Chapter 5: Mastering Boredom

What to do when you get bored.

This is chapter 5 of my upcoming book Low Tech Lifestyle. As a free subscriber, you get a free preview :). Premium subscribers get access to the whole book. Thanks for your support!

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Mom. I’m Bored!

There's no scientific data to support this, but I'm quite sure that the phrase most often spoken by children is, "I'm bored." As someone who has worked with kids and teenagers from various backgrounds over the past seven years, I've heard this declaration so frequently that I've learned to bear it, no matter how exasperating it may be. I can't deny that, when I was young, I also used that phrase quite a bit. I remember how my mother would dread taking long car rides with me. My restless mind would constantly search for something to entertain itself, whether it was playing games, counting the cars that passed us by, or incessantly changing the FM radio stations because I couldn't bear listening to the classical concertos and sonatas that the local station broadcasted. Like most children, my brain sought new and exciting stimuli to keep boredom at bay. Back then, portable technology was scarce, so I found excitement and adventure by exploring new places, building fantastic structures with LEGOs, and weaving imaginary tales in my mind. Fast forward to today, and we find that many people, especially children, turn to digital sources to escape the clutches of boredom.

One of the most profound impacts pocketable smart devices have had on our lives is the erosion of our ability to tolerate boredom. Stuck at a red light? We instinctively reach for our phones. Waiting at the doctor's office? It's time to check our emails. Finding ourselves momentarily unoccupied at a social gathering? We resort to Facebook or YouTube for entertainment. We've replaced every idle moment with input from the web, as though we're afraid to be alone with our thoughts. I admit, I'm not immune to this behavior. My restless desire to constantly seek new information from the internet led me to implement a no-internet challenge for five days each month. Although I use a Light Phone 2 for personal communication, my Surface Go has gradually become a hindrance in my journey toward a low-tech lifestyle. I find myself constantly checking emails, responding to chat conversations, or browsing the web through its efficient and user-friendly interface.

To address this, my no-internet challenge imposes strict limitations on my access to the internet's most popular tools. By creating a software and hardware environment that denies access to email, web browsing, entertainment, and other connected resources, I've deliberately reintroduced boredom into my life. I've dubbed these "offline days" and document the significant hurdles I face while living in the 21st century without the convenience of smart tools. During these days, I encounter inconveniences like the lack of QR codes for transportation or dining, the need to print tickets for concerts and events, and the unavailability of a yellow pages booklet to find addresses and phone numbers. These minor nuisances underscore just how dependent we've become on smart devices and instant access to information. The purpose of these five offline days is to reclaim personal agency, decrease reliance on modern technology, and reacquaint myself with the lost art of boredom. I've found that the most effective way to renew our relationship with boredom is to cut off access to the source of infinite information. Embracing boredom can be a powerful catalyst for those seeking to boost productivity and unleash creativity in their lives. By intentionally creating space for boredom, we allow our minds to wander, reflect, and generate original thoughts and ideas that might otherwise be drowned out by the constant influx of digital distractions.

In her book Bored and Brilliant, Manoush Zomorodi highlights the importance of originality and how boredom helps us achieve it. She states, "Boredom is the gateway to mind-wandering, which helps our brains create those new connections that can solve anything from planning dinner to a breakthrough in combating global warming."¹ Most of us may not recall, but our original thoughts and creations emerged out of boredom. Boredom consumed our time, and we engaged with it during our formative years, ultimately deciding to take ownership of our thoughts to address the problems around us. That's why living with low-tech can benefit your work, education, or life in general. The absence of a constant flow of information from the internet's depths allows your brain the space to think, create, and tackle the issues you currently face. While there is a time for healthy distractions, constantly relying on external input to avoid our thoughts is generally unproductive. A balanced use of smart devices, combined with restraints throughout your day, can help you reset and gain perspective. In the following pages, I hope to share some ideas to engage with boredom.

Pick up the pace

One of my favorite methods for accessing new ideas and solving problems involves taking 15-minute walks. During my years at Andrew's University, where I earned my Master's Degree in Divinity, I developed an effective walking technique to write papers. Using a pomodoro timer, I would dedicate fifty minutes to writing my research papers in the library and then take a ten to fifteen-minute walk immediately afterward. Regardless of the season, I consistently allocated time for walking between research sessions to help me sort out my ideas and create a structure for my writing. This approach enabled me to produce high-quality papers in relatively short periods of time, as I maintained focus on my work while also allowing room for idea generation. My walks around the James White library provided a framework for my papers and allowed my brain the necessary time to organize and process information efficiently. I'm writing this book using the same technique: 300 words, walk the dog, cycle through, and finish after three sessions. If you're reading this sentence, it means the method still holds value to this day.

