What is Niksen?

Niksen is the Dutch art of doing nothing.  Or more specifically, it's doing something without a purpose, like staring out the window or listening to music.  Your brain is not necessarily engaged, it's just aimlessly idling along.  Doing nothing might mean something different to everyone.  Waiting in line, drinking your coffee, or any other moment during the day where your mind could wander and not get sucked into a screen or a conversation.

Niksen is Not

Niksen is not work, or even thinking about work, and it's definitely not worrying.  Both can look like nothing to an outsider, but inside, you know your mind is racing.  It's also not mindfulness or meditation, which take some awareness and effort.  Nor is it simply boredom, during which you wish you were doing something else.  It's not reading, watching TV or browsing social media, which all demand your brain's attention.

Why is Niksen so Hard?

Doing nothing doesn't come naturally to many people.  We strive to be efficient and multitask, aiming to be successful, whether that's at home or work.  In most societies, there is a stigma around doing nothing, and hence being lazy.  We often feel guilty when we're doing nothing, thinking of what we should be doing, or comparing ourselves to others and their "superior productivity."  

Reframing Niksen

A first step in understanding and appreciating Niksen is to acknowledge our judgements about doing nothing, and how we talk about it.    Think of how often you say you're doing nothing, when really your brain is quite engaged in something.  And think of how you feel when you're doing nothing, but you feel like you should be doing something.
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If you find yourself having a hard time justifying Niksen, give yourself some grace and try thinking of it in the following ways:
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Take a break
Just let your mind wander for a bit.  Taking a break is healthy, and is incorporated into many work days.  It can be 5 minutes or 30.  Don't work through lunch!

Practice self-care
 It doesn't have to be glamourous.  Eating healthy is self-care, as is keeping a clean house.  So you can add Niksen to your self-care routine and not feel guilty about it!

Open Up
Doing nothing isn't just comforting yourself, it's opening yourself up to the community around you and readjusting yourself to support issues in your community.

Take some down time
Just sit on your porch, or even in your car for a moment.  Put the screens away and tell everyone you need some quiet time.  Maybe just go for a walk.

"Doing nothing can ultimately make us more productive. By taking breaks during our daily work, we can become better employees, avoid burnout, and work more carefully and deliberately. Niksen is also great for our creativity because it gives time for our thoughts to wander, which results in insights that we may have not come up with otherwise.  But mostly, niksen is playful. It’s fun. I wish everyone had the time to play, fool around, experiment, and try out new things.

After all, doing nothing hardly seems like a revolutionary idea. But as you’ll discover, there is so much more to niksen than doing nothing. Much, much more.  Unlike other wellness trends, niksen doesn’t ask you to change or improve yourself, and as you become comfortable with niksen, you will also become more comfortable with refusing to be so busy."

- Olga Mecking