How Not to Do Anything: An Expert Guide – Welcome to Unproductivity

Image Credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8849420/Give-firms-freedom-to-sack-unproductive-workers-leaked-Downing-Street-report-advises.html

Image Credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8849420/Give-firms-freedom-to-sack-unproductive-workers-leaked-Downing-Street-report-advises.html

For as long as I can remember, in the back of my mind I’ve had a long list of things that I should be doing. But the thing about this list is that it never stops growing. No matter how disciplined or organized I could possibly be, I could only chip away at the list, never complete it. If you’re reading this, I’d guess that you have a similar list of your own. Instead of trying, like Sisyphus, to overcome the great mental to-do list, why not make peace with it, accept that you won’t always have time to go grocery shopping and call your grandmother and do a load of laundry? Everyone has to learn to do this to a certain extent, but I’ve gone a step further.

I’ve learned to attack the problem at its source, and preempt as many responsibilities as possible, in order to prevent the big list from growing any more than it absolutely must. Thanks to the simple stratagems I’ve lain out in the following chapters, I rarely need to do much of anything, and I’m free to squander my days as I please. With a little pluck, you too could be as free of obligations as an early retiree, as free as me.

Gone will be the days of getting up early and working late, gone the nagging bosses and vexing coworkers, gone the interminable moments of friendly chitchat with acquaintances (well, maybe not the chitchat). Some may think you’ve lost it, or succumbed to mere laziness, but your choice to eschew activity means far more than that. If the rat race is a war, in which every individual is in perpetual battle with every other, then you are like a conscientious objector, declining to do violence (or anything else) to yourself or others just because you’re supposed to. While your peers pack the cities and suburbs with thoughtless ambition, you will burn the draft card calling you to the American Dream, and flee to a metaphorical Canada, where the people are nice and free and never have to work. So turn the page and prepare to change your life for the better, to free yourself of employment, (some) errands, and just about anything else that you don’t want to do.

By Aaron Brown


Aaron Brown was one of the Campus Clipper’s publishing interns, who wrote an e-book   “How Not To Do Anything: An Expert Guide.” If you like Aaron’s writing, follow our blog for more chapters from his e-book. We have the most talented interns ever and we’re so proud of them! For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.  

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during last year’s Welcome Week.

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