Niksen.
The concept of doing nothing.


And why we should spend more time doing nothing at all


Woman doing nothing
This story is adapted from a TIME story published By Sophia Gottfried
On July 12, 2019

What is niksen?

Niksen “literally means to do nothing, to be idle or doing something without any use,” says Carolien Hamming, managing director of CSR Centrum, a coaching center in the Netherlands that helps clients manage stress and recover from burnout. Practicing niksen could be as simple as just hanging around, looking at your surroundings or listening to music — “as long as it’s without purpose,” she says, and not done in order to achieve something or be productive.

Think “simply sitting in a chair or looking out of the window,” says Ruut Veenhoven, a sociologist and professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands who studies happiness. Whereas mindfulness is about being present in the moment, niksen is more about carving out time to just be, even letting your mind wander rather than focusing on the details of an action.

Woman stressed

Stress levels are high everywhere

These days, with the pandemic and drastic changes and challenges to our daily routines, stress levels are climbing in the US and globally. In the U.S. the term "The Great Resignation" has emerged indicating how much people are burnedout from their current routines. Everyone needs a little break sometimes. 🙂

Too much of everything is never a good idea of course.

Science tells us that letting the mind wander too long isn't a great idea either. You may get caught up ruminating. This may lead to increase heart rate and trouble falling asleep if it happens for too long.

“We need to train our minds to wander in a way that’s imaginative and creative,” Ekman says. Some “gateway” practices to niksen could be taking a walk in nature or writing a letter of gratitude, she suggests, as a way of easing into what true downtime feels like.

Of course, we can't practice niksen constantly. There is a time for doing nothing and a time to be busy.

The secret is to find that balance.

Read the full story on TIME

Coded by Stéphie-Anne C. Dulièpre