Walking provides not only mental benefits but also significant physical advantages. A September 2022 article in the New York Times highlighted new studies that analyzed data from activity trackers. Researchers discovered that walking at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes a day led to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia, and death, compared to walking a similar number of steps but at a slower pace. This evidence emphasizes the importance of integrating brisk walking into our daily routines to improve our overall health and well-being. Interestingly, these thirty-minute brisk walking sessions do not have to occur continuously. Breaking them down into two or three 10-minute sessions throughout the day provides the same benefits as one extended 30-minute session. This flexibility allows individuals with busy schedules or those who prefer shorter bouts of activity to still reap the rewards of brisk walking. Ultimately, it's the speed at which you walk, rather than the duration, that makes the difference in promoting better health and reducing the risk of various ailments.²

The art of walking also helps us reclaim a part of our human potential that smart devices have increasingly diminished. As we spend more time in front of screens, our levels of physical activity have steadily decreased. A systematic review of multiple experiments regarding smartphone use and sedentary activity concluded that "those who use the smartphone less spend less time sitting than those who have a more continuous use of it."³ With data suggesting that 31% of the world's population is not meeting the minimum recommendations for physical activity⁴, the situation becomes increasingly concerning. As technology offers us more conveniences, our interaction with the outside world lessens, and we inadvertently sacrifice our mental and physical development for the sake of "convenience."

For instance, purchasing groceries used to require time and physical effort – walking through store aisles, pushing shopping carts, and carrying bags to our cars. Now, with online grocery shopping and delivery, we pay someone else to bring our groceries to our doorstep, sparing us that effort. Another example is how technology has transformed the way we play. Growing up, I remember engaging in physical activities like soccer or hide-and-seek with my friends. As touchscreen devices and multiplayer games became more accessible, our playtime increasingly moved indoors and in front of screens. This shift in behavior intensified as I moved to the United States and experienced the proliferation of new games on the App Store.While gaming consoles like Xbox, Playstation, and Gamecube have existed for decades, the ubiquity of pocketable devices has been a major disrupting force in our physical activity levels. To counteract the negative effects of sedentary behavior, we must reintroduce low-tech play into our lives, such as sports or even playing with LEGOs. By embracing these activities, we can break the cycle of sedentary behavior and reconnect with the world around us.

Embracing the simple act of walking can unlock creativity, enhance problem-solving skills, and provide significant mental and physical benefits. By incorporating brisk walking into our daily routines, we can improve our overall health and well-being, even in the midst of our increasingly screen-centric world. In this context, boredom transforms into an ally for our minds and bodies, allowing us to reconnect with ourselves and the world around us.

Calming Your Mind

A second approach to dealing with boredom is to create space for silence and tranquility. In today's world, our minds are constantly bombarded with vast amounts of content. Some estimates suggest that our exposure to brands and passive advertising ranges between 4,000 and 10,000 messages per day.⁵ While the actual number of intrusive ads is much lower at around 300, a 2018 study from the Czech Republic found that our engagement with media messaging saturates our days. The researchers examined the pervasiveness of advertisements in people's lives and discovered that even public spaces contained an average of two promotions within a 90-second span.⁶ Although limited to a specific country, it's not hard to imagine how media competes for our attention with tremendous intensity making our minds process information constantly.

Two helpful methods I've employed during my periods of boredom that calm my mind are coloring and exercise. These activities offer pockets of silence throughout my day, allowing me to reflect and focus on my mind and body instead of stressing about work or other life challenges. When I step outside for a run with my dog, I concentrate on my body's signals – my breathing, heart rate, and joint movements. Tuning into these signals and appreciating the natural beauty of the parks I frequent has positively impacted my mood and concentration during high-input activities at work. It serves as a reminder that there are moments in my day when I can find solace in nature and enjoy it for what it is.

Chris Bailey, author of Calming Your Mind, encourages readers to embrace similar low-stimulus activities. In the section on boredom in his book, he details how he attempted to engage with silence and boredom in some unconventional ways over 31 days. Examples from his experience include painting a canvas with one color, reading the iTunes terms and conditions, and watching a clock tick for an hour. While these activities may seem absurd to some, Bailey's experiment provided a bridge from high to low-stimulation activities. He explains that low stimulation allows our thoughts to settle instead of constantly receiving input from external sources.⁷ Incorporating these seemingly dull activities into our daily routines can reduce stress and encourage deep thinking about the information stored in our brains.