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This Is The ONE Thing You Should Do This Week | The Mel Robbins Podcast

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory 👉 https://melrob.co/let-them-theory 👈 The #1 Best Selling Book of 2025 🔥 Discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words. Let Them. — I know you’re busy. Which is why today’s message is the one thing you need to hear right now. I need this message too. We all do. Because there’s only one thing I want you to do this week: NOTHING. That’s right. I want you to do absolutely nothing. No, I’m not smoking anything funny when I say this. I’m dead serious. Hear me out. There is an art and a #science to doing nothing, and we need to put it into our daily lives. All this constant doing is impacting your energy, your drive, your stamina, and your ability to be present, which in turn affects the decisions you make and your relationships. Look at it this way. What are you doing right now? Because I bet you’re scrolling through #podcast episodes to listen to as you jump on your Peloton, drive to work, fold laundry, organize your desk, or whatever it is you do when you multitask. You and I live in a world that glorifies productivity and accomplishment. The busier we are, the more important we must be. But all that busyness is not making you happier or healthier. In fact, you’re writing to me every day asking how to deal with burnout and overwhelm. And look, I’m not exactly an expert. I struggle with this too, which is why I wanted to talk about it. I can’t even take a freakin’ bath without feeling the urge to answer emails on my phone (and oftentimes, I do). Like you, I have absolutely no idea how to do nothing. But I know I need to learn how to turn off and unplug, even if it’s just for a minute. This episode is the tough love that we all need. And it won’t require you to take a week off from work or be somebody who meditates all day. We’re going to talk about how to create moments of peace in your daily life, no matter how complicated it may seem right now. So whether you’re on vacation, studying for exams, running your own company, raising a family, or you’re in between three jobs, this episode is for all of us. And it’s one you deserve. Xo Mel In this episode, you’ll learn: - The only thing you should do this week – and why - How to remain hopeful when you’re in the trenches and surrounded by high achievers - Should you listen to people who don’t understand your life? - How I handle jealousy - How to make time for rest when it feels like a guilty pleasure - How to get out of your head and into the moment - The difference between laziness and procrastination (and how it applies to you) For full show notes, go to https://www.melrobbins.com/podcast In this episode: 00:00 Intro 01:23 The one things I want you to do this week 03:32 I am addicted to being busy, and so are you 09:07 We are focusing on the art of doing nothing 12:28 How to remain hopeful when you’re in the trenches and surrounded by high achievers 15:46 The only advice you should follow 19:32 How to make time for rest when it feels like a guilty pleasure 25:27 How do you get out of your own head and into the moment 30:08 What you and I will do at 2:13 pm every day 36:38 The difference between laziness and procrastination (and how it applies to you) 40:08 The one positive thing you can do for your mental health this week — Follow Mel: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@melrobbins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins Website: http://melrobbins.com​ — Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want. — Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins​?sub_confirmation=1 — Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday! https://melrob.co/spotify https://melrob.co/applepodcasts https://melrob.co/amazonmusic — Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here: The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah

Mel Robbinshost
Dec 18, 202243mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Mel Robbins Reveals Why Doing Nothing Is Your Most Productive Move

  1. Mel Robbins uses a holiday-week setting to argue that the most transformative thing overachievers can do is intentionally practice "doing nothing"—even for just one minute a day.
  2. She challenges hustle culture, social-media perfectionism, and unrealistic self-help advice that ignores the realities of kids, caregiving, and demanding jobs.
  3. Throughout the episode, Robbins reframes rest not as laziness or guilt-worthy indulgence, but as a necessary reset for your brain, energy, and mental health.
  4. She offers practical ways to experiment with stillness, quiet racing thoughts, and flex big personal-development advice so it fits a real, messy life.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Schedule micro-moments of intentional nothingness.

Even a single minute a day—like Mel’s 2:13 PM alarm to "take a breath and do nothing"—can act as a reset button for your nervous system and help break the cycle of always being on.

Redefine rest as maintenance, not a guilty pleasure.

Robbins argues that feeling guilty for sitting down or taking a bath is a learned pattern, not a moral failing; rest is as essential for you as rebooting is for a glitchy phone or laptop.

Flex advice to fit the actual realities of your life.

Instead of copying influencers with no kids, full-time partners, or unlimited gym time, scale ideas down to what’s doable for you—like 15 minutes of movement instead of a 2-hour routine.

Stop comparing yourself to people with totally different lives.

Robbins emphasizes that you will never match the output of someone with fewer responsibilities or different circumstances, and beating yourself up for that is both unfair and unproductive.

Use guided tools to quiet your racing thoughts.

If you’re a novice at mental stillness, she suggests using free apps, playlists, or calming music so you’re not relying on willpower alone to silence anxious, nonstop thinking.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

There’s only one thing I want you to do this week: nothing.

— Mel Robbins

You’ve got to stop comparing yourself to people whose lives don’t look like yours.

— Mel Robbins

The only advice that’s going to work is advice that you flex to work in your life.

— Mel Robbins

We don’t feel guilty resting—we feel weird, because we don’t know how to do nothing.

— Mel Robbins

The art of doing nothing is an intentional moment to unplug from life.

— Mel Robbins

The concept and importance of intentionally "doing nothing"Hustle culture, busyness addiction, and glamorization of productivityComparison to social media achievers and unrealistic standardsMaking self-help and performance advice fit real-life constraintsGuilt, discomfort, and family patterns around rest and relaxationManaging anxiety and overthinking in everyday situationsThe difference between rest, laziness, procrastination, and excuses

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