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When I can't last more than 5 minutes without needing some kind of stimulation, I wanted to make a change. Music, podcasts, movies, reels, a combination of them, or all at the same time (probably) created the soundtrack of my life. I'm not alone in this inability to sit still and pay attention without distraction. You also won't feel drained and depressed by endless scrolling. more boredom. But I don't want this state to be the default.
We want to stop using screens, music, and podcasts to fill the void when we should have downtime. I want to be able to be bored. To me, boredom is a state of being unable to suppress the desire to do something. I think you can instill a sense of tranquility by consciously not using your devices and instead using your downtime to spend time with yourself in your local spaces. In doing so, I think we can learn to slow down and be present without the need for digital distractions. It's embarrassing that you can't stand boredom. But it's not just that, I'm scared of not being able to decide where to focus my attention.
When I started the challenge, I hoped that this would lead me on a path to greater attention and awareness of the world around me. There, stopping to smell the roses is not only worth your time, but you'll notice that there are roses there. Start with I want to rebuild my attention span.
1st week
The novelty of starting something new makes me excited and optimistic.
It starts with disconnecting yourself from your phone. I deleted my social media apps and tried not to listen to anything during my commute or daily tasks.
This is certainly uncomfortable and difficult at first (you keep thinking of things to do to avoid getting bored, who would have thought!), but when you finally get down to just staring into space, it's not at all unpleasant. there is no. It's refreshing to have the time and space to have my ideas heard.
2nd week
As I walked without listening, I started noticing things that I normally wouldn't look at twice.
But this is how I feel when I hear unexpected news about my life situation. The urge to rid yourself of all negative emotions. What is the solution? Separation due to large amounts of multimedia content.
I feel guilty for backtracking before my video call with Professor James Danckert, an expert on the psychology of boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Could he tell I wasn't bored enough?
However, cognitive neuroscientists explain that forcing boredom or making yourself “boredible” is bad.
Turns out I was wrong about boredom. Dankert tells me it actually is “I’m highly motivated – but I’m frustrated at the moment because I want to do things that are important to me and I can’t find an outlet for that motivation.”
Boredom is beneficial, he says, because it encourages you to explore your environment and engage in something meaningful. The difficult part is finding or rediscovering the “things” that are important to you.
So I realized that the challenge is no longer about wanting to be bored, but about learning how to tolerate the feeling of boredom, so that you have the space to pay attention to where you are and where you want to be. I decided that I could do it.
3rd week
After the conversation with Dunkert, think about what it felt like Do you like being bored and how long has it been since you had that feeling? When was the last time that anxious restlessness welled up within you? When was the last time you wandered around the living room aimlessly?
The silence I wanted to avoid wasn't as scary as I thought. It actually helps you identify what is worth paying attention and care to in your life.
I was used to jumping from stimulus to stimulus, so when I started leaning into stillness, I realized that I had more time because the world wasn't moving at 10 TikToks a minute. So, I used the time I had back to make a list of things I wanted to do over the next few weeks. At the top is the desire to return to painting.
When I sit down, my instinct is to reach for my phone, but instead I stop and think about what I actually want to do. Instead of wasting your energy on pointless scrolling, you might be able to channel this feeling into something that gives you more energy. It's finally time to hang up your photos and make your room your own.
Week 4
During my off time, I often take walks outside without my earphones.
I noticed brush staining the sidewalks and jacaranda trees sprouting bright purple in places I didn't expect them to. Was summer this close? These cues from nature remind us of how time passes in a very physical sense that goes beyond the numbers on a clock and refers to the ground we walk on.
I realized that the way I had been thinking about time was wrong. Browsing a lot of social media apps condensed it. Stopping and paying attention to what was around me was stretching my time.
Week 5
In a boredom-induced moment of reflection, I think about my friend's birthday this week and remember my bucket list. There is one item of note on the list. It's about making birthday cards.
When I was a child, I often made cards. I love making gifts for my friends and I wonder why I never made time for it. Maybe you didn't think you had enough time, maybe you weren't attentive enough to see the process from beginning to end, or maybe you lacked concentration.
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I gave it to a friend as a gift and the response was better than I expected. It makes me feel full. I had a very fulfilling time.
Week 6
There were moments when I felt confident that I wasn't stuffing my phone up my nose or covering my ears. I've noticed that people around me always pull out their phones when they're waiting for something.
By aligning with the boredom and resisting its calls for attention, I am actively choosing to be present, and to be honest, this is a feeling I'm not very familiar with. But as I grew in my ability to work with myself, I realized that it deepened our friendships. Now you have more to say than just entertaining your friends with meaningless memes. I feel connected It's not just about watching the same content.
Week 7
Despite all this challenge, the desire to consume some content is always present. I remember my conversation with Dunkert. Dunkert assured me that “giving up vegetables” isn't a bad thing, but “recognizing the fact that it's what we want to do.”
So I decided to try watching slow TV instead of what I usually watch (comfortable sitcoms) to cultivate a sense of calm.
The 7-hour train journey began from Bergen to Oslo Although it was boring, I had the ability to slowly choose where to focus my attention and when to stop.
Week 8
Being outside the city makes it easier to kill boredom. So, to change my usual way of socializing, I went to a barren nature reserve with some friends.
Immersing yourself in local wildlife and surrounded by
Source: www.theguardian.com
