"Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing" by Olga Mecking explores the Dutch practice of niksen, which emphasizes the importance of taking intentional breaks and doing nothing to boost happiness and productivity. The book offers practical advice on incorporating niksen into various aspects of daily life and highlights the science behind the benefits of embracing stillness.

This insightful guide presents a refreshing perspective on managing burnout and stress, inviting readers to rediscover the art of doing nothing for greater well-being. Mecking’s approach offers a thoughtful and practical way to counteract modern life’s busyness, making it a valuable read for those seeking balance and relaxation.

This book had some interesting moments, but didn't feel like it was very thorough - a lot of hype about Niksen without actually being a practical or fully rounded guide to niksen. I was expecting more of a well-grounded history and explanation with practical guides and this read more like a personal discourse. It was not poorly written - it was easy to read, but in my opinion the point of the book felt a little lost. I enjoyed what I read, but it felt a little less hearty than I had anticipated.

This book is a good reminder to slow down, embrace the art of doing nothing, be comfortable, cozy, and reduce stress and anxiety by taking it easy and enjoying your down time.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

In this book, Niksen is clearly broken down and it's made clear not only what the art is, but how you do it.

I think this is one of those books that will stay on my shelf and one I'll dip into when I'm feeling particularly anxious or overwhelmed by life.

I'm Dutch and I thought this book was quite difficult to get behind. I've read the Little book of Hygge, which I thought was a good book about a concept that's well explained and is something that you can actually write a whole book about. "Niksen" just isn't something in that line. I read a lot in this book about my country and Dutch people that I completely couldn't get behind, from acting like the entire country is solely like the major cities to calling the tiniest characteristics as typically Dutch.

The whole concept of "niksen" is barely talked about in this book. There's so much talk around the subject, talking about other concepts, the country, or ideas like busyness, that I felt like the main subject just isn't a big enough thing to fill a whole book with.

"Niksen" in Dutch is simply doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. But when one is doing this, they often aren't literally doing nothing. It's more that they do nothing that has real meaning or productivity to it. People could be sitting down and staring out of the window, or stare into a wall. Though it's not a state of nothing going on in your head or something. You're often thinking about something or daydreaming or whatever, but not literally nothing. It's not meditation where you focus on having minimal thoughts.

Because this concept is so limited and is more a state of what you're doing at the moment, it's not worth looking that deep into. In that case the concept of hygge is more interesting, as it focuses on many aspects together to create a hygge situation. Or like the Dutch "gezelligheid" where you take different aspects and create a situation that fits this term.

I can appreciate trying to find meaning behind behaviour, but this unfortunately missed the spot for me.

A mix of personal narrative, research, and reflection on how to do nothing (niksen). Pretty great. I felt as though one could walk away from the book and learn how to do niksen. Mecking offers practical advice and an easy read. Felt like a friend explaining how to do this. That said, this might be best directed towards those without any background in Dutch culture. The author is not Dutch and has lived in the Netherlands for ~10 years.

Niksen by Olga Mecking
Rating 3/ 5 Stars
Published by Mariner Books
Published On 12 January 2021

Thank you to Netgalley, Mariner Books, and of course, Olga Mecking, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of Hygge (Danish) and Fika (Swedish) having lived in Scandinavia for a bit, so to find a book on Niksen, the art of doing nothing by the Dutch - I was so excited! In our world, I feel like we are constantly rushing around and go go go. The art of Niksen is to make the conscious choice to sit back, let go, do nothing, and accept the world for how it is in that specific moment. Mecking does a lovely job of explaining Niksen; however, I did find a few faults in the book. I really enjoyed Meik Wieking’s books on Hygge and Lykke, and those were kind of why I wanted to request Niksen. I did find myself making comparisons here and there. My rating dropped a little bit when I discussed the concept and the book with my Dutch friend - who told me there is not really an actual culture behind Niksen like with Hygge and Fika. This bothered me a bit, but I still think the book is lovely. This book began as an article, and I do think it could have stayed as a said article - it was kind of too long in my mind. I do think this is a great book if you are wanting to explore Dutch Culture - just keep in mind that it feels like Niksen has been created due to the popularity of other Lifestyle terms which have become successful - not by Olga herself, but just in general.

