Jenny Odell

How to Do Nothing

1. IDEA 1

   Doing nothing resists the attention economy

   Odell argues that apps and social media are designed to capture our attention and turn it into profit. Doing nothing, in her sense, means deliberately withdrawing attention from this system and redirecting it to the world around us.

2. IDEA 2

   Nothing is not laziness

   Odell explains that doing nothing does not mean being idle, but refusing to treat every moment as productive. It is a form of resistance. For her, choosing where our attention goes, rather than letting apps and companies grab it, is the real point.

3. IDEA 3

   A rose garden offered refuge

   Odell describes spending time in a public rose garden in Oakland, where she noticed people, plants and birds. Such spaces offer relief from constant productivity. Odell suggests that simply sitting and watching living things can slowly pull our attention back to the real world.

All 8 ideas from How to Do Nothing →