NOWHERE — If you woke up this morning feeling like you forgot to celebrate something, relax. You didn’t. Today is National Nothing Day, an observance devoted to doing absolutely nothing about it.
There are no balloons, no ribbons. No themed cupcakes at the office or heartfelt social media posts explaining why “nothing” changed your life. Just… nothing.
National Nothing Day was created in 1973 by newspaper columnist Harold Pullman Coffin, apparently in response to a calendar already bursting at the seams with holidays for everything from bubble wrap to pets to obscure foods and plants. His idea was simple: one day a year with no official purpose, no calls to action and no pressure to participate.
In other words, he was about to create the most ambitious non-event on the calendar.
Unlike other national days, National Nothing Day requires no preparation and offers no guidance. There are no rules to follow, no merchandise to buy and no hashtags to misuse. If you are actively trying to observe it, you are probably doing it wrong.
“Experts” (on nothing, and there are really so many of us with that distinction) agree the best way to honor National Nothing Day is to forget it exists. That means no special meals, no commemorative outfits and no awkward attempts to explain it to coworkers who are already suspicious of your productivity.
Of course, some people will still overachieve. There will be those who proudly announce they are “doing nothing today,” which, by definition, ruins the entire concept. Others may schedule time to do nothing, which sounds exhausting.
Businesses, thankfully, have largely ignored the holiday. There are no “Nothing Day Sales,” no limited-edition nothing-flavored lattes (would that be water?) and no motivational posters reminding you that nothing matters today. At least not officially.
So if your to-do list remains untouched, your emails unanswered and your ambition mysteriously absent, take comfort. You’re not procrastinating. You’re participating.
Or not.
Either way, congratulations on successfully observing National Nothing Day. Or not observing it at all, which is kind of the point.
