What are your summer plans? Do you have a special vacation coming up, one that you weren’t able to take during COVID? How about spending more time with friends and family? Or, maybe like many of us, you’re simply going to wing it over the next few months and see what pops up. On one hand, not having plans can be a wonderful, spontaneous way to enjoy life as it comes; other the other hand, too much time can lead to less productivity and, uh-oh, boredom.
And boredom these days typically leads us to our devices … smart devices, that is. Before we know it, we’ve wasted an entire afternoon looking at social media, reading depressing news, and viewing dozens of TikTok videos involving people slapping each other with tortillas—in other words, doomscrolling.
Since July is National Anti-Boredom Month, Insights has a few suggestions to have on hand the next time you’re experiencing ennui:
- Learn to play an instrument – with the help of YouTube videos, this can be surprisingly fun and totally doable. The better videos show you the basic how-tos and then walk you through short, easy pieces. If you don’t own an instrument, borrow one from a friend.
- Write a short story – don’t worry about writing that great American novel just yet; start with a short story that’s been buzzing around in your brain for months or years. Maybe it’s based on a bizarre incident you witnessed at a grocery store—anything mundane that caught your attention is good fodder. Like any well-written story, a short story should have a hook (something that intrigues the reader right away), a beginning, a middle and an end.
- Plan your next vacation – the great thing about planning versus taking a vacation is the former is free, has no limits regarding your desires or budget, and doesn’t involve today’s inevitable flight changes or cancellations. Tear pictures out of a magazine and put together a dream board. Think about the clothes you’ll wear, the food you’ll want to eat, the types of people you hope to meet—go for it.
- Dive deep into something that has always interested you – take a day or a week to learn all you can about it; make it your goal to be a minor expert on the topic.
Happy Anti-Boredom Month and July 4th from Insights.