66 days to rediscover boredom: ‘The way I’d been thinking about time was wrong’

For me, boredom is a state where nothing seems to curb the appetite of wanting to do something.

This inability to sit still, to pay attention without seeking distraction, is not unique to me.

But I don't want to default to this state of being. I want to stop using screens, music and podcaststo fill in the gaps when I should have downtime.

By tuning into boredom, resisting the calls for my attention, I am actively choosing to be present.

I realised that the way I had been thinking about time was wrong.

By stopping to pay attention to the things around me, time was being stretched back out.

The simplicity of the changes I made to my routine have made these two -and-a-bit months pretty unremarkable but now I am more than happy to just notice how I spend my time.

Despite this I keep coming back to what Danckert said when I asked him what part phones play in all this: “We just turn to them and pick them up without thinking: do I need a recharge or do I need to do something that matters to me? And if you ask that question every time you pick up the phone, then you might put it down more times than you think.” It’s too easy to get lost in a world that excels at capturing your attention. But I’ve rediscovered a place where I want to be bored in..