The new year is typically a time for making promises to ourselves; resolutions to exercise more, eat a healthier diet, or take up a new hobby. 

Often, these resolutions are destined to fail. A 2021 YouGov poll found that just a third of resolutions were kept that year, although men were more likely to claim a victory than women (38% compared to 26%). 

While there are ways to improve your chances of keeping resolutions – making small, habit-forming changes rather than sweeping ones, for example – there might be a new way to look at the problem.

Why not make 2023 the year you perfect the art of doing nothing? 

It might seem like an easy resolution to keep, but in practice, it might be harder than you think.

Keep reading for three compelling reasons why the science suggests you should try to do less, and the unexpected benefits you might find.

1. Bite-size breaks give your brain time to rest and recuperate

Just like the electronic devices we are glued to throughout our working day – and often in our downtime too – our brains need time to recharge.

Taking regular breaks from your daily routine to do nothing might seem indulgent, but it could be exactly what your brain needs. 

While we might think that watching television, or even reading, is giving our brains a break, truly doing nothing might look a little different.

Go for a walk (with the added benefit of reinvigorating fresh air) or find a repetitive, “mindless” task to complete that allows your brain to freely wander. 

Light stretching, mindfulness, or meditation might help, but so too could cleaning or doing a jigsaw. If you have mundane household chores that you’ve been putting off, or normally leave until the end of your working day, try incorporating them.

Take a 10-minute break to do the washing up or hoovering and you might help to declutter your brain too. 

2. Switching your brain off could help you experience those “lightbulb” moments

We have all experienced the mental anguish of having a problem’s solution on the tip of our tongues; an answer just out of reach. 

So too have we experienced that “eureka” moment when a solution seemingly appears from nowhere. This might be hours, days, or even weeks later, but it will always come when we think we have stopped thinking about the problem.

You might be driving, showering, or pacing the aisles of a supermarket when inspiration strikes. By giving your brain the freedom to wander, you allow more parts of it to light up. 

To put it another way, if extreme concentration is a spotlight on a hidden corner, doing nothing could be the bulb that lights the whole room.

3. Creativity can flourish if you give your brain the extra space it needs

The next time you find yourself saying, “the answer will come to me when I stop thinking about it”, you now know that the science backs this up.

But freeing your brain isn’t just a good way to prise out hidden answers. It can open up a whole new field of creativity.

Allowing yourself the time to daydream could be an extremely constructive use of your time this year.

To return to our spotlight/light bulb analogy, daydream mode can help you to light up the parts of your brain that remain outside of the spotlight of your busy working day. 

In our modern, hectic work environment, it isn’t uncommon to go from one high-pressure task to the next, giving each our full focus. Even your downtime might involve the instant gratification of social media: scrolling Twitter feeds, streaming TikTok videos, or posting Facebook updates.

Remember that doing nothing doesn’t mean finding an equally stimulating alternative to what you should be doing. Switching your brain off isn’t about being entertained but about freeing your mind to go where it will, outside the confines of entertainment.

Doing so could light up rarely used corners of your brain, opening new pathways to problem-solving and creativity. 

This forgotten network could completely change the way you look at problems – and even life – in 2023 and beyond. So why not give it a try? 

Clear your diary, take the time to do absolutely nothing, completely guilt-free, and see what your brain can do with this new-found freedom.