I was listening to an interview with Dutch writer Olga Mecking who wrote an article for the New York Times last year entitled ‘The Case for doing nothing.’ The piece was such a success that she has now written a book called Niksen, which further explains how doing nothing is incredibly good for us and something we should make time for every day.
‘What?’ (I hear you say). ‘You seriously expect me to spend my precious time on this planet doing NOTHING? Have you seen the size of my ‘To-Do’ list?!’
Yes, we all have To-Do lists but the problem is, they never seem to get any shorter. There always seems to be an endless supply of work that needs to be done, chores to be completed as well as making time for exercise, leisure time and family time. It’s an endless cycle and makes us feel as though we’re constantly chasing our tail. As we know, the key to happiness is a balanced life but this is often so difficult to achieve, particularly living in the age where being busy makes us feel more important. Productivity seems to be at the centre of our core and so much of our day is spent multitasking. We reply to emails during our lunch break, scroll Instagram while having a wee and even bring our phones to the dinner table or use them to check Facebook while we’re meant to be chilling in front of Netflix! Think about it: when was the last time you actually did nothing? As in, you literally sat down and stared out the window? Or you went for a walk without listening to a podcast or scrolling through your phone or talking to anyone?
And that is exactly what Niksen is. It is a delightful Dutch word that translates to ‘doing nothing.’ This can include staring into space while enjoying a cuppa, going for a walk with no other distractions or sitting on the sofa gazing into the fire. In English we would call this laziness or idleness; two words that have negative connotations. But why? Why is the art of doing nothing viewed negatively? I think it’s because we live in a world where our value is often determined by how productive we are because, in essence, work and money are at the centre of our society. I have been self-employed for many years and I am conditioned to always be working on some level. I am always ‘doing’ because if I’m not working or preparing my work or looking for work or building my skillset so that it leads to more work, I’m not earning or at least striving to earn and therefore I don’t feel valid. Since money controls the world it takes centre stage in our minds and costs us our time and energy that could be spent on simply doing nothing.
But why should we make time to do nothing?
Simply because our brains need it. We are not designed to be constantly occupied. We are designed to experience moments of boredom. Think back to when you were a kid. Did you ever find yourself staring out of the window in class and before you knew it you were daydreaming? Or when it was raining outside and you couldn’t play did you find yourself sitting around feeling bored? It’s these moments that lead to our most creative ideas. The brain needs time to slow down and simply be without always completing tasks or problem solving or jumping into the future or thinking about past actions. In fact, what better way to live in the moment than by practising niksen?
I have solved many a problem while on my yoga mat; it’s probably the closest I get to niksen all day. I actively try to think of nothing and simply focus on my breath and I find that in doing so, it creates space for creative ideas to appear or solutions to arise to particular problems that have been niggling me. But even practising yoga isn’t quite niksen. This is because it’s an activity that you are thinking about on some level. Walking or running can provide a good niksen opportunity and it’s no coincidence that people often go for a walk or a run to ‘clear their head.’ This has the added benefit of releasing endorphins, getting in touch with nature and oxygenating the blood, which is all incredibly important for our health and happiness.
In an increasingly stressed-out world, more emphasis is being placed on exercise, meditation and mindfulness to combat anxiety and depression. These are important activities to add to our schedule but again, mindfulness isn’t quite niksen. This is because it often involves thinking about something; whether that be counting, breathing or visualising. Niksen on the other hand is simply not partaking in any kind of mental activity. In other words, ‘vegging out.’ Which is why it is possible to do nothing while sitting in front of the TV, listening to music or the low hum of the radio, as long as these sounds serve as background noise rather than relying on your focus.
I would say I have a very balanced life when it comes to work, leisure, exercise and mindfulness activities and yet when I thought about how often I simply sit and do nothing I was shocked. I never just do nothing. When I eat my breakfast I’m generally checking emails, when I eat my lunch I’m replying to messages and when I’m eating dinner I am talking to my husband. Even when I sit with a cup of tea I never just look out the window. I will instantly scroll social media or write on my ‘to do’ list or find some other work to do. The radio is constantly on and if all else fails I’ll read my favourite vegan magazine or look up recipes in my spare time. So if someone like me (who has the time to do nothing), isn’t doing nothing, what about someone who works fifty hours a week and has two kids? How do they manage it?
I’m not saying that practising niksen is easy. But technology has made it near impossible. We are addicted to our devices, this is a fact. Our phones are constantly alerting us when it comes to emails, messages and social media newsfeeds and it is exhausting. If I haven’t checked my phone for a few minutes I feel my fingers reaching for it, almost against my will. Quite often I will pick it up without even realising and then look up twenty minutes later in a stupor, knowing that I went down the Facebook rabbit-hole and have nothing to show for it. There are many times I have picked up my phone to do an important task but then got distracted by messages and notifications and then before I realise it I have utterly abandoned the original task! This always leaves me feeling muddled, stressed and a little overwhelmed.
After watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix and realising I was addicted to my phone, I decided to turn off notifications for Facebook and Instagram and to only go onto these platforms once a day. The difference it has made to my headspace is incredible. But I must say, there are still moments when I stop what I’m doing and find my finger hovering over the Facebook icon because it was such a habitual part of my day for so long. But certainly not having the notifications has made a huge difference as I no longer feel as though I’m missing out.
So my new task is this; instead of always feeling the need to reply to those messages straight away, or check my emails while eating breakfast, I will attempt to eat at least one meal a day with no distractions. Do you think you could do the same? Do you think you could sit with your morning cuppa and simply look out of the window at the birds in your garden? Surely giving your brain a vacation is just as important as everything else we do? So let’s reclaim the word ‘Idle’ and make it positive. When someone says ‘What are you doing?’ Let’s be proud to answer ‘I’m doing nothing’ and really mean it. Because addiction is something most of us suffer on some level: we’re addicted to sugar, work, busyness, emotional drama, phones, social media, TV…you name it! It’s not going to go away unless we decide to start managing it effectively.
I don’t know about you but this year has provided me with a level of peace that was missing before we were hit by a global pandemic. Yes, there has been stress and anxiety too but the moment I stopped multitasking I felt free. My brain felt more spacious, I was clear-headed and felt much more relaxed. Isn’t that why we go on holiday? To relax and switch off? Why then, can’t we go on mini holidays every day? Even if we only manage a few minutes of staring into space, surely that’s better than nothing? Because if we don’t change our ways soon we are going to burn out. People already are every single day. It’s so depressing that even though we’ve created a world that is full of convenience; where tasks are easier and quicker than ever before, we are feeling more stressed-out than ever. Mental health issues are on the rise because we no longer have time to be bored. And boredom leads to an empty mind and an empty mind leads to creativity and problem solving without even trying!
In the long run, we will be more productive by giving our minds the space to let those ideas take shape. From now on I will be proud to be idle. I will even put it on my ‘To Do’ list and make sure it gets done because damn it, it’s just as important as watering my plants, baking those muffins or writing invoices.
Will you join me? Shall we do as the Dutch do and start a niksen revolution? Who knows, we might just change the world one lazy person at a time. 😉
Want to read more about doing nothing? Click here to purchase Niksen by Olga Mecking.
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I hope none of your subscribers choose to gain some idle time by no longer reading your enlightening blogs.
Haha I hope so too! Surely reading my posts and then sitting and enjoying some niksen afterwards is the perfect combo. 😜
This is really interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. Sephira Iggie Engedi