How to Do Nothing, WIth Artist and Educator Jenny Odell
The Upgrade by Lifehacker
Lifehacker
4.6 • 688 Ratings
🗓️ 5 August 2019
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We all think we’re experts at “doing nothing,” but there’s a difference between numbing out by staring at Facebook and truly letting your mind rest. There are concrete benefits to doing absolutely nothing—like actually being present in your life and noticing what’s around you. To help us constructively veg out, we’ve brought in essayist Pico Iyer, Lifehacker’s Human Resource Columnist Rob Walker, and artist and educator Jenny Odell, whose new book teaches us how to resist the “attention economy.” We recommend listening with your feet up and your eyes closed.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Audible brings your wildest adventures to life, delivering heart-pounding thrills at the touch |
| 0:05.8 | of a button. |
| 0:07.0 | Take Richard Osmond's The Thursday Murder Club, where four retirees turned amateur sleuths |
| 0:11.8 | solve crimes in the most unexpected ways, brilliantly performed by Leslie Manville. |
| 0:17.1 | Ready to unleash your adventure aside, from pulse racing suspense to epic quests, from supernatural |
| 0:22.6 | chills to far-off romances, every story comes alive through world-class narration. |
| 0:28.5 | Explore exclusive audible originals, chart-topping new releases, and unforgettable bestsellers |
| 0:34.4 | that transport you from the very first word, because the next great |
| 0:38.2 | adventure is just a listener way. Start your free 30-day trial at audible.com slash |
| 0:43.9 | Wondery, UK. That's audible.com slash Wondery UK. |
| 0:50.0 | Hey, upgrade listeners, before we begin, we want to learn more about you. |
| 0:59.7 | Complete a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey and tell us who you are. |
| 1:04.9 | You'll have an opportunity to tell us what you like about the show and what you want to hear in future episodes. |
| 1:08.1 | That's Wondery.com slash survey. |
| 1:08.9 | Thanks. Thank you.com slash survey. Thanks. |
| 1:29.5 | Hello, and welcome to the Upgrade, the podcast from the team at Lifehacker, where we help you improve your life one week at a time. |
| 1:32.7 | I'm Melissa Kirsch, editor-in-chief of Lifehacker. |
| 1:35.5 | And I'm Alice Bradley, Lifehacker's deputy editor. |
| 1:39.0 | And today we're talking about how to do nothing. |
| 1:43.4 | You may think, as I do, that you are an expert in doing nothing. |
| 1:45.1 | You may believe that you cannot possibly be more of a lazybones, but we're not talking about sitting on your couch, |
| 1:49.9 | alternately watching SportsCenter and scrolling for Instagram. Doing nothing is more than just relaxing. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Lifehacker, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Lifehacker and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.