DO NOTHING

u003cbu003e"A welcome antidote to our toxic hustle culture of burnout."--Arianna Huffingtonu003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbu003e"This book is so important and could truly save lives."--Elizabeth Gilbertu003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbu003e"A clarion call to work smarter [and] accomplish more by doing less."--Adam Grantu003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbu003e u003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbu003eWe work feverishly to make ourselves happy. So why are we so miserable?u003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003e Despite our constant search for new ways to optimize our bodies and minds for peak performance, human beings are working more instead of less, living harder not smarter, and becoming more lonely and anxious. We strive for the absolute best in every aspect of our lives, ignoring what we do well naturally and reaching for a bar that keeps rising higher and higher. Why do we measure our time in terms of efficiency instead of meaning? Why can't we just take a break?u003cbru003e u003cbru003e In u003ciu003eDo Nothing,u003c/iu003e award-winning journalist Celeste Headlee illuminates a new path ahead, seeking to institute a global shift in our thinking so we can stop sabotaging our well-being, put work aside, and start living instead of doing. As it turns out, we're searching for external solutions to an internal problem. We won't find what we're searching for in punishing diets, productivity apps, or the latest self-improvement schemes. Yet all is not lost--we just need to learn how to take time for ourselves, without agenda or profit, and redefine what is truly worthwhile.u003cbru003e u003cbru003e Pulling together threads from history, neuroscience, social science, and even paleontology, Headlee examines long-held assumptions about time use, idleness, hard work, and even our ultimate goals. Her research reveals that the habits we cling to are doing us harm; they developed recently in human history, which means they are habits that can, and must, be broken. It's time to reverse the trend that's making us all sadder, sicker, and less productive, and return to a way of life that allows us to thrive.