I was reading the paragraph around external validation thinking to myself 'AHA! I do write things on a pretty notebook and don't show them to anyone, I just take photos of...' and then you mentioned that camera rolls still count as external validation which is ironically your own XD you got me there! Once I felt that same 'there's nothing left for me to do' feeling during high school and I legit had end-of-life feelings. I remember thinking 'this is it, I can die now and it would be okay, there's nothing left pending'. And this is why I leave SO MANY things behind now. I'd totally become a ghost.
Being bored is probably the single-most difficult thing for my students, and yet it is definitely the most important skill my students need to learn. For too many years, my Gen-Alpha students have been fed a constant drip of activities, TikTok videos, and video games. The result is a classroom of hungover ten-year-olds, trying to make it through the day until the bell rings and they can get back on their screens.
Annika, this was like holding up a mirror to my own life.
The endless productivity spiral you describe—turning even a shower into an 'achievement'—is something I’ve fallen into, only to wonder if I’m living or just curating.
Your experience of boredom as a kind of accidental rebellion feels so relatable, like a protest against the tyranny of to-do lists disguised as a mid-afternoon nap.
Once, after weeks of relentlessly tracking my habits, I ditched the whole system, sat by a window, and stared at a tree for hours—it was strangely cathartic.
Do you think the pendulum can ever swing back to a more balanced way of living, where boredom is just a part of life instead of something to conquer?
Also, your realization that sometimes we need to let life 'happen to us' felt like permission I didn’t know I needed. Here’s to more naps, less curated coffee mugs, and the quiet rebellion of just being.
I loved your piece, but I think that is precisely presence what gives us this thing you talk about: being without necessarily doing. Because when we are performing, we are either in the past or in the future. I think we all need more real presence, and not the performance of it, for us to get bored, moved, tired, angry… without the need to escape or make something out of it.
100%, but I think "being present" has been misused so much that it lost its original meaning. What you are describing is exactly what I mean, just being without performing or doing. But online it tends to be more linked to awareness of being, noticing every little thing around you and counting your blessings. I think that kind of awareness can too easily lean towards this performance I described.
Yes, Annika, you’re right. Is like this tendency to always think wellness is about optimization. The concepts online tend to be misleading. The conversation opens doors and perspectives. There’s so much relief in reading other humans that feel the same way.
I love this post - thank you for sharing. It wasn't until I quit working and forced myself to rest (not easy!) that I allowed space for real boredom, and moments of true relaxation. Once I achieved this for about 6 months when I went back to work, I designed my schedule around downtime. As you said "Even when I went back to work life remained easy." This is true! When we really get the rest we need, we can be better at balance, and better at everything else that demands our attention, knowing we have space to recoup.
Loved your last sentence here. "When we really get the rest we need, we can be better at balance, and better at everything else that demands our attention, knowing we have space to recoup." Exactly this! If we never truly rest we won't have the energy to live our lives to the fullest.
There’s a line from comedian Bo Burnham’s INSIDE special, specifically in a spoof song about what the internet says to its users: “apathy’s a tragedy and boredom is a crime” — it has never left me. Thank you for sharing these really interesting thoughts with us!
I was reading the paragraph around external validation thinking to myself 'AHA! I do write things on a pretty notebook and don't show them to anyone, I just take photos of...' and then you mentioned that camera rolls still count as external validation which is ironically your own XD you got me there! Once I felt that same 'there's nothing left for me to do' feeling during high school and I legit had end-of-life feelings. I remember thinking 'this is it, I can die now and it would be okay, there's nothing left pending'. And this is why I leave SO MANY things behind now. I'd totally become a ghost.
Thank you Barbs for reading. I am always looking forward to see your name in my comments. 🧡
That's very kind of you to say! :) and I'm always looking forward to your posts too!
One of my favorite reads in a long time!
Thank you so much 🧡 Glad you enjoyed it.
Being bored is probably the single-most difficult thing for my students, and yet it is definitely the most important skill my students need to learn. For too many years, my Gen-Alpha students have been fed a constant drip of activities, TikTok videos, and video games. The result is a classroom of hungover ten-year-olds, trying to make it through the day until the bell rings and they can get back on their screens.
Keeping children busy with devices is probably one of the biggest crime us older generations have committed. Thank you for reading Adrian 🧡
Annika, this was like holding up a mirror to my own life.
The endless productivity spiral you describe—turning even a shower into an 'achievement'—is something I’ve fallen into, only to wonder if I’m living or just curating.
Your experience of boredom as a kind of accidental rebellion feels so relatable, like a protest against the tyranny of to-do lists disguised as a mid-afternoon nap.
Once, after weeks of relentlessly tracking my habits, I ditched the whole system, sat by a window, and stared at a tree for hours—it was strangely cathartic.
Do you think the pendulum can ever swing back to a more balanced way of living, where boredom is just a part of life instead of something to conquer?
Also, your realization that sometimes we need to let life 'happen to us' felt like permission I didn’t know I needed. Here’s to more naps, less curated coffee mugs, and the quiet rebellion of just being.
I loved your piece, but I think that is precisely presence what gives us this thing you talk about: being without necessarily doing. Because when we are performing, we are either in the past or in the future. I think we all need more real presence, and not the performance of it, for us to get bored, moved, tired, angry… without the need to escape or make something out of it.
100%, but I think "being present" has been misused so much that it lost its original meaning. What you are describing is exactly what I mean, just being without performing or doing. But online it tends to be more linked to awareness of being, noticing every little thing around you and counting your blessings. I think that kind of awareness can too easily lean towards this performance I described.
Yes, Annika, you’re right. Is like this tendency to always think wellness is about optimization. The concepts online tend to be misleading. The conversation opens doors and perspectives. There’s so much relief in reading other humans that feel the same way.
I love this post - thank you for sharing. It wasn't until I quit working and forced myself to rest (not easy!) that I allowed space for real boredom, and moments of true relaxation. Once I achieved this for about 6 months when I went back to work, I designed my schedule around downtime. As you said "Even when I went back to work life remained easy." This is true! When we really get the rest we need, we can be better at balance, and better at everything else that demands our attention, knowing we have space to recoup.
Loved your last sentence here. "When we really get the rest we need, we can be better at balance, and better at everything else that demands our attention, knowing we have space to recoup." Exactly this! If we never truly rest we won't have the energy to live our lives to the fullest.
There’s a line from comedian Bo Burnham’s INSIDE special, specifically in a spoof song about what the internet says to its users: “apathy’s a tragedy and boredom is a crime” — it has never left me. Thank you for sharing these really interesting thoughts with us!
That is such a good line and now I am mad that I didn't include that in my writing. Thank you for sharing it and so true! 🧡