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It’s very difficult to intentionally find time to be bored. It’s sort of the opposite of an activity, and the brain hates it. One passable option is to take a

by chis 1mo ago

It’s very difficult to intentionally find time to be bored. It’s sort of the opposite of an activity, and the brain hates it. One passable option is to take a 20 minute walk with no stimulus beyond the scenery. Journaling regularly. Meditation provides a similar experience but feels like a different lane. For me I do find a similar experience to the OP. It’s easy to feel yourself going a little crazy getting sucked along the current of modern life. Flowing from one activity to the next, looking at one’s phone in the between, never any chance for an extended thought except when laying down for bed. If you don’t break out of this mode it’s easy to let weeks go by without noticing or taking much conscious impulse to shape your day.

andai 1mo ago
I go for 2-3 walks a day. Might be temperamental but I kind of go insane being in one place all the time. When I was staying with a friend, he had a big house, and I'd constantly go downstairs to get coffee. I didn't even need the coffee, it was just a little change of scenery.
- Hugsbox 1mo ago
  This is me, but for smoke breaks at work. Half the time I don't need the cigarette, I just need the change of scenery to break up the day.
  - deinonychus 1mo ago
    i'm quitting smoking and kind of nervous about what it's going to be like taking breaks without having the excuse of a cigarette to get up and stretch my legs and get fresh air. i bought one of those xteink pocket-sized ereaders and i'm thinking maybe carrying that with me outside and reading for a few minutes will be an ok simulation, along with a nicotine lozenge.
    - Eddonarth 1mo ago
      I quit smoking in February (cold turkey, no lozenge or anything). And I replaced my smoking breaks with walking around the block either at the office or at home. Sometimes I listen to an audiobook, sometimes I just walk with no other stimulus besides a cold bottle of water. I've been really enjoying it, almost as much as smoking a cigarette :)
- tokioyoyo 1mo ago
  It’s always fun to excuse myself out with “i’m gonna go for a walk” and explain “no, like i’m not bored or angry, or anything, i just want to walk around, come join me!”. Especially when i’m staying at my friends’ places.
sublinear 1mo ago
The journaling seems like the right direction, but it's still too passive. If there are three mental modes, two out of three are passive. Let's call this third mode "creative mode". Instead of consuming or meditating, do something else offline that requires developing a skill with your undivided attention. Even when you're inspired, the interpretation is still your own. There's no way it could ever feel like wasted time because the intrinsic value of experience is so much higher than the other two states. With enough experience, your own unique ideas will dominate your mind. That's when you finally feel in control.
- D-Machine 1mo ago
  There is still IMO a way that "creative mode" can be wasted time, and that is when it is being used as a distraction from proper reflection / introspection. The pursuit of creativity / learning can be its own unhealthy obsession too. Your ending paragraph: "With enough experience, your own unique ideas will dominate your mind. That's when you finally feel in control." also reads as something that could probably also be seen as potentially bad / delusion, in spiritual contexts as well (real control is mostly illusion, you actually do often want other people's ideas to dominate the mind, lest you fall into solipsism / narcissism, etc). Not to pick at your short comment here or presume that though, but it definitely sets off a red flag of some kind.
  - sublinear 1mo ago
    > you actually do often want other people's ideas to dominate the mind I don't think this tug of war is necessary. You do, however, make a great point about people who are stressed out. I wouldn't turn to "creative mode" as a stress management technique. Stress can ruin anything. The thought has crossed my mind before that the lies and manipulation of a narcissist are a waste of talent.
Cockbrand 1mo ago
> It’s sort of the opposite of an activity, and the brain hates it. While this is true, I'd word it differently: It's sort of the opposite of an activity, and we've conditioned our brains to hate it. Boredom used to be absolutely normal in our society for pretty much ever, and the urge to do something about it when it occurred was a lot weaker than it is now.
- vladvasiliu 1mo ago
  I disagree. I remember when I was a kid and didn't have access to smartphones (didn't exist) or other sources of constant entertainment. My days were basically just kindergarten and dicking around with other kids. But I remember I absolutely dreaded going to the doctor's office, taking a long distance train, or any other kind of "activity" that involved long periods of waiting around. I would find it extremely boring and would try to negotiate with my parents in whatever way I could to avoid going.
  - codruterdei 1mo ago
    Judging by your name, I presume your Romanian. I think it’s very much ingrained in eastern European culture that sitting around this bad whereas more western cultures do not condemn it so much. So part of your hating the boring activities might be a cultural thing as well, even as a child. Also, it’s a deeply eastern European thing to have to wait around too much at the doctors office. However, I have the same experience with hating it, but I don’t think I had the balls to try to negotiate myself out of it.
    - sersi 1mo ago
      > Also, it’s a deeply eastern European thing to have to wait around too much at the doctors office. I remember waiting for an hour or so at the doctor's office in France. The doctor would give appointment times that assumed he'd spend 15 minutes per patients but he was friendly and patient with answering questions so he'd always end up being very late by the time evening came. Had that with multiple doctors so doesn't seem to be unique to Eastern Europe.
embedding-shape 1mo ago
> It’s very difficult to intentionally find time to be bored. Today as a software developer I think it's easier than ever. We're already past the "the compiler is building" excuse, but now you can just claim "The agent is thinking/working", and sit and do nothing. You don't have to switch window/tab as the agent is working, you can just sit there and stare at what it is doing, marvel that this stuff works at all, and let your mind wander if it wants, until the terminal bell goes off.
dwedge 1mo ago
I don't think you need to find time to be bored, the times have always been there and we didn't search them out before. Just don't mask them with multitasking. Waiting for a bus, waiting in line at a post office, waiting for your wife to get ready for bed. Those moments are still there and if you don't pull your phone out the boredom is still there
sersi 1mo ago
I've found that swimming helps me to do that. When I walk, it's too easy to take my kindle and read but swimming, it's a relaxing and repetitive movement where I can only focus on thinking.
- embedding-shape 1mo ago
  Same! Although nowadays our sea is hitting record temperatures (28C [~82F] in the water today), and the jellyfish seems to be enjoying it a lot, so swimming is now 50% "relaxing and letting my mind wander" and 50% "shit, that's too many fried egg jellyfishes, lets swim this direction oh no another one"
KPGv2 1mo ago
The way I write my novels is by reviewing a chapter I'm stuck on and its context, then going on a long run, and 20 minutes out, shutting my music off. I have, at that point, at least 20 minutes, if not 60+, where I'm easily thinking about and brainstorming for the chapter. It's wonderful. It sort of "compresses" the ambient sounds in the same way eating pancakes with syrup temporarily destroys your ability to taste slightly less sweet things.
dspillett 1mo ago
> It’s very difficult to intentionally find time to be bored. I have headphones present constantly for the opposite reason. When doing tasks that fail to provide interest (housework, some work tasks) the external stimulus stops me distractedly finding something else (posting on HN for instance!) to do instead of completing the task. Also when running in town, though I don't need it when out on the trails as the scenery is more than enough to sooth my mind into a pleasant state.
toasty228 1mo ago
Go live in the country side, unplug internet and you'll find plenty of boring things to do, of coure if you live in the hellscape of modern cities that smell like shit, piss and car fumes, are noisy as fuck 24/7 and ugly as sin the only natural conclusion you can reach is that you need distraction all the time

