In Defense of Doing Things Mindlessly
Not everything is worth paying attention to.
“In an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.”
— Herbert A. Simon, Designing Organizations for an Information-Rich World
Mindfulness has become the epitome of self-improvement. The rise of apps dedicated solely to this practice has reached an all-time high, with the market projected to be worth $200 billion by 2030.
Despite mindfulness having its drawbacks, doing things mindlessly is often seen as a moral failure. While certain activities require our full attention, like driving, having a one-on-one conversation with a loved one, or making important decisions, we’re now expected to be “on” at all times. This expectation is unrealistic and unsustainable.
In a world where information is abundant, attention becomes a scarce commodity. Rather than obsessing over being mindful in everything we do, I’d like to argue that doing things mindlessly can actually be good for us.
Don’t Force Yourself
Often, when we ask why we’re not paying attention to something, the blame falls on us. The assumption is that we’re distracted or lazy, not that the thing itself might simply be unworthy of our focus.
So we force ourselves to care. We ignore our instincts and try to be interested in something we’re not. And yes, there is value in learning to push through boredom. But we also need to recognize when we’re crossing a line, when we’re ignoring our internal standards for what’s genuinely engaging.
If you do this long enough, you can lose touch with the very mechanism that allows you to feel interested in the first place.
To be interested in something, you need contrast. You need boredom to know what’s compelling. But if you try to be mindful of everything, you start labeling even dull things as “interesting.” Eventually, nothing stands out anymore.
Because the truth is, most things are boring. And that’s okay.
If we try to override that too often, we risk breaking the internal compass that tells us what’s captivating.
Going With the Flow (For Once)
Let’s try an exercise that involves a dangerous activity.
Pick up a book. Start reading it. Eventually, you’ll realize you’ve been reading without absorbing anything. Maybe for a few sentences. Maybe for a few pages.
You might feel the urge to go back. Re-read the sentence. Then the paragraph. Then maybe the whole chapter.
Don’t.
Instead, keep reading forward, mindlessly. Keep going until something grabs your attention so much that it stops you in your tracks, and you end up taking a picture of it to send to a friend.
Then keep reading until it happens again.
Repeat this process until you finish the book.
The purpose is to maintain your threshold. To preserve your “interest antenna.”
You don’t keep that antenna sharp by paying attention to everything. You keep it sharp by allowing yourself to be bored, to drift, and to snap back in when something grips you.
How to Be Interested
If you ever lose focus, that’s not always a failure. It may be a sign that your internal system still works. It’s telling you that maybe this isn’t worth your attention.
So pay attention to the moments when you’re not paying attention.
They might be pointing you somewhere else, toward something better.
As you follow your interests, quite literally, you’ll begin to refine your taste. The more you explore, the more specific your preferences become. You’ll discover what actually excites you. And that might surprise you.
Doing things mindlessly makes space for boredom. It lets you complete your obligations without guilt. And it saves your energy for the things that truly matter.
Isn’t it odd that by not paying attention to everything, we gain the capacity to focus where it counts?