EMBRACE THE POWER OF NOTHING

How often do you just sit and do nothing? Not often, I bet. Even when we’re not giving in to the relentless pressures of our increasingly productivity-obsessed world, you are swiping through newsfeeds, consuming content... or feeling guilty for not being productive (because, internalised capitalism). Yet, our brain needs downtime. We need rest, and we need some boredom sometimes, so we have some synapses available for our next stroke of genius. By Mags Thomson This is where the Dutch have created a verb that can help: niksen. It simply translates ‘to nothing’. “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 centre 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.” (from Time.com) Despite being Dutch, I am not particularly good at niksen. I realise increasingly the need to become better at it. Staring out the window while sipping some tea, or just looking at the world go by as I wait for the bus to arrive. No podcast in my ears trying to teach me something. No news feed telling me about all the things I am missing out on. Just engage in some people watching, or some enjoying the sunshine on my face. Shall we try improving this skill together? We can start with 2 minutes a day, and work our way up from there. I am going to pour myself a cuppa just now, come join me on the windowsill and let’s watch the world go by.

THE POWER OF NOTHING