How often do you feel bored during the day?
The world we live in today allows us to fight boredom.
We feel bored when we lack interest in a current task. The feeling also comes about when we think there is something better to do with our time. I guess that’s related to lacking interest in what you’re doing.
We might also feel bored because we can’t think of anything to do.
Any of those situations are things we try to avoid. It makes sense that if we’re not spending our time doing something we find valuable that our natural reaction will be to improve our situation. That might include getting a new job or getting a new hobby.
Those times when we can’t think of anything to do, however, can be really scary. You’re sitting there not really sure what to do. Thank goodness that today we’re able to pick up our phones and play a game, find a news article, check Twitter and do any number of different things to occupy the minutes.
But is it good to always have the freedom to escape boredom?
The Productive Mindset
Many people today are looking for more.
We want to do more things every day. More work. More accomplishment. More hobbies. More time with family and friends.
More.
The quest for more, however, can take you down the path of always looking ahead to the next thing. Or it could lead to doing all kinds of things and tasks without really accomplishing what you want to accomplish.
The productive mindset exists today in the sense that we look for more time in the day. We try to find little tricks for automating our day and to getting more time to do more things.
The number of hours in a day isn’t going to change. The only trick to being productive is realizing that maybe we can’t do everything. Maybe being busy all the time isn’t a good thing. Maybe we can do more by doing less and embracing the time we have alone with our thoughts.
The Benefits Of Boredom
Being alone with your thoughts can be scary. I’ve been there. I like hunting each fall for whitetail deer in the Wisconsin woods and farmland. It can be scary to sit in the quiet woods with nothing going on other than your own imagination. It’s especially scary when it’s dark and really quiet.
But those hunts have been some of the best experiences of my life. When you’re bored you become more aware of your surroundings. In those woods, I’ll notice all kinds of different movements. I’ll see wildlife that I hadn’t ever seen before. I’ll notice colors in the natural world that I didn’t know existed.
And in other moments I’ll have time to sit, stare into space and just…think.
I actually remember sitting in the woods in late Fall 2008 thinking that I should take the plunge and start blogging. I plotted out this little game plan in my head on how I would start my first blog. I had been reading blogs for awhile. I had read about WordPress and Flickr Creative Commons and more. That day in the woods started my career in blogging.
I’ve also had other ideas – some good and some not so good – while sitting in the woods. It’s become more difficult in recent years because now I have a phone with me. I’m usually playing a crossword puzzle or reading something. I still try, however, to put the phone away and be alone with my thoughts.
Successful People
Something I’ve noticed when reading about successful people is that they seem to embrace time alone with their thoughts. This would seem counter to the idea that successful people are always on the go. It actually seems that the opposite is true. Successful people are hard workers, but they leave time for thinking.
Steve Jobs was known for his walks.
Sam Walton flew his airplane.
Alex Spanos golfed.
Ben Hogan smoked.
Grandpa drank coffee on the porch.
There are a number of things that successful people did that allowed them to be alone with their thoughts. Many people do it today when commuting to work. It’s nice to have a commute when it’s a pretty easy drive. You can kind of zone out and be alone with your thoughts. I remember when I worked in the corporate world that sometimes co-workers would rush into the office to write something down on their desk the moment they arrived. They had had an idea in the car on their way to work.
When we’re busy all the time we don’t leave time to embrace boredom. That can limit our ability to think about life.
So the next time you’re bored, sit back and embrace it. Let your mind wander. Be aware of what’s going on around you. Use all your senses. If you catch yourself looking at the clock just take a look, accept it and move on to the next sense you notice. Then let your mind wander into thinking.
You might come out of the experience with your best idea yet.
