Boredom

It’s interesting to me that we can simultaneously be busy and bored.

Many important tasks don’t engage me creatively or intellectually. This doesn’t diminish their value.

Therefore, it’s good to be bored. We’re all going to be bored occasionally, so we might as well learn to enjoy it.

Sometimes, we can trick our minds into being less bored. If you find washing dishes boring, you can make a game out of it. You can guess how much scrubbing might be required to get a given pot clean.

Or you can choose to focus on any given task, bringing more mindfulness into play. The benefits of this practice are numerous.

Or you can let your mind wander. This is one of my favorite ways to deal with boredom. I get some of my best ideas when I’m not thinking specifically about a paused project. For example, watching clouds is a wonderful activity! (This is a reminder for me to do it more often.)

These approaches make task-based boredom bearable.

This differs from a more generalized feeling of boredom that sometimes seeps into my life. Ennui can sap the excitement from activities that I typically enjoy. Sometimes I catch myself asking, “What’s the point?” or, “Why bother?”

The good news is that such a feeling usually doesn’t last all that long. You can just wait for your brain to move along.

I don’t have many reliable tactics for getting through ennui. Sometimes, a new experience does the trick. Surprises can help. That’s one of the many reasons why travel is so important to me. Keeping to a healthy routine is a good idea.

Ennui can also be an indicator that you need to make some changes in your life. Maybe it’s time to take a new class, learn a new skill, or interact with new people. Maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit.