Editorial: Nothing. Just do it.

When was the last time you did nothing? And by nothing we don’t mean “wasting” your entire… When was the last time you did nothing? And by nothing we don’t mean “wasting” your entire weekend watching “Teen Mom” reruns. We mean actually not doing anything.

A new website, donothingfor2minutes.com, encourages web users to do absolutely nothing for two whole minutes. The site features a two-minute timer on top of a serene photograph of the ocean. If visitors touch their mouse or keyboard, the timer resets and the word “FAIL” appears on the screen.

The importance of slowing down to do nothing might seem insane to a frazzled and sleep-deprived college student. But with new evidence about the Internet’s effects on our brains, we think doing nothing might not be a bad idea.

According to The New York Times, “Developing brains can become more easily habituated than adult brains to constantly switching tasks — and less able to sustain attention.” Essentially, our multitasking is causing us to develop attention deficit disorder.

In addition, constantly stimulating our brains through multitasking could be harmful to our productivity. Why else do you think employers block certain websites from their employee computers? According to 24/7 Wall St., employees with PCs spend around 20 to 22 hours a week online, and about a quarter of that time is spent on personal matters — adding up to five hours of lost productivity each week. So it’s easy to imagine what sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — which are among the top 10 websites blocked by employers — do to your attempts at studying.

There is also evidence that getting new updates on e-mail and social networking sites gives us a dopamine kick, which explains why we feel the need to log in at least every hour.

While donothingfor2minutes.com might not reverse the “rewiring” of our brains, we think it’s important to show how challenging it is to do nothing for 120 seconds. According to a Huffington Post poll, 78.31 percent of the site’s visitors were able to do nothing for two minutes while 21.69 percent were not. Is it even possible for us to deny our brain stimulation?

We recommend taking some time to slow down and perform tasks one at a time. If you’re going to do homework, turn “Teen Mom” off for a while. In the end, it’s probably going to save you time.