Use Your Boredom

When was the last time you were bored?

It may take a while to name the exact moment because we design our lives to minimize down time. It's annoying to be bored, so we avoid the feeling, most of us by filling every 30-second pause with a quick smartphone check. In the kitchen, waiting for water to boil, at the computer, waiting for an app to install, or under the covers, waiting to fall asleep, we are granted precious moments with nothing to do. Far too often, I find myself loading my social media feeds or checking my email in these situations, feeling the need to maintain my current stimulation level, to suppress the irritating void. But lately, I've found myself using a different adjective to describe the sensation: useful.

Humans get bored for a reason. Boredom is the natural instinct to pursue the things deserving our attention. It helps us start projects, further our knowledge, and leave our comfort zones. It makes us consider worries that would overwhelm us if left unprocessed. It uncovers foggy plans for tasks we need to accomplish, bubbling them to the surface of consciousness.

It's a good thing that boredom is annoying because annoyance causes restlessness, an impetus to act. And when you remove the possibility of using that call to action to unlock a phone, put on music, or otherwise regain a stimulus, suddenly the only things left to do are the useful ones, like taking out the trash, scrubbing the inside of the microwave, wondering how long it's been since you got together with your parents, or contemplating whether it's necessary to stop by the grocery store on the way home tonight.

So, next time you get bored, don't waste the magic motivation medicine. Boredom is a tool. Use it.