productive dreams that can bring so much inspiration. 
 
I feel better after writing this. Thank you. I hope you feel better after reading it.