Niksen Wellness at the Office – Be More Like a Cat to Improve Your Work Balance

How to work smarter and be more productive!  After reading about Niksen, it makes me think of cats just sitting and watching the world go by, probably not a very on trend interpretation, of the Dutch lifestyle concept of Niksen.  This interesting concept is about giving yourself space and time to just be.  Pondering on nothing in particular.  Sitting in a station people watching.  Sitting on a train watching the world flicker by.  Cloud watching.  It may seem counterintuitive yet it’s amazing how refreshed one can feel after a brief mental tea break.

Working with your natural rhythm is the key to this.  It’s interesting how many ideas come to us gently and naturally when we have time to ‘stand and stare’.  Giving ourselves permission to just be.

This poem sums it up eloquently, give yourself time, put your phone down, put your to-do list away, force your mind to stop whirring with all the things you have to get done.  Refresh yourself, and the likelihood is that you will be more efficient when you come to hit that to-do list.

Finding the off switch can sometimes be a challenge.  So by way of a solution – a beautiful off switch is this relaxing lavender eye pillow.  When sitting back and placing this over your eyes, there is nothing one can do but be.  Consciously breathing and focussing just on each breath allows the mind to switch off. 

References

The Dutch Review How you can accomplish more by doing nothing

NBC What is Niksen, the Dutch concept of doing nothing?

Time What is Niksen?

Niksen Inspired Gifts