The (difficult) art of doing nothing
In the midst of our frenzied lives, taking time out for doing nothing is making sense. Our brain needs a break!
Is today’s alwaysconnected, busy lifestyle affecting your health? Give yourself a break – your brain needs downtime. There is a new concept called Niksen — it literally means ‘to do nothing’.
From rushing around doing chores and getting the dinner cooked, not to mention going to work, we barely have time to stop and breathe, let alone sit down and do nothing for half an hour. Yet, the art of doing nothing is quite powerful — something that may well change our lives.
Learning how to do nothing might be the most vital skill for thriving in our frenetic, overwhelminglyconnected culture.
Niksen helps manage stress and recover from burnout. The new concept is increasingly being
seen as a positive addition to our routine.
“When we do nothing, we’re not actually doing nothing. When we are doing something, we don’t give our minds a chance to process, think or observe, as those come in the way of connecting. Because of that, we are not able to sync our thoughts and feelings. But when we are doing nothing, what happens is that our mind gets time to analyse what we really want, and understand our feelings and balance ourselves. It also helps us to calm down instead of going ahead with one activity after another,” says Dr Anjali Chhabria, psychiatrist, psychotherapist and author.
NEED MORE OF IT
Niksen is supposed to give your mind a brief break and take the edge off. “I call it ‘sitting on my ass and do nothing’ time! I do this every Sunday as a rule, to slow myself down. It’s relaxing and bores me to the core... which in turn makes me look forward to work and the
week ahead.
Niksen is not a form of meditation, nor is it a state of laziness or boredom. It’s not scrolling through social media, or wondering what you’re going to cook for dinner. Rather, to niks is to make a conscious choice to sit back, let go, and do nothing at all, according to author Olga
Mecking
It’s a very important time for me. If I don’t get it, the week ahead seems to drag,” says Sayeeda Abrar, fitness consultant / personal trainer.
WHEN WE ARE DOING SOMETHING, WE DON’T GIVE OUR MINDS A CHANCE TO PROCESS, THINK OR OBSERVE, AS THOSE COME IN THE WAY OF CONNECTING. BECAUSE OF THAT, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO SYNC OUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS. BUT WHEN WE ARE DOING NOTHING, WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT OUR MIND GETS TIME TO ANALYSE WHAT WE REALLY WANT,
AND UNDERSTAND OUR
FEELINGS AND
BALANCE
OURSELVES. IT
ALSO HELPS US TO
CALM DOWN
INSTEAD OF
GOING AHEAD
WITH ONE
ACTIVITY AFTER
ANOTHER
THE BENEFITS OF IDLENESS
Instead of constantly occupying your mind with what you need to do next or bouncing from one task to another, niksen is the practice of slowing it all down.
And the concept is becoming increasingly popular around the world, says Dr Anjali. Allowing your mind and body to unwind gives you the opportunity to release tension and tap into the healing mode of the parasympathetic nervous system.
Unlike distractions, which can cause low selfesteem or depression, the art of doing nothing lets you just be. “This simplicity gives you the space to relinquish comparisons, tap into your true feelings, gain clarity and restore yourself both physically and mentally. Also, it helps us to connect with ourselves and find a way forward instead of just moving endlessly,” says Dr Anjali.
STOP BEING SO BUSY
In these days when “I’m so busy” has become the mantra of the masses, it’s time to embrace something that will give us what we seem to be
craving — a balance in our lives. Rest and even boredom can boost creativity, feels Supraja Rao, award-winning interior designer. There’s good reason why so many celebrated authors and artists incorporate long walks in their daily routines. “Doing something and doing nothing are two sides of the same coin. You need to balance both. In order to do something, you need to do nothing — so that the something you are doing is done really well,” sums up Supraja.