I didn't mind this book, but I found it didn't have much substance. I didn't come away with much other than it is OK to do nothing. And, while the author goes into great deal on how and why you can and should do nothing, I wonder how many people don't daydream, or lose track of time, or can't remember driving somewhere and yet somehow they got there.

It seemed that a lot of the book was referencing other books which, to be honest, sounded more interesting.

I learned something new but I think it took too long to get to the point and there's plenty of parts that were a bit boring.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was cute, some cool concepts but ultimately pretty typical self help book fare!! I wish the author went into more detail, but it was such a fast read that I'd definitely recommend just in case - I think it could mean a lot to some :)

This was such an interesting book to read! I hadn't expected to fly through a non fiction book as I did with this one. The subjects touched upon in this book were all very interesting and insightful. It really IS important to take some time off for 'Niksening'. Mecking doesn't portray 'Niksen' as THE solution for peace and calmness in your life, and also clearly makes sure that it doesn't always work for everyone. I really liked that, as some self help books tend to portray their methods as THE perfect solution. This wasn't the case for Niksen!
As a person living in a neighboring country of the Netherlands, and as a Dutch speaking person as well, I think I liked this book even more. I loved reading some more about the beautiful Netherlands.
I really enjoyed this book and found it to be very interesting! If you're interested in how to implement 'niksen' into your own life, I would definitely recommend reading this book.

I preface this by saying that I have read and very much enjoyed all of Meik Wieking's books and my experience with those books is what drew me to request a copy of Niksen. Perhaps I went in with the wrong expectations, but in any case, I was disappointed.

I had difficulty completing this book. While Mecking can certainly write capably, I do not think there was enough here to constitute a book. I know she wrote a popular article on this topic, and I'm sure there was more to say than could be contained in an article, but this book felt padded.

While Wieking is skilled at weaving research into personal observations and insights about his topic, I did not find the same here. It did not feel integrated, rather choppy and at at times rather disjointed.

But most surprising for me is the fact that this concept of Niksen turns out to be one that the author herself invented, inspired by the Dutch culture, rather than one that has existed within the culture for years (like hygge in Denmark for example). I mean, the author is transparent about it, which is important, but it left me with a definite, "What?" reaction when it was revealed. It was disappointing and inspired a double take on my part. I almost set the book down at that point. Fair enough, you can notice that the Dutch in general seem to be good at "doing nothing" but there is something about creating a term and running with it that felt perhaps that the author was trying to jump on the very successful Nordic lifestyle book bandwagon.

If framed differently, perhaps as a deeper look at how people in different cultures around the world practice "doing nothing", this book might have come off more successfully.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Who would have thought a book on doing nothing would feel like so much work? I'm just not a fan. I went in thinking maybe this would be like Hygge (which I enjoy) but the majority of the beginning was slogging through the author's background, distaste for wellness and self care media, and how much Niksen is and isn't like every other wellness and aesthetic fad out there. It was a slog.
I do think the concept of Niksen, when we finally get to it, is a great one and one we should promote more in this too-fast, too-busy, too-sick life most of the Western world lives in. However, I think it could have been written about in a more accessible, less judgy, and softer way.

NIKSEN

With a book like Olga Mecking’s Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing, it’s reasonable for the reading public to ask whether “Niksen” is the next self-help system about to take the world by storm. After all, every so often even simple questions such as “Does it spark joy?” is enough to set untold numbers of people on the path to some form of personal improvement.

For my part, I don’t really think so. To be fair, and to her credit, Mecking makes no such claims in her book, which in all honesty doesn’t really do a good job of describing what makes “Niksen” a Dutch art. The book is an interesting outsider’s perspective of what Dutch culture is like and sharing how the Dutch easily “verb” nouns. Niks means “nothing” in Dutch; therefore niksen is the state of doing nothing.

