“IL DOLCE FAR NIENTE” – A PLEA FOR SWEET DOING NOTHING
When we're back in the office and rushing through our to-do list for the day, we can hardly wait for the weekend. The thought of doing nothing in a relaxed and unconstrained manner is tempting. The Italians charmingly call this doing nothing " Il dolce far niente ". But the sweet laziness needs to be learned. Because the joke is, if we finally had the time for a little idleness, we could think of a thousand things that we could still do: the windows would have to be cleaned again and the balcony would have to be replanted, then there would still be the tax return and those new season of our favorite series is also waiting to be watched by us. In a society driven by efficiency, productivity and multitasking, it seems that we have to learn the fine art of doing nothing again.
T he unproductive time is often the most creative. Studies also show that lounging makes you healthy and happy. And, paradoxically, it even increases our productivity. Because it is precisely when we let our thoughts roam freely and our brain does not have to deal with any tasks that it can recover, reorganize, process what we have experienced and create space for inspiration and new ideas. Most of us can confirm from our own experience: Creativity rarely takes place in the workplace. Brilliant ideas come to us when we are thoughtlessly standing in the shower or looking out of the window daydreaming.
So there are enough reasons to regularly treat yourself to a real break and to be uninhibitedly lazy. Without checking emails, planning the weekly shop or scrolling through Instagram accounts. The art of sweet idleness consists in surrendering to the moment without any meaning or purpose. So lie dreamily in the grass, listen to the sound of the sea on the beach or let your thoughts run free on a walk.
Our clear recommendation: join the Do Nothing Club today!
Photo: Niklas Veenhuis via unsplash
