How much of your day to you spend being bored? For some, boredom is the great enemy. Fill every empty moment with something interesting, entertaining. Play a video game (do they still call them “video” games?), listen to music, watch a video, anything to keep boredom at bay.
But why? What are you afraid of? Boredom, for me, is a precursor state. It’s that time of possibility where I’m waiting for my mind to engage, to think, to imagine, and to explore paths of possibility. I can’t do that if I’m constantly entertaining myself.
When I was young and lived on a farm my day was filled with repetitive, boring tasks, none so much as driving a tractor and plowing a field. Spend ten hours driving slowly back and forth over a seventy acre field and you’ll know boredom, along with noise, vibration, heat, and dirt. Now do that for weeks on end. I learned that after you master the mechanical aspects of tasks like this that there’s not enough to keep an active mind busy. This time wasn’t something I looked forward to, but I found that when left with nothing but the monotony, I had time to turn over stories, imagine futures, and create my own entertainment. This time was part of my early development as a writer.
You probably have some similar time available to you every day: your drive to work or other activities. Try making it a bit more boring. Turn off the radio or music. Drive in silence.
And see where your mind takes you.
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