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

“The best thing about niksen is the absence of a goal. It doesn’t serve a purpose, but it’s wonderful.”

Don’t you think it’s time for a break? Plagued—as we are!—by nonstop pings and notifications, we have lost the knack of zoning out. Kicking back. Slacking off. Even when pandemic-induced lockdowns forcibly cleared our calendars, many who thought I’m free! filled their days with Netflix and doomscrolling. How can we reclaim our free time (planned or not) to truly rest and reset?

The Dutch h...