But there’s really no method to it. Sometimes your mind just wanders. Sometimes you end up distracted by the inconsequential. And sometimes, well, it’s just how you deal.

So niksen as a system of personal improvement? Forget about it.

But the key takeaway from Niksen (the book) is that it’s okay to be doing nothing sometimes.

I think that’s an important message to get across in a world where everyone finds themselves in an endless loop of busy. An idle mind is the devil’s playground, sure, but if the same idleness is what allows us to recharge our batteries, see things from new perspectives, and ultimately catch that second wind so we can do our most important work, then it will have been worth it.

There are a host of wellness books out there based on concepts from other cultures. You can embrace Hygge and live cozy. You can work on mindfulness. Or you can declutter your home with Marie Kondo or with Swedish Death Cleaning. Or you can do nothing.

Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing is about how to do nothing in a way that improves your life. It’s not about being bored or sitting in front of Netflix for hours. It’s about learning to take breaks so your brain can quiet and make connections that it can’t find if you’re constantly doing things. Niksen is like daydreaming, when we take a few minutes to turn away from all our screens and just be. It’s looking out the window at the beauty of nature, closing your eyes to rest them from all the harsh lighting, giving your spirit a minute to breathe while putting aside all the busyness.

Author Olga Mecking has done lots of research about doing nothing, and she blends the results of scientific studies with wise words from other authors and personal anecdotes to come up with all the reasons why Niksen is good for us, how to niks at home or at work, and all the benefits we can expect from taking the time to do nothing. It’s a form of self-care, and it can make you more creative and more productive.

Niksen is a short book filled with colorful, whimsical illustrations, but it also contains a wealth of reasons why engaging in doing nothing is an important part of life. I enjoyed this book and learned a lot about niksen. As someone who has been fighting burnout, I think this will help. I love the playfulness of niksen, and I love that it’s not about being lazy but it’s also not about being productive. It’s about just being, breathing, looking around, and enjoying the moment.

This little tome would make a great gift for anyone struggling with overcommitting, overscheduling, exhaustion, burnout, or who can’t set their phone aside for five minutes. It could help, even if the person you need to buy this for is yourself.

Egalleys for Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing were provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This was a really interesting title to read. If you are a fan of all things hygge, then you may well enjoy this delve into the art of Niksen-ing. I realised that I'm not at all good at it!
I was interested in the Dutch lifestyle and ended up researching what it might eb like to make a move there.
While a lot of what I read wasn't new to me, I enjoyed the well thought out and detailed research that had gone into writing this book.

Niksen by Olga Mecking is a non-fiction title sharing the benefits of "Niksen", is the art of doing nothing in the Dutch culture. The author does a good job introducing the topic and interacting with the reader with examples and questions in the first chapter. I also found it interesting how the author connected Niksen to forms in other cultures such as the siesta, sabbath, and dolce far niente. The "Niks on this" had reflection questions at the end of each chapter which were helpful to summarize the information and apply it. However, this book seems to have fallen into the trap of extending the book length just to meet the magic "200 pages' many other non-fiction books do. I also wish the book would have gone a bit deeper into some of the explanations of the importance of Niksen and more approaches on how to apply it, especially when resisting it. Notably, this book is beautiful with cute illustrations throughout the book which would make it an appealing coffee-stand book. Overall I recommend this for people looking for a quick, straightforward read on Niksen.

Many thanks to the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review!

I like the idea of decluttering my mind, but this book didn't really give me enough oomph to get going. Or do I mean stop going?

Introducing the idea of Niksen - the dutch art of doing nothing. I read this book hoping to pick up tips on how to incorporate this into my life. It feels very well researched with plenty of interviews, quotes and extracts with people discussing Niksen. I wouldn't say I read anything groundbreaking here but if anything, it served as a gentle reminder to slow down and not always feel the need to be rushing around. I know I often have my best/most creative ideas in the shower (undistracted by phone/email etc) and the author mentions this. So the book has got me thinking a little bit more about how, in 2021, I can take more time out to just do nothing and hopefully feel less stressed and get more creative in the process.