Boredom isn’t the enemy | 3 ways to embrace it
The unique circumstances of the past year have meant we are spending more time than ever before at our homes and with our own thoughts. Without the stimulus of the outside world, it is only natural that boredom may start creeping into our daily lives. And when we are bored, we are not properly engaged with our surroundings. Here are three practical ways to get rid of the feeling of drudgery and improve productivity.
Innovate
The feeling of boredom is our body’s way of signalling that whatever we are doing is failing to excite our grey cells. The trick to resolving boredom is doing something that’s neither too challenging nor too easy. Sometimes it’s best just to listen to your body and go with the flow. Think about how you can bring about a change in the task. Can you do it a bit differently? Instead of writing, could you record yourself and pen down your speech later? Even simple changes like standing up or relocating to a different place can bring about a dramatic change in the way you perceive the task.
And if that does not help, then by all means take a break and try something new. Try a recipe you haven’t tried before or grab that book that has been gathering dust on the shelf. Embracing new experiences will always enrichen our lives. Never force yourself to keep at it if you yearn for a break.
Randomize
Break up the job into bite-sized chunks if possible and try and spread it out throughout the day. For a student, it could be going through a chapter or writing an essay. Given its “boring” nature, it is probably not using a lot of your mental faculty. Hence going back to it later intermittently won’t reduce your efficiency too much. Besides, you probably don’t care about the marginal rate of return anyway.
Another thing I’ve found to be quite helpful is to randomize the way I would do the job itself or shuffle the time when I would tackle it. If this is a repetitive thing and you always do it first thing in the morning, try switching it up a bit. Assuming there are no pressing deadlines that force your hand to complete it immediately, try and sit down with this task at that point in the day when you tend to be a little lethargic. For me, it is the half-hour after lunch. This tactic is useful because you do not want to waste your energy on tasks like these. Creativity and problem solving happen when you feel sprightly. This is when you are most productive. It is always better to subjugate the “boring” jobs to the least productive periods of the day.
Incentivize
Nobody knows you better in the whole wide world than yourself. You are aware of your strengths, your biggest weaknesses, your pet peeves and your fetishes. Time and again I see articles propagating the need to love thyself. While these may talk about the need for long term self-investment, all I am asking you is to take advantage of the fact that you know the right buttons to push. Consider the time and effort required and think of an appropriate incentive. You need to be committed, stay true to yourself, and maintain an honour code. People are always advising not to mix work and play but with the right balance, we can have improved satisfaction and happiness at work. And these are directly tied to our focus and productivity levels.
At the office, I used to go play a game of table tennis or pool. At home, it could be anything. You could have a 15 min de-stressing session with your pet, play your favourite video game or watch a bit of your favourite soap. Do not hesitate to indulge, just remember to earn it!
