Space Out
Experience: I am the world champion of ‘doing nothing’
The Space-Out competition involves sitting still for 90 minutes – no sleeping, no noise, no checking phones
From an early age I worried if I was doing enough. Growing up in Hong Kong, a city where competition is keen, I wanted to do well. That brought a lot of anxiety.
I started to practice mindfulness in 2012. That’s what drew me to the Space‑Out competition – a contest about doing nothing. The founder, Korean artist Woopsyang, started the Space-Out competition in Seoul in 2014. It was a performance-art piece that involved people competing to effectively do nothing and “space out” for 90 minutes. There have since been competitions all over the world, held several times a year.
I entered one in Hong Kong last October. About 100 people took part, each sitting on a yoga mat that had been laid out neatly on the square.
We were guided through a series of stretches before we settled down for the 90 minutes. You have to sit there without any significant movement; you cannot sleep, make any noise or check your phone.
Every 15 minutes or so the judges come to measure your heart rate. These approaches make you nervous. I could feel my heart beating faster, but I tried to see it as a way to practice acceptance – to notice those feelings of tenseness, and try not to force myself to relax.
I paid attention to my breath, to the feelings in my body, and my thoughts and emotions. I focused on the sensation of the breeze across my skin, noticing subtle changes in the environment and how they affected my body. Though it was a “space out” competition, I was doing the opposite: actively practicing mindfulness, observing my mind and my breath.
After about 30 minutes, I remembered we were being judged by the spectators, so I tried to imagine what being spaced out would look like. I dropped my glasses down my nose and sat like that for the next hour.
When they announced the competition was over, I wanted to sit for longer. I have a busy life – alongside my job, I am studying, and have two kids, aged 11 and nine – so having this space was a luxury, especially in this world where our minds are stimulated all day long. Often we can get through a day and our mind might not have settled for even a second.
I was surprised when I was announced as the winner. I understand that, for many people, sitting in silence for 90 minutes would be a nightmare, but I found it very enjoyable.
I think it’s vital to take time to come back to ourselves. In many parts of the world, people live day in, day out, never stopping – it’s as if stopping is a kind of laziness. Although the event was just for 90 minutes, it gave us a way to just be ourselves, and I hope it reminds people that productivity isn’t always the most important thing.
The trophy I won is based on Rodin’s The Thinker statue. It sits in my living room, and I see it as a reminder that we should all spare at least a few minutes a day to allow ourselves to do the things that nourish us, or just to have the space to do nothing. That is a gift.
