What’s the point of doing nothing?

An admittedly bold move, I’ve suggested that there’s an alternative unit to work called a Visit. I contrast it with the more typical measures of work such as those related to:

• A piece of work itself (e.g. it’s goals, its completion,…) or
• Clock time (e.g. 30 minutes, 3 days from now,…).

A Visit, in short, is about showing up to something with the full option to doing none of it. But how is it not a waste to do nothing?

To illustrate, I’ll describe a visit where you wouldn’t normally find the measures of work, in a board game.

In the evenings, I like to enjoy at least a few moments of leisure.

One night, looking at the shelves, a particular game drew my eye. It had been a while since I’d played, so I’d have to browse the manual to get back up to speed. Together with a full play through, it would take several hours. Unfortunately, I only really had about 20 minutes before I wanted to call it a night.

Rather than avoid it entirely, I paid a visit. I’d brought out the box, skimmed the manual, took out a few pieces just to get a feel for them, and that was it.

But what happened beyond is important. Even though I was only with the materials, ideas came to mind, then and later. Thoughts about what I knew and didn’t know, next possible steps for set up, and more all started to percolate, consciously and unconsciously.

In other words, the next visit was primed.

By the next evening’s visit, I was able to set up faster, strategize more smoothly, and get into things.

The same principle applies to work.

PS If you’re interested, the game in question is Aeon’s End, all about sorcerers fighting space monsters, a matter of vital importance, if you ask me.

PPS For more on the Visit, check out these posts
– The Visit and the Waves of Focus
– “I just don’t wanna” and the Power of a Visit
– The Visit and Reaching the Edge of Action
– Your First Step to Breaking Free fro Force Based Work (PDF)