Just Do Nothing

Sweet and to the point, Just Do Nothing author Joanna Hardis combines personal anecdotes with her skills as a professional therapist to help readers lay new neurological pathways to allow for lasting change. Each chapter is titled with a cliched saying which is done intentionally by the author as she absolutely does not like word art or sayings that really mean a whole lot of nothing. She delves into the topic of each chapter, from tolerance and intolerance to identifying the function of one’s behavior. Each chapter ends with an exercise the reader can do to put into play the skills Hardis talks about.

As someone who loves a good self-help book but who has found them to be quite repetitive nowadays, I found Just Do Nothing to be an excellent book to put me in a good headspace. As someone who considers herself to be very self-aware and mindful of behaviors and actions, I enjoyed reading about the situations the author found herself in and how she used the skills she teaches in the book to pull herself out of what most of us would call “the rabbit hole.” We can’t control everything around us, but we can certainly control the decisions we make for ourselves and learn from them.

As a personal trainer, I really enjoyed the fitness references in the book and chuckled many times. For example, the part of the book that described people and their New Year’s resolutions sounded so familiar to me. Hardis’ examples include, “It’s January 1, and I’m going to start meditating for ninety minutes per day, eat vegan, and do CrossFit five days a week.” and “I’m going to get that fifty pounds off by April…” Over and over again, people commit to these at the beginning of the year, yet when they stumble or mess up, they give up. Hardis emphasizes realistic self-improvement no matter when you start doing it.

I have to admit, there were parts of the book that I identified with, and reading it made me think. For example, the chapter on Choice Points, otherwise known as the fork in the road, gives a person “an opportunity to choose behavior that moves you toward your values or desired behavior, or one that moves you away from them.” I am guilty of checking my phone quite a lot, to be honest. I also always choose to lift weights over cardio, even though I know I should do even a quick HIIT workout.

Just Do Nothing is a book that can help anyone in any stage of life. The chapters are short but packed with valuable information that will make readers think about the choices they make and help them analyze their own behavior, habits, and feelings.