You know the moment. You're waiting for the kettle, or the elevator, or a page to load, or a friend who's running late. There's a gap — thirty seco...
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
Great article!
thanks
I think I do have some of those moments, especially when I'm in the garden. I can spend a long time just looking at the plants, flowers, trees, the moon or stars, or simply enjoying the rain without thinking about anything in particular. I hadn't really thought of those moments as “boredom” before, but maybe that's exactly the kind of empty space you're talking about.
I agree with this so much. I really do think some of our most creative ideas happen in those moments when we're bored and our minds are just allowed to wander without constantly consuming something.
I heard someone say once that before they sit down to make music, they spend about 30 minutes doing absolutely nothing first. No phone, no music, no distractions, just sitting there and being bored. Their reasoning was that the boredom gives their brain room to start creating on its own. I have no idea how scientifically accurate that particular routine is, but it has always made sense to me.
Constant stimulation means our brains almost never get that quiet space anymore. There's always something to scroll, watch, listen to, read, or ask. I think we probably lose more than we realize when we never give our minds a chance to just wander.
Obsession with efficiency kills not only momentum, but the joy of the process itself.
What works for me - I don’t take phone on walks and barely touch it at home. I’ve trained myself to associate my desk with social platforms and work, and everything else with real life. When I’m not at desk, the time is mine.
I like being bored, and at some point I noticed I actually need it. So now I schedule it, in two versions depending on the day: the rowing machine when I have the energy, the couch staring into space when I don't.
The rower works better than I expected, and I think it's because both hands are on the handle. The relief that's "one tap away" is simply out of reach, so the willpower test you describe mostly goes away. The couch is the tired version: no plan, no goal, just letting the mind go wherever it wants.
So I'd push back a little on "manufactured idleness isn't the same as the real kind". Booked boredom is the only kind most of us have left, and it still does the job.
Deep thoughts can have you lost to time which passes over like a cool wave. that was a great article. sometimes I also get to that state.. not bored but time just seems to stop! You "freeze"! then it just rushes back, like jumping out of sleep..
'S e toll gun bhonn a th' ann... Cùm a' lìonadh, a Jon!
My boredom has been completely taken up by all these AI agents because I subscribed to the token plan
thanks for putting this together, the seo details help
Yes great article. Thanks for sharing. It's such an important reminder to let the mind rest and recharge too