Thereâs something to do, even when thereâs nothing to do.
Weâre all busy and constantly on the go; so, itâs a strange experience when youâre suddenly at a loose end with nothing on your list. And, with most of us stuck in our homes this year, we either find ourselves panicking about the state of the world. or bored out of our skulls.
Strange as it might seem, boredom has wonderful benefits for your wellbeing. Cindy Strydom, a clinical psychologist based in Johannesburg explains:
Why do we get bored?
Boredom describes a state of âdown timeâ or mot being preoccupied at a specific moment in time. As a society, we have come to celebrate and promote âbusynessâ and frown upon a state of not being preoccupied or engaging in down time. If you think about your interactions with others, we tend to wear the fact that we are busy as some form of trophy of importance. We also associate being busy with being productive.
Why do people consider this a bad thing?
In the same breath, we shun the idea of being unproductive, or our concept of boredom. Weâve been conditioned to think this way since childhood. Weâve been told in many shapes and forms that boredom is a bad thing and we should keep busy. To an extent, this is understandable because boredom may be directed into destructive behaviours and actions rather than constructive ones.
As human beings, weâre designed to get bored when weâre not stimulated or preoccupied. The period of being bored should serve as a time to regroup our senses, thoughts and ideas. Unfortunately, because of our societal concept of boredom and the celebration of being busy, we tend to create a life of being âonâ all the time, which creates anxieties and burnouts.
The benefits of boredom
Boredom allows us to re-experience our environment, to think out of the box, to be creative and process information differently than we may when weâre busy. Being ‘un-preoccupied’ also allows us to problem-solve, without the urgency of deadlines and other demands. It allows us time to reflect and process events and emotions in our lives, which is considered healthy from a psychological perspective.
More life, less listlessness
Allow yourself time to be bored, structure âboredomâ and have moments that are unplanned.
- Try out meditation and mindfulness exercises.
- Learn how to breathe deeply. Big, deep calming breaths can send you into a relaxed trance-like state.
- Let your mind wander aimlessly from thought to thought. If something strikes you as interesting or bizarre, write it down.
- Spend time in nature, taking walks, playing in the ocean and so on.
- Disengage from life and engage with yourself. This includes switching off your phone!