How To Be Bored

Epic boredom triggered most of my attempts to finish this article. Today, it happened when I threw away my phone in disgust after mindless Instagram scrolling.

Earlier, I read three books on my kindle for five minutes each. Then switched to a paperback, which I gave up after 10 minutes.

I wasn’t having fun. Skipping from one thing to another is not enjoyable. So why was I doing it?

Simple answer - I was bored.

Complicated answer -

  • I wanted to change the current moment to a more desirable state

  • The desirable state itself is an abstract that I was not sure about

It means it is stemming from the discomfort of the present. And we have conflicting ideas about how to change that situation.

If you’re like me, you want to be productive yet also to have fun. Learn a language and also watch a movie. You want adventure but also peace and quiet. A little contentment won’t hurt either.

Ultimately, it comes down to a single thing summed up perfectly in this quote by Blaise Pascal:

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

How do we solve this?

Slow everything down

The Idea

Take the mundane everyday activities - brushing teeth, folding laundry, washing hands, etc. Instead of rushing through them to get them over with, slow down. Do them for their own sake. Remind yourself that life is every second that passes. It’s not happening in future, it is in every moment.

How It Works

The default modus operandi during such actions is auto-pilot. Our muscle memory gets the job done. So the mind wanders. Uncontrolled, it takes us to memories or hypotheticals - good or bad. What if we turn off the auto-pilot for a bit?

The cheap dopamine that we get from our screens has hampered the capacity of our minds to find creativity and joy in the ordinary. If finding joy seems ambitious, simply being able to get through a day without a constant need for excitement is a big win.

My Experience

The other day, I was rushing down the stairs. Halfway through, I had this realisation that I didn’t need to be anywhere. So I slowed down and brought my focus to the present. It was like coming out after living inside my own head for a long time. It sounds silly, but it was liberating.

“Do the dishes to do the dishes” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Staring into the distance time

The Idea

Give yourself an unbound slot of time to just sit and stare into the distance.

How It Works

If you’ve been practising slowing down the mundane, then now is the chance to give free reigns to your mind. Follow where it goes. Then gently manoeuver it in the direction you want - towards things that you value.

Great things happen when you let your mind wander in a controlled fashion. You go deeper, into the first principles of things. It gives you a chance to focus on the important things in life - whatever that may be for you in that moment.

The best advice you’ll follow is when it comes from within. And this time gives you some empty headspace to listen to that voice.

My Experience

I use this technique to come up with new articles. I sit in silence, look into the distance and observe my life at that time. That time could be that month, or week, or that particular day. And new ideas emerge from that. Sometimes, it is just about that instant; this post came from analysing the discomfort of the moment.

Staring into the distance helps me improve the relationship of my mind and self. It gives me the feeling of more control over my own mind rather than the other way around.

Day of meditation

The Idea

By meditation, I don’t mean sitting on a cushion, closing your eyes and focusing on your breath. Although if you can do that, it's great. I mean making the whole day as an exercise in meditation. Look beyond the obvious in things.

How It Works

Take an example of the vegetable you are preparing for a meal. Unless it’s from your kitchen garden, its journey from a seed to your kitchen has been extraordinary. It was nourished by a big ball of fire millions of kilometres away. It was germinated by a tiny bee. And it took an advanced human-built infrastructure to get it to you unharmed.

Take a minute to appreciate this minor miracle. You might find more gratitude for the simple things in life.

My Experience

You can try this technique right now. Slow down and imagine the writer penning down these words. At which point must I have stopped to brood. Or which words were perceptibly difficult to write down. Look beyond the screen and into the mind of the author.

I do this with music. While listening to a song, I would try to decipher the different beats. And then imagine in what sequence the composer must have arranged it.

Two More Techniques

Find Your Centre

Find one thing that centres you. Breathing deeply, music, gratitude - whatever it may be. For me, it’s reading a few Zenhabits articles. It always calms me down.

Romanticise The Present Moment

Let’s say you are peeling an orange in the kitchen. Imagine reading your biography and that moment described by a talented writer.

"... was standing there in the kitchen after a day of work. He stood there peeling an orange skin listening to music. This was a ritual to him. The act of peeling was like taking off a layer of burden after returning home...."

I love this technique. It attaches romance to every moment of my existence. Living life becomes a performance - in a good way. You become the star of the show. Indulge in the moment, and I daresay, you’ll feel larger than life itself.

More about this technique in Romantic’s Guide to Finding Focus.

How to do weekends

On Recovery And Relaxation

Without the meaning found in the structure of weekdays, a weekend becomes difficult for me. On a Saturday afternoon, unrest of not knowing what to do starts brewing.

A weekend

Free time on the weekend -> potential for boredom -> mind at unease.

And since a weekend relaxation powers our battery for the week ahead, it becomes critical to recovering well.

We recover the best when we stay in the present moment - unattached from past regrets or future worries. The central idea of the aforementioned techniques is to help you do that. I hope they come in handy.

I would love to hear what you think about this.

Be bored better. Have a great weekend.

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