by chis 1mo ago

andai 1mo ago

I go for 2-3 walks a day. Might be temperamental but I kind of go insane being in one place all the time. When I was staying with a friend, he had a big house, and I'd constantly go downstairs to get coffee. I didn't even need the coffee, it was just a little change of scenery.

Hugsbox 1mo ago
This is me, but for smoke breaks at work. Half the time I don't need the cigarette, I just need the change of scenery to break up the day.
- deinonychus 1mo ago
  i'm quitting smoking and kind of nervous about what it's going to be like taking breaks without having the excuse of a cigarette to get up and stretch my legs and get fresh air. i bought one of those xteink pocket-sized ereaders and i'm thinking maybe carrying that with me outside and reading for a few minutes will be an ok simulation, along with a nicotine lozenge.
  - Eddonarth 1mo ago
    I quit smoking in February (cold turkey, no lozenge or anything). And I replaced my smoking breaks with walking around the block either at the office or at home. Sometimes I listen to an audiobook, sometimes I just walk with no other stimulus besides a cold bottle of water. I've been really enjoying it, almost as much as smoking a cigarette :)
tokioyoyo 1mo ago
It’s always fun to excuse myself out with “i’m gonna go for a walk” and explain “no, like i’m not bored or angry, or anything, i just want to walk around, come join me!”. Especially when i’m staying at my friends’ places.

sublinear 1mo ago

The journaling seems like the right direction, but it's still too passive. If there are three mental modes, two out of three are passive. Let's call this third mode "creative mode". Instead of consuming or meditating, do something else offline that requires developing a skill with your undivided attention. Even when you're inspired, the interpretation is still your own. There's no way it could ever feel like wasted time because the intrinsic value of experience is so much higher than the other two states. With enough experience, your own unique ideas will dominate your mind. That's when you finally feel in control.

