Nowadays, we live in a society in which we have normalized being constantly active, constantly doing some task or other.
We have grown up learning that hyperarousal is a good thing and that, on the contrary, doing nothing is a sure sign of wasting time. This idea often causes us to fall into the trap of being hyperbusy whether working, doing housework, meeting friends, going to the gym or planning other types of leisure activities. This is because recognizing that we do nothing has become a socially unacceptable fact.
In these busy times, it is difficult to find the formula that allows us to reconcile our personal life with our professional life, so day-to-day obligations do not leave room for much more time. It seems that we are not able to leave space in our day to do nothing That is, giving ourselves time for the much feared boredom to arise.
It is possible that if, for example, we imagine spending a single hour without looking at our cell phone, television, doing housework or talking on the phone or WhatsApp with other people, the simple idea can already cause us discomfort.
The truth is Boredom has become an emotion that we have classified as negative and unpleasant. It is for this reason that many of us prefer that this unpleasant sensation be far away from us.
Still, perhaps we should remember that boredom is a powerful generator of creativity and productivity. In this way, if we allow ourselves to leave room for boredom, we will see how Imagination will give rise to ideas that will help us break our routines and will allow us to reach much deeper reflections.
We have been in confinement for many days now, and relatively recently, it seems that we are approaching the beginning of a new normal. Although we are now allowed to go out alone, as a couple or with our children for walks or physical exercise, there are still many hours that we must remain at home for the well-being of both ourselves and others.
Since the beginning of the state of alarm and after the adaptation period that implies a change in our daily habits and routines, many of us have already we have established and organized new routines at home times for getting up and going to bed, meal times, finding a space to do physical exercise, allocating the necessary time to teleworking… We have tried to find a way to cope with a truly exceptional situation that has caught us completely off guard and that has generated a great emotional impact on all of us.
Among all the network of formulas to manage day to day, we have also looked for different stimuli to entertain us, but still… are we taking advantage of the situation to give space to boredom? Possibly, a large majority of readers will have planned each day so that there is no room for boredom because it implies, especially initially, a certain discomfort. The lack of habits in the art of doing nothing pushes us to look for different distractions to reduce this discomfort.
Perhaps it is interesting to consider whether we can make boredom a challenge for our self-knowledge, to discover those facets of ourselves that we have never had the opportunity to let flow before.
Although it seems that only a lucky few have the great ability to be creative, to invent, to build the unimaginable from a blank piece of paper, the truth is that Creativity is part of the human condition. If we remember and go back to our memories of when we were little, we will remember the great capacity for imagination we had.
The moments in which the funniest games and the most bizarre stories arose were precisely those in which we had nothing to do or nothing to entertain us. It was then when we were able to build a world full of adventures with just a shoe box, some markers or a sheet or any element we found wherever we were.
In that time when we were not constantly overstimulated watching television, connected to social networks, playing the game console or playing with one of the countless applications… It was our mind that, in a natural and curious way, managed to build a magical world.
And it is easy that our daily lives, the routines, worries and obligations that we all have have caused us to move away without practically realizing this potential that we all have within us. Therefore, we invite you to give confinement a twist and take the opportunity to train and develop the creativity that we all have.
Let’s see what happens when we spend time being bored and being creative. Let’s dedicate some time to new challenges to help make the quarantine more positive for each of us. Let’s find a space in the day to “plan” to do nothing and thus be able to leave room for that dreaded boredom. The creativity that emerges in this context is surprising.
