Recent years have thrown up books and articles purporting to explain living leisurely and how to achieve this. The concept of niksen, Lavrijsen explains, is that the art of simply doing nothing according to the Dutch philosophy of relaxation. Not because you have nothing to do or feel completely exhausted, but deliberately taking a moment to do nothing. In our increasingly frantic world, being actively encouraged to do nothing feels surprisingly good. By taking a break, giving our minds and bodies time to rest and recharge, we will be more productive in the long run. Nothing in Niksen is particularly mind-blowing. A lot of it reads like common sense, but perhaps that makes it even more important, because sometimes it is the simplest things that are most easily lost in our fast-paced modern world.