When was the last time you found doing absolutely nothing and thought, “This is really fantastic, I really wish I could do nothing all of the time.” Doing nothing doesn’t mean that you’re just doing something that isn’t work or school related, like watching Netflix or eating ice cream, doing nothing means that you’re alone by yourself with nothing but your thoughts coming and going like the clouds passing with the breeze. Think again now, when was the last time you were doing absolutely nothing that you didn’t think, “I should really be doing something productive.”

We live in a society that tells us that doing nothing means we are being unproductive. To be productive is to do something, anything, even if it’s only puttering around cleaning the house, puttering is still something “productive” which means it’s better than doing nothing. But doing nothing isn’t unproductive, in fact doing nothing can sometimes be the most productive thing you can do. Believe it or not, you should make time to do nothing.

According to a scientific study, some people would rather get an electric shock than be alone with their thoughts and do nothing. Shocking, isn’t it, to think that we as Americans would rather be in pain than run the risk of having to do nothing? Hence the popularity of brainless smartphone apps that allow users to tap out of the wrestling match of our minds and succumb instead to the mind-numbing effect of technology. But playing Angry Birds isn’t “doing nothing,” it’s avoiding doing nothing, and that’s dangerous.

Because we assume that doing something is “productive” and doing nothing is “unproductive,” we have a tendency to avoid doing nothing, and by doing so we overwork ourselves in an overworked world. We use our brains all day long for thinking, planning, worrying, studying, reading, observing, you name it and our brain does it. Then when you go to sleep, your brain keeps working, sorting through the information from the day, processing emotions, stimulating healing and growth, and dreaming. When was the last time you gave your brain a break by nothing?

As Americans, we are in danger of becoming counterproductive in all of our productivity. According to an article in the Guardian called, “Five Reasons We should All Learn to Do Nothing,” “We chronically confuse effort with effectiveness: a day spent on trifling tasks feels exhausting and virtuous, so we assume – often wrongly – it must have been useful.” As we continue to do more and more in the hopes of being productive, all we’re really doing is exhausting our brains, making it harder to rest, harder to work, harder to focus, harder to do anything.

“It’s good for your health to slow down, both physically and mentally. A calm mind leads to a calm body,” writes Josh Langley of MindBodyGreen. Our brain is the CEO of our body, controlling all of our functions and systems in order to keep up on track, and what happens when the CEO gets stressed? Everybody else down the line feels it. When you don’t give your brain a rest, you add stress onto your brain, and that stress trickles down into the rest of your body, meaning you can literally worry yourself sick. How is that productive?

Meditation teacher, Jeff Cannon offers up a simple exercise to help you incorporate a little of that “do nothing” attitude into your everyday in order to give your brain the rest it needs. “When you make your tea or coffee in the morning step back from your actions. Take a nice, slow breath and smile as you spoon your tea or coffee into your pot. Inhale as you smell your morning and give yourself permission to settle into your breath and your day. Exhale into the room around you. Breathe in as you fill your pot with hot water and smile. Breathe out as you grow aware of your own anticipation. Before you taste what you have, inhale the aroma and pause as you taste what is before you. Smile as you sip and enjoy your day.”

It’s not only important to do nothing, it’s necessary. Take time to schedule yourself some time to do nothing. Go for a walk and don’t go on your phone. Spend some time sitting by yourself and reflecting on your thoughts. Meditate your way to empty mind for five minutes every day. Whatever you do, do nothing, and realize it’s probably the most productive thing you’ll do all day.