Today is January 16. If you’re feeling a weird pressure to be productive or hit some arbitrary New Year's resolution milestone, stop. Honestly, just stop. You’ve likely never heard of Harold Pullman Coffin, but he’s the hero we need right now. Back in 1973, Coffin—a San Francisco newspaper columnist—decided we had too many commemorative days. He was tired of being told to celebrate "National Pickled Pepper Week" or whatever else was cluttering the calendar. So, he invented National Nothing Day. It’s a "non-event" designed to give people a 24-hour window where they don’t have to celebrate, observe, or honor a single thing.
It's beautiful.
Most people think National Nothing Day is just a joke. It isn't. In a world where your phone chirps every six seconds and "hustle culture" has morphed into some kind of inescapable psychic weight, doing nothing is a radical act. We’re constantly told that if we aren't optimized, we're failing. If you aren't listening to a podcast at 1.5x speed while jogging, you're "falling behind."
That's total nonsense.
The psychological benefits of literal, focused idleness are backed by actual neuroscience, even if Coffin just wanted to be a cranky journalist. When you stop "doing," your brain flips into what researchers call the Default Mode Network (DMN). This isn't your brain shutting off. Far from it. This is where the magic happens.
The Science of the Default Mode Network
When you’re staring out a window or sitting on a porch without checking Instagram, your brain starts connecting dots it usually ignores. Dr. Marcus Raichle at Washington University in St. Louis was a pioneer in identifying this. He found that even when we aren't focused on a specific task, the brain is consuming about 20% of the body’s energy. It’s busy. It’s processing memories, imagining the future, and—most importantly—solving problems you didn’t even know you had.
Ever notice how your best ideas come in the shower? That’s not a coincidence. It’s because the shower is one of the last places where we’re forced to do nothing but stand there.
We’ve become terrified of boredom. We treat it like a disease. But Sandi Mann, a psychologist and author of The Upside of Downtime, argues that boredom is actually a precursor to creativity. When we hit that wall of "nothing to do," our minds are forced to invent. If you never let yourself get bored, you’re essentially capping your own creative potential. You’re staying in the "Executive Control" lane of your brain, which is great for filling out spreadsheets but terrible for genuine innovation.
National Nothing Day is the one day a year where the "Executive Control" part of your brain gets to take a smoke break.
Why We Struggle With Doing Nothing
It sounds easy, right? Just sit there. But it’s actually incredibly difficult for the modern human. In a 2014 study published in Science, researchers found that many participants would actually prefer to give themselves mild electric shocks than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Think about that. Physical pain was preferable to a quarter-hour of quiet.
We’re addicted to the dopamine hit of the notification. We’ve been conditioned to believe that rest is something you "earn" after 60 hours of work. But rest isn't a reward for productivity; it’s a prerequisite for it.
There's a concept in Dutch culture called Niksen. It literally means doing nothing, or doing something without a purpose. It’s not mindfulness—mindfulness asks you to be present and aware. Niksen asks you to just be. Look at the clouds. Watch the rain. Pet the dog without thinking about how cute the photo would look on your Story.
The Cultural Pushback Against Idleness
The United States, in particular, has a toxic relationship with the concept of National Nothing Day. We have this "Protestant work ethic" baked into our DNA that equates stillness with laziness. But look at the titans of industry we’re told to emulate. Bill Gates famously took "Think Weeks" where he disappeared into a cabin with nothing but books and his thoughts. He wasn't checking emails. He was doing a high-level version of nothing.
If the richest man in the world needs a week of nothing to function, you can probably afford a Friday afternoon.
The irony is that Harold Coffin, the creator of this day, wasn't some lazy slouch. He was a prolific writer. He understood that the human engine needs to idle occasionally or it’ll blow a gasket. January 16 is perfectly placed for this. We’re two weeks into the year. The initial "New Year, New Me" adrenaline has faded. The gym is crowded, the weather is often grey, and the holiday bills are starting to arrive. It’s the highest stress point of the first quarter.
By observing National Nothing Day, you aren't being "unproductive." You’re performing essential maintenance.
How to Actually Do "Nothing"
- The Digital Deadzone. Put your phone in a drawer. Not face down on the table—in a drawer. If it's within reach, your brain is still partially occupied with the "potential" of a notification.
- The No-Goal Walk. Walk out your front door. Turn left or right. Don’t track your steps. Don’t listen to music. Don’t have a destination. Just walk until you feel like turning around.
- The Window Watch. Sit in a chair. Look out the window. That’s it. See what the birds are doing. Notice the way the light hits the siding on the house across the street.
- Reject the "Observe" Mandate. Coffin specifically stated this day is for not observing anything. So, if you feel pressured to "celebrate" National Nothing Day by buying a "Nothing" t-shirt, you’ve already failed.
Misconceptions About January 16
A lot of people confuse National Nothing Day with "Self-Care" days. They aren't the same. Self-care often involves doing things: a 10-step skincare routine, a yoga class, meal prepping, or writing in a gratitude journal. While those things are great, they are still "tasks." They require effort and focus.
Nothing Day is about the absence of effort.
It’s also not about being a hermit. You can do nothing with other people. Sit on a bench with a friend and just exist. Don't feel the need to fill the silence. There is a profound level of intimacy in being able to sit in silence with another person without it feeling "awkward."
Actionable Steps for Today
If you want to honor the spirit of Harold Coffin and the science of the DMN, here is your roadmap for the rest of today.
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First, cancel one non-essential thing. Look at your calendar. That "sync" that could have been an email? That coffee date you're only doing out of obligation? Axe it. Give yourself that hour back.
Second, practice the 20-minute stare. Set a timer if you have to, but try to spend 20 minutes doing absolutely nothing "useful." Don't read. Don't scroll. Just sit. You’ll find that after about 5 or 10 minutes, your brain starts to itch. You’ll want to check your phone. You’ll feel a phantom vibration in your pocket. Push through that. That itch is your brain trying to escape the silence. On the other side of that itch is clarity.
Third, forgive yourself for the lack of output. If you didn't hit your word count, or you didn't finish the report, or you didn't clean the garage—who cares? It’s National Nothing Day. You have a valid, "official" excuse to be a total zero for 24 hours.
The world will still be there tomorrow. The emails will still be waiting. The chaos isn't going anywhere. But you? You’ll be better equipped to handle it because you had the guts to do absolutely nothing when everyone else was busy pretending to be productive.
Stop reading this now. Go stare at a wall. It’s what Harold would have wanted.