D-Machine 1mo ago
There is still IMO a way that "creative mode" can be wasted time, and that is when it is being used as a distraction from proper reflection / introspection. The pursuit of creativity / learning can be its own unhealthy obsession too. Your ending paragraph: "With enough experience, your own unique ideas will dominate your mind. That's when you finally feel in control." also reads as something that could probably also be seen as potentially bad / delusion, in spiritual contexts as well (real control is mostly illusion, you actually do often want other people's ideas to dominate the mind, lest you fall into solipsism / narcissism, etc). Not to pick at your short comment here or presume that though, but it definitely sets off a red flag of some kind.
- sublinear 1mo ago
  > you actually do often want other people's ideas to dominate the mind I don't think this tug of war is necessary. You do, however, make a great point about people who are stressed out. I wouldn't turn to "creative mode" as a stress management technique. Stress can ruin anything. The thought has crossed my mind before that the lies and manipulation of a narcissist are a waste of talent.

Cockbrand 1mo ago

> It’s sort of the opposite of an activity, and the brain hates it. While this is true, I'd word it differently: It's sort of the opposite of an activity, and we've conditioned our brains to hate it. Boredom used to be absolutely normal in our society for pretty much ever, and the urge to do something about it when it occurred was a lot weaker than it is now.

vladvasiliu 1mo ago
I disagree. I remember when I was a kid and didn't have access to smartphones (didn't exist) or other sources of constant entertainment. My days were basically just kindergarten and dicking around with other kids. But I remember I absolutely dreaded going to the doctor's office, taking a long distance train, or any other kind of "activity" that involved long periods of waiting around. I would find it extremely boring and would try to negotiate with my parents in whatever way I could to avoid going.
- codruterdei 1mo ago
  Judging by your name, I presume your Romanian. I think it’s very much ingrained in eastern European culture that sitting around this bad whereas more western cultures do not condemn it so much. So part of your hating the boring activities might be a cultural thing as well, even as a child. Also, it’s a deeply eastern European thing to have to wait around too much at the doctors office. However, I have the same experience with hating it, but I don’t think I had the balls to try to negotiate myself out of it.
  - sersi 1mo ago
    > Also, it’s a deeply eastern European thing to have to wait around too much at the doctors office. I remember waiting for an hour or so at the doctor's office in France. The doctor would give appointment times that assumed he'd spend 15 minutes per patients but he was friendly and patient with answering questions so he'd always end up being very late by the time evening came. Had that with multiple doctors so doesn't seem to be unique to Eastern Europe.

embedding-shape 1mo ago

> It’s very difficult to intentionally find time to be bored. Today as a software developer I think it's easier than ever. We're already past the "the compiler is building" excuse, but now you can just claim "The agent is thinking/working", and sit and do nothing. You don't have to switch window/tab as the agent is working, you can just sit there and stare at what it is doing, marvel that this stuff works at all, and let your mind wander if it wants, until the terminal bell goes off.

dwedge 1mo ago

I don't think you need to find time to be bored, the times have always been there and we didn't search them out before. Just don't mask them with multitasking. Waiting for a bus, waiting in line at a post office, waiting for your wife to get ready for bed. Those moments are still there and if you don't pull your phone out the boredom is still there

sersi 1mo ago

I've found that swimming helps me to do that. When I walk, it's too easy to take my kindle and read but swimming, it's a relaxing and repetitive movement where I can only focus on thinking.

embedding-shape 1mo ago
Same! Although nowadays our sea is hitting record temperatures (28C [~82F] in the water today), and the jellyfish seems to be enjoying it a lot, so swimming is now 50% "relaxing and letting my mind wander" and 50% "shit, that's too many fried egg jellyfishes, lets swim this direction oh no another one"

KPGv2 1mo ago

The way I write my novels is by reviewing a chapter I'm stuck on and its context, then going on a long run, and 20 minutes out, shutting my music off. I have, at that point, at least 20 minutes, if not 60+, where I'm easily thinking about and brainstorming for the chapter. It's wonderful. It sort of "compresses" the ambient sounds in the same way eating pancakes with syrup temporarily destroys your ability to taste slightly less sweet things.

dspillett 1mo ago

> It’s very difficult to intentionally find time to be bored. I have headphones present constantly for the opposite reason. When doing tasks that fail to provide interest (housework, some work tasks) the external stimulus stops me distractedly finding something else (posting on HN for instance!) to do instead of completing the task. Also when running in town, though I don't need it when out on the trails as the scenery is more than enough to sooth my mind into a pleasant state.

toasty228 1mo ago

Go live in the country side, unplug internet and you'll find plenty of boring things to do, of coure if you live in the hellscape of modern cities that smell like shit, piss and car fumes, are noisy as fuck 24/7 and ugly as sin the only natural conclusion you can reach is that you need distraction all the time