How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

Reclaim attention, rewild time, and resist the attention economy

Jenny Odell

2019

8 Key Insights

About This Book

Feeling scattered, over-scheduled, and stuck in reactive mode? This guide shows you how to reclaim your attention from addictive platforms, slow down without dropping out, and re-root your life in real places, people, and purposes. You’ll learn to create daily “nothing” blocks that restore focus, design environments that protect deep thought, and practice refusal when systems try to script your every move. Through vivid examples—birdsong walks, neighborhood kitchens, creek mapping, and quiet pauses in parks—you’ll rediscover that meaning grows from presence, care, and relationship. Apply these tools and you won’t just feel calmer; you’ll think better, connect better, and act where it counts.

About the Author

Jenny Odell is an artist, writer, and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work bridges technology, ecology, and everyday life, helping people notice what usually goes unseen—from urban birds to forgotten creeks to the hidden costs of our apps. She has taught at Stanford, held residencies at places as varied as a city planning department and a recycling center, and speaks widely on attention, place, and care. Grounded, practical, and humane, her approach invites readers to slow down, look closely, and rebuild connection with their neighborhoods, their work, and themselves.

Biggest Takeaway

- Build an attention margin so you aren’t pushed around by notifications or outrage cycles. - Replace doomscrolling with restoring practices that sharpen focus, memory, and creativity. - Learn practical refusal skills to resist unjust demands without self-sabotage. - Turn maintenance and care into a visible, energizing part of your productivity. - Develop a “place practice” that deepens belonging, improves mental health, and sparks local action. - Communicate with empathy using Deep Listening to reduce conflict and increase understanding. - Swap viral reactivity for context habits that lead to wiser decisions and better outcomes.

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