Review: The Art of Doing Nothing and Something: Pottering as a Cure for Modern Life

The Art of Doing Nothing and Something: Pottering as a Cure for Modern Life by Anna McGovern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Pottering A cure for modern life by Anna McGovern. This is a small book and talks about what pottering is and what are the fundamentals of it.

The definition of pottering is to occupy oneself in a pleasant way but without a definite plan or purpose. The author says that pottering can be done while doing any small household work like cleaning and making tea or going to a nearby shop to buy something. One of the characteristics of pottering is honesty. We do not have to put too much effort in it and travel too far or do it with others. But after doing it you should feel relaxed and content.


What are the fundamentals of pottering ? there are 5 principles of pottering and as per the author meeting all of them would be great but not necessary.

Principle #1 Make do with what you have got. Things like tea, milk, colors, mug, teaspoons which are easily available in any household can be used in pottering. You do not have to strive for perfection and It will really keep the pressure off. The important thing is that you should like the activity that you chose to do when you potter.

Principle #2 Don’t try too hard. There are many ways you can do any activity. The author gives the example of tea where she says that there are millions of ways to make tea. You have the freedom to make tea any way you want. You be you.

Principle #3 Movement. Pottering implies moving from one activity to another, it is not still. However, you do not have to move far or fast. There is no destination. There are no triathlons involved here. Strain, breathlessness, and sweating are unnecessary. Nevertheless don’t stop moving all together or you will lose momentum. After finishing one activity if you do not get any idea about the next activity you should then just sit and think.

Principle #4 Keep it local. Do the activity at home. You do not have to leave your home. Though You can enjoy wandering down to the local small shops. Probably, you can go driving without a destination in mind but don’t overdo it.

Principle #5 Keep it digital free. Watching tv or playing games on mobile is not pottering. In pottering, you do one thing at a time mostly so you can’t be on social media. Plus, pottering activities are so inconsequential that you are unlikely to tell your social networks about them.

Finally, Pottering, the tiny inconsequential activities that we do can make our lives better. After doing these activities we get a sense of owning time and control on our life. Reading this book gave me a lot of pottering ideas that I could do. This is a nice book and I liked it.

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