By: Sadie Gallant Despite what your parents or teachers may tell you, doing nothing is actually an important life skill! And no, this doesn’t get you out of doing your homework. Niksen, the dutch art of doing nothing, is actually proven to increase productivity at home or in the workplace. Activities such as sitting still or gazing out a window are surprisingly good for your mental health, unlike busyness. Do you find yourself always rushing around, going from place to place and laboring over a long to-do list? The impact of busyness is real: anxiety, stress-related diseases and even burnout. Our culture promotes working hard and getting things done, which is great, but what it doesn’t promote is embracing idleness. Sandi Mann, a psychologist at the University of Central Lancashire, states that sitting around and daydreaming “literally makes us more creative, better at problem-solving, better at coming up with creative ideas”. Taking a break or going for a walk when you feel stressed or overwhelmed should be encouraged! This can take you out of your mind for a little bit to help you see more clearly, ultimately improving productivity. One factor that threatens this idea of niksen is smartphones. Smartphones make it difficult to actually unplug and become idle, keeping us busy all the time. Because of this, we are not able to sit still and relax because our brains are being rewired by this constant technology. In addition, feeling drowsy or overwhelmed can hinder performance and productivity in the workplace. This is why it is important to build time into your day to relax and refocus. Doing nothing or taking a break like this in your day may be viewed as lazy, but it is actually an important life skill to have. Manfred Kets de Vries, a professor of leadership development and organizational change at Insead in Paris, uses the technique of niksen in his everyday life, “I do nothing with purpose. I know that without breaks I cannot be effective”. Everyone should be unapologetic about taking breaks or being seen as lazy, because it is really helping your mental health. These benefits of idleness may take time and feel uncomfortable at first but will become more familiar over time. Other ways practice idleness can be taking a trip to the spa or another relaxing spot. Wherever you are, ensure that your devices are out of reach so you can’t be distracted. In other words, put the things that keep you busy aside for a little while to focus on idleness. In conclusion, we should all take a little time to do nothing! Make sure you are in a quiet and calming environment when you take time to practice niksen because it will improve your mental health benefits. Chris Bailey, a productivity expert, tells us that we should stop being so busy because “if our energy is totally shot, our productivity is not going to be good because we’re not going to have fuel to burn with which to be productive”. In other words, find more time to do nothing! Article: Mecking, O. (2019, April 30). The Case for Doing Nothing. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/smarter-living/the-case-for-doing-nothing.html?rref=collection/timestopic/Psychology and Psychologists&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection
Image: https://content.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/learning/blog/2018/summer/Power.of.Doing.Nothing.jpg
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Ms. Carrigan's Psych ClassWe have been reading articles about psychological studies to inform the way we live our lives. Please explore, and we hope you learn a bit about the psychology in your life! Categories
All
Archives
November 2019
|