The Hague, where I live, has 11 km of amazing coastline with rolling dunes and sandy beaches. In summer, I see locals from Scheveningen or Kijkduin (the city’s most famous beaches) sunbathing, walking in nature or cycling, and then sit on one of the many benches available. Sometimes they read or chat with their friends, but they still practice Niksen.
Niksen is a Dutch wellness trend that means “doing nothing. “It first gained international attention in 2019 as a way to manage tension or burnout. At the time, many other people were complaining of burnout and depression caused by overwork and were searching for answers, which is why concepts such as Japanese ikigai or Danish hygge also entered the English lexicon. As a linguist, I enjoyed the concept that you can explain the whole concept of doing nothing in a short, easy-to-pronounce text. word.
In my e-book Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing, I describe it as “doing nothing without a purpose”, i. e. not browsing Facebook or meditating. It’s time to just be, letting the brain wander to where it needs to go. And as we slowly move away from the pandemic, it is vital to reconsider how we work and spend our time.
Linguistically, niksen (to do nothing) is a verb created from “niks”, which “nothing”.
“It fits with the tendency of the Dutch language to create verbs out of nouns. From from ‘voetbal’ (football) to voetballen (playing football), from ‘internet’ to internetten, from ‘whatsapp’ to whatsappen etc. I think this is something that happens in Dutch in particular,” said Monique Flecken, a psycholinguist at the University of Amsterdam, who researches how the languages we speak affect the way we see the world. Essentially, it’s much less work to say “niksen” instead of “to do nothing”. “The Dutch are a practical, direct people and their language reflects that,” she said.
Niksen is about carving out time to just be, letting your mind wander wherever it wants to go (Credit: Westend61/Getty Images)
In the Netherlands, the word can be used in a variety of ways, both positive and negative. Flecken said, “A father says to his son, ‘Zit je weer te niksen?(Don’t you do anything anymore?) And I would also say “lekker niksen,” which translates to “delicious doing nothing,” when I talk about a night when you are perfectly free of any chores or work.
To Thijs Launspach, a psychologist, TEDx speaker and author of the book Crazy Busy: Staying Sane in a Stressful World, niksen means “doing nothing or occupying yourself with something trivial as a way of enjoying your own time. Not doing nothing entirely but doing as little as possible,” he said, pointing out that this mostly applies to elderly people who have more unstructured free time. Younger generations, on the other hand, are more stressed out than ever – even in the Netherlands, a country traditionally applauded for its work-life balance.
There are plenty of reasons for that. “Our lives and our jobs have become increasingly complex. We tend to spend a lot of time with computers. There is a lot of pressure on being the best version of yourself, be it in our jobs, or the expectations of parents [or] from social media. There is a lot of pressure to perform,” Launspach said.
Of course, some stress can be good, as Leiden University psychology professor Bernet Elzinga points out. “It’s not necessarily bad to be for a moment in a state of stress, where you’re really on and focused. The problem is when this is getting out of hand,” she said.
Of course, some stress can be good, as Leiden University psychology professor Bernet Elzinga points out. “It’s not necessarily bad to be for a moment in a state of stress, where you’re really on and focused. The problem is when this is getting out of hand,” she said.But niksen can help with that. “When you do nothing, you connect to your default mode network. And that network is responsible for mind-wandering and reflection,” Elzinga explained.
Paradoxically, Niksen can also make us more productive, precisely because breaks allow our brains to rest and return with greater concentration and sustained attention. This is probably the explanation why, although the Dutch don’t paint long hours, they do. a tendency to be very effective in painting. Overtime is not encouraged due to the “be normal, it’s crazy enough” attitude prevalent in the Netherlands, a nod to the country’s fair and egalitarian culture.
– The beaches are ideal for Niksen: in The Hague, head to Kijkduin or Scheveningen. Near Amsterdam are Castricum and Zandvoort.
– Dunes: Near Rotterdam is Voornes Duin, a dune domain with hiking and biking trails, as well as plenty of benches to sit on.
– Parks: In Rotterdam, the Kralingse Bos offers opportunities for Niksen.
And it turns out it works: the Dutch are an artistic nation. Just think of all the outstanding painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer or Escher, as well as the avant-garde responses discovered through the Dutch to fight against the recurring risk of flooding, such as huge dams and houseboats.
The Dutch also like to enjoy life, as evidenced by the word lekker. It means “delicious,” but it can be used to refer to anything grand and pleasurable, such as warm lekker, lekker slapen (sleeping deliciously), and, of course, lekker. niksen, or “deliciously doing nothing. ” This available recreational architecture makes it easier for other people to do nothing.
Locals like to spend time actively, such as biking or hiking, which allows them to clear their minds. And whenever the sun comes up, the Dutch flock to cafes and terraces, even in winter. To me, those are the best options for doing nothing.
However, Launspach is not in favor of doing nothing to save him stress. “I’m a little skeptical about the concept that you deserve to create a buffer between you and stress. I don’t know if that’s even imaginable in the way we live and paint right now,” he said.
An extensive network of cycling routes crisscrosses the country, meaning it’s easy to immerse yourself in nature (Gilberto Martin/Getty Images)
Elzinga believes that the most productive thing to do is to do physical activity to distract yourself from your worries, preferably in nature. But fortunately, in Holland there is a way to mix all those things: niksen, nature and movement.
Although the country is not known for its natural resources, the Dutch appreciate the few natural spaces they have. Many of the dune spaces (what I like most about the Netherlands) are part of an extensive network of hiking and cycling trails that crisscross the country. . Even in big cities like Rotterdam, The Hague or Amsterdam you will never be far from a trail.
Wandelnet, a foundation committed to the creation and maintenance of hiking trails, in collaboration with the Dutch Railways, has created NS Wandelingen, a formula of hiking trails that can be easily accessed by exercise or other means of public transport. They are between 7 and 22 km in length, making them ideal for a day trip. And, given the numerous benches along the way, it’s even imaginable to take a short break from the scene.
This leisure time is possible for the Dutch because the Netherlands is a country with an excellent welfare system, and while people tend to work hard, they also take (and are granted) many days off.
“Having a good social support system, having lower stress level relates to feeling secure and in balance. So, I wouldn’t overestimate the importance of that,” said Elzinga.
And with everything that’s happening globally — the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine — easing the tension is more than ever.
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