Increase your capacity to be bored
Increase your capacity to be bored
Trying to make space for boredom in our lives will help us reap all the benefits associated with increased creativity and productivity.
We do this in the same way that we increase our muscles capacity for moving heavier objects by just going to the gym. In particular, our goal is to go to the boredom gym. One great exercise for this is meditation - but it doesn’t have to be the typical meditation. In typical meditation, the goal is to clear the mind and simply focus on the breath. But that is not our goal here. Here, the goal is to sit still for 15 minutes with our eyes open or shut. That’s it. It is ok if your mind wanders. It is ok if it leaps from thought to thought. The only thing that matters is that we sit with the boredom and we do not do anything about it. This is a surprisingly hard but super effective practice for increasing your capacity to sit with your boredom. If you apply this practice, you’re going to be well on your way to turning boredom into a superpower.
Eliminate all the noise so you can hear your own voice. Eliminate the noises that are drowning out your unique voice.
We decide to fill up every waking moment of our downtime with audiobooks and YouTube videos.
But if we allow quiet spaces in our life, our own inner voices emerge.
While driving, turn off the music and audiobooks. You will find that it gives you time to think of strategic moves for your lives, businesses, etc.
While eating, stop scrolling Tick Tock. You will find that we feel way more refreshed and energized after the meals.
Stop taking the phone to the restroom. You will find that we waste a lot less time doing mindless scrolling. We will be able to get back to our lives sooner.
Stop listening to music while working out. You may have some of the best, most focused workouts.
In that silence, we find something that is drowning out for a long time - our voice.
Each of us have two options - drown out your unique voice with cheap entertainment or shut off the noise and find your voice.
Ironically, learning to sit with boredom makes you a more interesting person.
It frees up your time allowing you to be more present and effective in your daily life.
Instead of having borrowed thoughts from the random content you take in, you start having original thoughts that are interesting to you.
This leads to less anxiety and more joy because, a lot of marketing is based on making you feel like you’re not good enough.
Your attention span increases. So you’re a better listener and you’re more able to catch things that others miss.
And finally, since you have more interesting things to say, you grow an influence and you start meeting other cool people like you.
The inner voice can solve problems for you that no audiobook or podcast ever could.
Simply give yourself permission to be bored, to stop looking at boredom as somehow unproductive. Just give yourself the space and permission to stare out the window or spend the afternoon in a hammock staring at the clouds.
No more listening to music audiobooks or podcasts while out driving or walking. For a lot of us, this is going to be painful. But, making room for silence in your life is going to pay massive dividends.
Take boring breaks. I’m a big fan of the Pomodoro Technique of working in 25 minute Sprints with five minute breaks. But it’s important that you avoid doing interesting things during those breaks. Don’t reach for the phone or social media - because these things will kind of short-circuit your subconscious mind from continuing to work on the primary thing you’re working on. Instead just do something boring with that time so that you’re chomping at the bit to get back to work. Do some air squats or stare out the window or go for a five minute walk. Whatever you do don’t overstimulate.