Being bored isn't boring

When you take away the noise, what's left?

I’m bored. BUT, I'm bored on purpose.

Normally when I’m bored I would habitually pick up my phone and start scrolling social media “looking for inspiration". I thought that if I sugar coated the fact that I was going to doom scroll for hours with the act of doing something purposeful, I wouldn’t feel so guilty about it *shrugs in hindsight*.

However, on my week off I decided to go full cold turkey on the socials.

shock horror, le gasp 🫣

I know, I’m so unhinged, right?

You know what though? I’m probably from the last generation that remembers what it feels like to be truly bored. To not have information overload at the very tips of our fingers. There was a time in my life where there was no internet - now that’s the real shock horror - we didn’t know any different.

So anyways, yeah, I deleted my socials and guess what? The world didn’t end.

Au contraire mon amis, the world actually got a little bit brighter.

I’ve gone cold turkey on the socials, but I’ve also been cutting down on other digital things too: I’m not watching much TV (if any, and that isn’t weird for me), I’ve got limits on my messaging apps (whether or not I sneak a few more minutes in is another thing), and I’m not using music to fill the silences (now this one is a biggy for me).

I’m doing this on a week alone in the Lake District so I’ve come prepared with things to keep me occupied. My recently new found love of crochet. All the books on my kindle (I do not count this in the digital category, thank you very much). I borrowed a jigsaw puzzle (which I’ve almost completed - all 1000 pieces, are you proud?), and my trusty journal (which does happen to be a remarkable 2, but again, this doesn’t count. Stop judging me!).

I only went and completed it! Albeit, one piece was missing - whether it was there in the first place or whether I misplaced it is another mystery entirely.

Do I miss my socials? Absolutely not.

Am I bored? Absolutely yes.

Am I having a good time? Again, big fat YES.

It’s crazy how quick hitting social media is for your dopamine fix. It’s fast paced, it’s constantly refreshing, there’s always something new to see, and the infinite scroll, I’m almost certain, was invented by the devil himself. It’s built to be addictive, it’s built to keep us on there for as long as possible and it’s giving us high dopamine levels extremely quickly which is why it’s so addictive.

This week I’ve been slowing down and have been taking advantage of low dopamine activities like my reading or doing a jigsaw puzzle for example. I’m training my brain to not rely on those quick fixes but to slow down and take pleasure in the slower things in life.

It’s been so refreshing and enjoyable for me.

I’ve been embracing being bored in order to rest, and I can honestly say that I’ve been reaping the rewards of that.

Yes, I have been reaching for my phone occasionally (it’s a habit after all) but for the most part, because I haven’t had access to my socials, I’ve found myself wanting to do the things that I’ve always wanted to add into my routine. I’m creating new habits and routines for myself.

Being bored has helped me to realise what it is that I truly want out of life. It’s allowed my brain the time to actually think freely for the first time without the constant distraction of living through the lens of somebody else’s life.

I found that with social media I was comparing my life to others.

I was looking at stangers’ highlight reels and wondering why I didn’t have it all figured out.

I was looking for the “magic key” that these creators obviously had that would fix my life.

For so long I believed in a “magic key”, and as much as I don’t believe it ever existed, I do believe that a part of that “magic” belongs in yourself, and you can only find it when you spend time with yourself. Spending time being bored.

Allowing myself to be bored has opened up my mind to different thoughts about my life and where I want to take it. I’m not comparing it to other people, I’m only focusing on the person that truly matters - me.

When you take away the noise, what is it that I truly want?

As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, I’m still trying to figure out who I am, and although I’m definitely not there yet, this time away, time to be bored, time to be with my own thoughts, is definitely putting me on the right track.