Willems - The Lost Art of Doing Nothing: How the Dutch Unwind with Niksen

THE LOST ART OF DOING NOTHING: How the Dutch Unwind with Niksen
Copyright 2020 by Uitgeverij Unieboek | Het Spectrum bv
Translation 2021 by The Experiment, LLC
Illustrations 2020, 2021 by Lona Aalders

Originally published as Niksen: Lang leve het lanterfanten by Uitgeverij Unieboek | Het Spectrum bv in 2020. First published in North America in revised form by The Experiment, LLC, in 2021.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Willems, Maartje, 1982- author. | Aalders, Lona, 1979- illustrator.
| Vroomen, Laura, translator.
Title: The lost art of doing nothing : how the Dutch unwind with niksen /
Maartje Willems & Lona Aalders ; translated by Laura Vroomen.
Other titles: Niksen. English
Description: New York : The Experiment, 2021.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020051106 (print) | LCCN 2020051107 (ebook) | ISBN
9781615197644 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781615197651 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Self-actualization (Psychology) | Laziness. |
Relaxation--Technique. | Lifestyles--Netherlands.
Classification: LCC BF637.S4 W494513 2021 (print) | LCC BF637.S4 (ebook)
| DDC 158.1--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020051106
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020051107

ISBN 978-1-61519-764-4
Ebook ISBN 978-1-61519-765-1

Cover and text design by Beth Bugler

Manufactured in Turkey

First printing March 2021
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

about the authors

Maartje Willems is a Dutch journalist and writer. She lives in Amsterdam where she works as a freelancer and for the VPRO radio program Never Sleep Again. She previously wrote the self-help book Vanaf nu wordt alles beter (From now on everything will get better).

MaartjeWillems.nl

Lona Aalders is a photographer and illustrator. She lives in a tiny house in Baambrugge and sees slow living as her personal religion. She previously authored the book Bullet journaling: zo doe je dat (Bullet journaling: this is how you do it!) and illustrated Vanaf nu wordt alles beter for Maartje Willems.

Lona-Aalders.com

Further Reading

Eyal, Nir. Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. Benbella Books, 2019.

Gini, Al. The Importance of Being Lazy: In Praise of Play, Leisure, and Vacation. Routledge, 2003.

Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Penguin, 2005.

Lightman, Alan. In Praise of Wasting Time. Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Maas, Angela. A Womans Heart: Why Female Heart Health Really Matters. Hachette, 2020.

Toohey, Peter. Boredom: A Lively History. Yale University Press, 2012.

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden; or, Life in the Woods. Ticknor and Fields, 1854; Signet, 2012.

Pleij, Herman. Dreaming of Cockaigne: Medieval Fantasies of the Perfect Life. Translated by Diane Webb. Columbia University Press, 2003.

Conclusion

By now, we hope were all on the same page, and that page, says: Take it easy. Our lives are like a carnival ride spinning out of control, anddizzy from our turn on the carouselwere in need of cotton candy to get our blood sugar level back to normal. For centuries, weve been working toward a life in which we can relax and enjoy all of our achievements. Even the earth itself could do with a less frenetic pace right now.

Were ready to become the people who love doing glorious nothing. Its time to go from the disapproving "Stop being a lazy so-and-so" to the encouraging "Oh nice, youre doing nothing!"

Were living the medieval dream and its only getting better. Slowly but surely the way we work is changing, and with all the technology at our disposal we dont even have to leave the house anymore, for anything. If we do want to go outsidefor some fresh air, perhapsall of our interactions can be frictionless. In outlining this scenario were assuming that the worlds leaders will stay out of one anothers hair and that none of them have evil intentions. You never know what the future holds, and so wed better learn to make the most of the presentand learn to do absolutely nothing.

During our research, and the interviews and conversations we had with each other and with experts, we often wondered: How is it possible that we still cant seem to slow down a bit? Why do we keep thinking that our world has to be better, faster, and smarter?

Were ready to become the people who love doing glorious nothing! Its time to go from the disapproving Stop being a lazy so-and-so to the encouraging Oh nice, youre doing nothing! In a perfect world, when walking by a group of people hanging out, another passerby will comment, Oh, good for them, theyre doing nothing. It will be the same way that we tiptoe past the dog when shes lying in her basket and drooling.

W hen your heads full of stuff youd rather not think about, and you feel as though youre going insane or youre on the verge of burnout, you may fall victim to distraction. Here are some tips to get you back on track.

Switch off your smartphone.

Were living in an age in which multitasking has become the norm, with smartphones as a source of endless distraction. Were still going through work emails over dinner, reading the news, and second-guessing every decision we made throughout the day. This is more likely in some professions than others, but anyone can receive negative feedback in their inbox and accidentally look at it in the evening or on vacation. Constantly being on email generates fresh input for your churning mind and ruins your niksen. Try switching the device to airplane mode while doing nothing.