I’m sitting at my desk at my 8-5 job, looking through Facebook and LinkedIn for the hundredth time today, and I feel my eyelids go lower, my body starts to relax and the next thing I know, I am jerked back to the living because I almost fall out of my chair! The chair is set at counter/bar stool height, so falling would most definitely hurt. I’m glad I woke up before that happened!
So, why did I doze to begin with? What is causing my boredom to the point of falling to sleep? After a short Google search, I found that Wikipedia.com had the best definition of the word Boredom:
“an emotional and occasionally psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is not interested in his or her surroundings, or feels that a day or period is dull or tedious.”
This is exactly what I am feeling at the moment, which peaked my interest. So after another Google search to find out where the word came from, I landed on this article by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie on Smithsonian.com: “The History of Boredom.” The article was actually quite interesting, causing my boredom to dissipate.
After noticing that I was no longer board, I perform yet another Google search to find ways to keep from being bored. Some of the tips I found were:
- Plan ahead – knowing what needs to be done and filling holes in your day will leave no time to be bored.
- Prioritize your tasks – by working on the most urgent tasks, you will stay engaged and present.
- Put quality first – don’t just rush through tasks to get them done. Take your time and you’ll have less time to be bored.
- Socialize – talking to others helps inspire your imagination, which is a key ingredient to keeping boredom at bay.
- Learn something new – engaging in learning something you are truly interested in keeps you from being bored.
- Work toward some goals, big or small – concentrating on a goal keeps your mind active.
- Meditate – I admit this is kinda hard if you’re already sleepy due to boredom, but it might help some people.
In my case, I know the reason I am bored is because I am no longer motivated to go above and beyond at my job. I have only a few responsibilities that I can do in my sleep (pun intended!) and there’s no reason for me to do more.
So, how do I get out of this rut I’m in? I have a plan!
- Continue to build my business as a side hustle until I have enough money saved for 3 months of expenses
- Request that my hours be reduced from 40 to 30 hours per week, which will allow me more time to focus on #1
- When I don’t have anything to do at work, I’ll take free online courses, such as project management or website design, to improve my skills that will help with #1
- Remember my goal of turning my side hustle into a full-time income so I can quit my 8-5 job by the end of 2019.
What makes you bored? How do you know when you’re bored? And how do you minimize your boredom? Leave a comment with your ideas and suggestions.
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