'Doing Nothing' Is Now Her Thing

Robbie Shell writes about the benefits of accepting it in retirement
Posted Nov 22, 2025 7:50 AM CST
She's Getting the Hang of 'Doing Nothing'
   (Getty/David Hatch)

When she first retired, Robbie Shell made a point to keep busy—"traveling, writing, volunteering, socializing, taking care of grandchildren—all meaningful and done willingly," she writes in the Wall Street Journal. But her essay is about celebrating the opposite of that: doing nothing. It took several years of retirement for her to be able to shake off the unease, almost the guilt, of doing nothing—and to realize that it actually complements the rest of her active life.

  • "What resonates most for me about doing nothing is the ability to let go of the external and even internal forces that define most of my days; to meditate without intentionally making it an 'activity'; to see and hear things more clearly, not worrying about having to pass judgment on any thought that crosses my mind or wondering what follow-up might be necessary. It's ceding control in a way that I have habitually worked against. It is not a timeout—more of a 'time in' to a different way of seeing myself."
Read the full essay, in which Shell elaborates on "experiencing the peace that doing nothing brings," and quotes the author Niall Williams to help explain.

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