How to Do Nothing by Jenny O’Dell is really not about doing nothing, but rather shifting where our attention goes. This is one of Obama’s top ten book picks of 2019, and I wholeheartedly agree; in today’s world, this book is nothing less than revolutionary. Many self help books claim we need to spend less time on social media and more time in nature, but this book offers so much more than that. Extensively researched, thoughtful and observant, this book is both personal and speaks to all of us.

It is a critique of today’s “attention economy,” where every second of our lives is monetized and tracked so we can become more productive and more liked. O’Dell argues that we have literally lost the space in both time and place to breathe, to think, to do nothing. I have just finished reading this book for the second time as there are so many things that she references in this book that I wanted to explore deeper. An important book, a highly recommended read.