The Art of Being Bored
Doing nothing is better than you think.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
How often have you experienced this?:
You’re playing cards with friends. The round is over, and you shuffle. And bam! Your friends’ hands go to their phones. They open Insta, Tiktok, or Snapchat. How often does that happen?
Every second must be used.
Boredom is an enemy to be defeated!
Constantly listening to a podcast. Taking your phone to the bathroom. Not leaving a second unused.
You need inspiration, knowledge, and entertainment!
Watching TikTok while waiting for your friend to get a glass of water from the kitchen. Important.
Even better: everything at the same time.
There can never be enough dopamine.
You fill your brain with potentially important information, which is why the apps are so addictive.
It’s information that could be relevant to us and our lives:
Other people’s incredible experiences, other people’s success.
That triggers your brain: I could be that, too! I want that, too! That’s how I have to do it!
And that’s what makes it so addictive.
It’s fun to dive into those perfect dream worlds of private jets, holidays in Bali, and perfect bodies.
This can’t be healthy!
The likelihood that you’re reading this article on the subway on your way to work is very high. And that’s normal. Reality.
Or are you actually sitting in a lounge chair on Bali with a cocktail in your hand? Well, then, cheers from cloudy Germany! 🥂
Without Internet
On TikTok, you see all day, every day, what other people are doing somewhere else.
It will always be better than what you’re doing right now. They will always be more beautiful and richer.
It doesn’t bring you anything to look at them.
And what if, instead, you just do nothing?
Silence is boring, right?
At first, yes. I admit that.
When I just sit there, all alone. I sit in my chair, and my phone is on the desk. It’s only 2 meters away.
But I don’t grab it. I just let the boredom happen.
Set the timer for 10 minutes and wait.
I sit and think. I’m bored.
Think about how I could use this time productively.
I have time right now.
Sitting here doing nothing is a waste of time… isn’t it?
I didn’t attend a single machine learning lecture this semester. Should I watch them? It’s all online.
It’s information that could be relevant.
And once a minute, the urge to grab my phone and open YouTube arises.
Why is it so addictive?
That’s why it’s even more important just to sit down and do nothing.
Less is More
It’s a misconception that it’s wasted time. After 10 minutes, we have more energy than if we spent 10 minutes chilling on Insta.
There’s a good place for doing nothing: the bathroom.
I consciously don’t take my phone there.
But if I’m chilling on YouTube with my phone, I have significantly less motivation afterwards.
Why?
TikTok, YouTube, and Insta release incredible amounts of dopamine in us.
It’s not the happiness molecule. It’s a neurotransmitter that always wants more, whether it’s good or bad for us.
And working on a song, learning an instrument, or reading just doesn’t release as much dopamine. Unfortunately.
Reflect
Why grab your phone while waiting for your friend to get a glass of water from the kitchen? Look at a white wall instead. It’s only a couple of seconds. Beautiful and creative thoughts may arise.
You engage more with yourself. You form an opinion. You might argue about your colleague’s behaviour at dinner earlier in your head. You think about the compliment a friend gave you this morning.
You think about your wishes and desires. How happy are you?
Think about the conversation you just had with the person.
Reflect.
And all of this happens automatically in your brain, and all you have to do is:
Nothing.
But if you take out your phone, this reflective and emotionally stabilising mode doesn’t kick in. Problem-solving also happens this way.
when a person is working on a problem but can’t solve it, the solution sometimes “appears” after the person has put the problem aside. (p.169) (→ this is called ‘incubation’)
— Bruce E. Goldstein from “The Mind”
(I highly recommend this book! Check out my review)
Boredom triggers the default mode network in the brain. Connections are made between many different areas of the brain that don’t occur under normal autopilot.
The default mode network creates connections between different brain regions, Source: The Mind
This leads to problem-solving, emotional stability, new ideas, and your personal future simulation. How do I imagine my future?
While doing nothing, your brain is anything but lazy!
After my 10 minutes of peace and doing nothing, it increases my motivation for things. I’m more motivated to start things and learn and do something!
Regenerate, and don’t let algorithms on the net steal your energy!
Your energy is destined for more important things!
Doing nothing has great outcomes!
see also
Tags: neuroscience science
Superlink: 050 🧠Neuroscience
The Default Mode Network and Mind Wandering
Source
Created: 04-08-24 11:50