Do you know most of us pick up bad habits and addictions during our boredom time?
A research conducted by University of Britrish columbia states that 8 out of 10 people are bored/worried/stressed/ sad in the world since pandemic time .
According to Washingtonpost defines Boredom as a distressing emotional state that combines feelings of restlessness and lethargy, arising from situations that are no longer satisfying or stimulating.
Boredom has been determined as the common cause that leads to various mental health issues that includes loneliness, anxiety, depression and more.
It is during these times that we let our mind stray into whatever around us to overcome loneliness. This idle mind gets into distractions and loses its way back to the centre or home.We all believe that boredom is bad and tend to look up to something or someone to fill in our boredom thinking that they will be able to fill in our feeling of loneliness in our life. So we try to keep ourselves busy in different ways.
However, our minds also need rest as do our bodies. We hardly think about this and let ourselves engage unconsciously into activities that include browsing TV channels, internet, shopping, social media, phones, text messages looking for a way to fill this gap.
Although these activities will fill our boredom, none of these can fill your loneliness .
Today, i am going to share with you 7 simple steps to effectively utilize your boredom time to prevent diving into habits that can drain your energy
1.Find your Boredom Time - Look at your regular day and find out the times that you feel bored the most. For example - I have noticed that my boredom time is usually after work and when my husband is at work and my kids are busy playing with each other .
Find an Unwind Zone - Choose a place inside your home where you are comfortable and away from external disturbances . Sit silently, watch your breath and pay complete attention to yourself for a few minutes. Continue this process, until you feel calm and relaxed.
Journal your thoughts - Pick a small notepad/diary and write down your thoughts as you listen to them closely.Look at your notes and ask yourself - How did my day go? Where can I bring in change so that I can improve my tomorrow? For example - You can create different categories of your life that includes Work, Relationships, Personal growth, Fun etc.
Learn - In this step, dedicate some time to make a note of what you learnt about yourself during that day. For example - So some of the questions that can help you ponder is What did I learn today about myself? How did I behave towards others? How did I respond to conversations?
Choose - Pick one behavior/attitude that you believe will improve your tomorrow. Make a note of it and implement it into action the next day. Observe your progress every day until you get it into track.
If you believe, you would need assistance to bring the change, then connect with a Coach/Mentor/Therapist in the related area to help you bring the change into your life.
Alternatively, you can also combine your idle time with spending time with nature, performing a hobby or learning a new skill also.
An important reminder while following the above steps is to not get caught into overthinking or judging your thoughts and translating it into self pity , self criticism or self doubt . Rather, use this process as a tool to self improvement.
Boredom is one of the best opportunities in our life to utilize for self development so that we can deep dive into ourselves in order to learn and understand more about ourselves so that we can improve our daily lives and become better human beings. These are moments of growth that can help us to renew our energy and gain invaluable strength to get back to life with more power and wisdom.
So ,next time you are bored don’t escape from it but utilize it for for your personal development.
An Idle Mind is a Devil’s Workshop - Jon Bunyan