How to Overcome Boredom

How to Overcome Boredom

·        Have you ever been bored?

Restless? Fidgety? In need of some inspiration?

I have a theory on boredom. I believe that the speed of tedium has increased  aboard the pace of technology.

If you think about it, technology has provided us with mobile phones, lap tops, i-pads, device after device – all to ultimately fix one problem:

Ø Boredom

We have become a global nation that feeds on entertainment.

We associate ‘living’ with ‘doing’. People don’t know how to sit still. We feel guilty if we are not ‘doing.’ ‘Inactivity’ has become the ultimate ‘sin’.

Ø What is boredom anyway?

You might not realize it, but boredom stimulates a form of anxiety & stress. It evokes an emotional state that creates frustration and feeds procrastination.

It’s a desire to be ‘doing something’ or to be ‘entertained’. It’s a desire for sensory stimulation.

Ø What it boils down to a lack of focus.

If you think about those times when you’re bored it’s usually because you ‘don’t know what to do’. So indecision plays a big part.

When we are focused on what’s important to us and what we want to achieve, it’s pretty hard to be bored.

So one answer to tedium is to become targeted on what you wish.

Sometimes it’s good to be bored

If ennui could be a want for sensory stimulation – then what’s the other of that? To be content with no stimulation.

Ø In other words, to enjoy stillness.

Research has shown that it’s not the ‘boredom’ its-self that causes the frustration, it’s the resistance to doing nothing. Think about it. What would happen if you were to ‘let go’ of the desire to be entertained? You wouldn’t be bored anymore. You would be relaxing!

In my expertise, it’s often the most obvious, simplistic solutions that are the most powerful in life. So when you’re bored, the easiest way to combat this is to enjoy it.

Sounds weird, but think of ‘boredom’ as a form of ‘relaxation’. It’s an opportunity from the constant stimulation that twenty first century living provides. The constant TVs, mobile phones, radios, internet, emails, phone calls…

Ø Who knows, perhaps ‘boredom’ is truly a decent for us?

Next time you’re ‘feeling bored’ rather than feeding the frustration by frantically trying to find one thing to try and do, maybe you can sit back, relax and savor the feeling of having nothing to do.

Here’s my 3 step strategy to overcome boredom:

1. Get focused

Instead of chasing sensory stimulation at random, focus on what’s really important to you. What would make good use of your time? What may you be doing that might contribute to your major goals in life?

Here are a few ideas:

Spend some time in quiet contemplation considering what’s important to you

Start that artistic project you’ve been talking concerning for the previous couple of weeks

Brainstorm: consider some concepts for brand new innovative product or businesses

2. Kill procrastination

Boredom is useful in some ways because it gives us energy to ‘do things’, so next time you’re bored why not put this good energy to use by ticking off those things that you have been ‘meaning to get done, but have been too busy’.

This is a great time to clear your ‘to do’ list.

Some ideas:

Do some exercise

Read a book

Learn something new

Call a friend

Get creative (draw, paint, sculpt, create music, write)

Spring clean

Wash the car

Renovate the house

Re-arrange the furniture

Write your shopping list

Water the plants

Walk the dog

Sort out your mail & email

De-clutter (clear out that wardrobe)

3. Enjoy boredom

If none of the on top of work, then try a different approach. Don’t surrender to tedium and instead prefer to relish it.

Contrary to well-liked belief, we tend to don’t got to be perpetually ‘doing things’ so as to be productive. In-fact analysis has shown that individuals square measure additional productive after they take periods of rest to recharge.

So take some time to relax. You never know you might even like it.