Here is a revolutionary idea… how about instead of endless busyness we put aside more time for doing absolutely nothing.
We prize busyness in our society and we wear being overbooked, overwhelmed and overworked as a badge of honour.
It’s no surprise that anxiety, burnout and depression are at epidemic levels.
But what’s the antidote?
According to the Dutch the solution is “niksen” or in other words, doing absolutely nothing.
It could be sitting in nature, ruminating, listening to music or even walking — but without purpose. It’s not about being mindful, it’s not about achieving anything — it’s about simply “being”.
“Niksen (nik-suhn) Dutch- the practice of doing nothing as a means of relieving stress; idle activity, as staring into the trees or listening to music, with no purpose other than relaxation.”
Not only is it proven to counter the effects of burnout and stress, it has the added benefit of boosting creativity and new ideas.
Give yourself the gift of doing absolutely nothing
The challenge is that in our hyper-scheduled and distraction rich world it easy to miss the chance to just “be”. While the opportunity might present itself instead of taking the chance to down tools we pick up our phones, we turn on Netflix, we tick through out to-do lists… and as a result we end up even more drained.
So as with anything it’s important to make time for niksen.
- Block out white space in your mornings or your weekends
- Resist the temptation to fill empty moments
- Be conscious of what you’re spending your time on
- Acknowledge that exhaustion and burnout are not a badge of honour
Interested in reading more about it — here’s an article from Time.
#time #mentalhealth #creativity #balance
