# Boredom



## Sam (May 18, 2013)

Approximately once a day, one of my 'friends' on Facebook will post a message lamenting how very bored they are at that particular moment. Sometimes it's a consistent comment from one particular person; other times it becomes a contagion that affects a number of people sequentially. It seems to be common among people ten-or-so years my junior. I wonder what it is they do what their time. I have never been bored a day in my life. People don't believe me when I say that, but it's not a word of a lie. If I'm not writing, I'm reading. If I'm not tending to the farm, I'm walking my dog. If I'm not cooking something, I'm sleeping. Without exaggeration, there are so many things I have to do/want to do that boredom doesn't even enter my mind. 

What has this got to do with a writing site? Nothing, beyond me wondering if the problems some people have finishing stories has a direct correlation with them convincing themselves that they're bored. Do you get bored easily? If so, why do you think that is?


----------



## Gargh (May 18, 2013)

Same as you, never bored. Doesn't mean I'm always active but there is never a point where I cannot find something to occupy my mind. I think the problem with finishing pieces for me though is doing things like this when I'm meant to be writing because it's easier than the sticky bit in my story! The world is full of interesting distractions...


----------



## Deleted member 49710 (May 18, 2013)

I don't get bored. I used to when I was a teenager, then someone (on whom I had a big crush) told me the old, "Only boring people get bored" saw. Still think that's pretty much true, and I've learned not to expect the world to do a song and dance for me all the time. And I do see this as related to writing, because often when I'm in potentially boring situations (waiting for an appointment, standing in line, etc.) I'll think about my current story or scene, and try to imagine that. It's good entertainment.

I think that people in their teens and early twenties, who are very accustomed to smart phones, are used to having some external form of entertainment available at all times. So they are sometimes not as good at entertaining themselves, and more vulnerable to feeling bored when the phone isn't available or appropriate and nothing's replacing it (i.e. in the classroom, between activities).


----------



## JosephB (May 18, 2013)

Like my mom used to tell me, only boring people get bored.


----------



## PiP (May 18, 2013)

Hi Sam,

I never get bored. In fact, just the opposite - too many things to do, and not enough hours in the day to do them! My biggest problem is staying focused on one thing at a time.

 Most of my friends are always saying they are _bored_ and it drives me crazy. Every activity I suggest, to help relieve their boredom, they just sigh and shake their heads.  They think I'm a bit of a boring nerd because amongst other things, I enjoying writing, blogging and googling. Our conversation as you can imagine is rather limited. Thank goodness for the small writing circle I have just joined. 

I think if people are bored they have no anchor to their lives and as such are like rudderless boats set adrift in the ocean.

The only time boredom consumed me was when I injured my hand, and I could not longer play the classical guitar. Previously I used to play between 4-6hours per day and my life revolved around music. Suddenly there was a gaping hole in my life and I did not know how to fill it. But I think this was not so much boredom, but depression.

PiP


----------



## NathanBrazil (May 18, 2013)

I have experienced boredom from time to time, but I've found that it is usually when I'm not challenging myself in some way.  When my daughter complained of boredom, I've told her that, as punishment, she would be forced to write the first 200 words of a story.  I've only followed through once, but after 200 words she was engrossed in the story and didn't stop writing, or at least thinking about writing the story, until the end of the day.  Later, I told her that boredom usually arises from playing it safe.


----------



## wehttam (May 18, 2013)

I work as a lifeguard, and that can get pretty boring. I try to keep my mind occupied, but there are only so many things I can think about. Plus, I can only devote a small portion of my brainpower to entertaining myself, because I've still got to make sure nobody's drowning. It gets monotonous. Of course, since I started, I don't think I've been bored once outside of work.


----------



## JosephB (May 18, 2013)

^ I was a lifeguard for 3 summers. It was hard -- because I can let my mind go anywhere for long stretches and keep myself occupied -- but then I tend to get totally lost in my thoughts. Of course, I did a good deal of ogling too. Between the two, it was sometimes hard to keep my mind on the business at hand -- guarding lives and all.


----------



## squidtender (May 18, 2013)

Out of all the people I know, the only ones who get bored are those without imagination. They need a constant stream of outside stimulation, or they start going crazy


----------



## spider8 (May 18, 2013)

...an extremely surprising post from Sam considering how easilly Man Utd won the league. I'd imagine that for several weeks now there's been no footie interest for Sam. Luckilly for Sam, Sam's life doesn't revolve around Man U. Unluckilly, Sir Alex has gone. I think he looked at the Super Gunner's 3 month record and realised that next season he's on to a loser. Poor old Dave Moyes! In the last two seasons the Manchester clubs have taken turns in pillaging Arsenal players to win the league. No more - Man U and Man C - you're on your own!  No more help from the Mighty Arsenal.


----------



## JosephB (May 18, 2013)

Not the same as boredom really, maybe related and it feels like boredom -- when when our kids were small, and we just moved into a house and I was working at home -- if I had any rare "free time," I always felt like there was so much I wanted to do, plus so much I had to do or should be doing -- I'd feel kind of overwhelmed and then I'd end up doing nothing. Sort of paralyzed by indecision. And then I'd always feel guilty and annoyed for wasting that time. Maybe some people who say they're bored just have too many choices.


----------



## shadowwalker (May 18, 2013)

I find myself 'bored' when I go for too long without a really decent-length sleep. I can go for days, even weeks, on 5-6 hours sleep a day - and then boom! No matter what I look at, think about - I couldn't care less. So then I sleep 10-12 hours solid and I'm ready to go again. I sometimes think that's a lot of people's real boredom - just need to recharge the brain cells.


----------



## Bilston Blue (May 18, 2013)

> Mighty Arsenal



[video=youtube;U9u5zqKvC7E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9u5zqKvC7E[/video]


----------



## beanlord56 (May 18, 2013)

I say I'm bored, but that's just not true, except at night when I'm up until 2 AM. I've got plenty of books to read, games to play, movies to watch, songs to learn, and stories to write before boredom. It baffles me why people have the urge to let everyone of Facebook know they're bored. Are they asking me to fix that? How would I fix someone else's boredom when, among the majority of my friends, what would keep my mind busy and not bored is considered boring?


----------



## spider8 (May 18, 2013)

Hey Billy Bloo!
I haven't noticed The Manchesters nicking players off Liverpool or Everton to win the league recently. Kudos, for having crap players. Chelski tried with Torres. Say no more. I'm actually really a Crystal Palace fan. 

You...are all...in my radar for next season.  The EEEEEEEEEGAAAAALSSSZzzzzzzzz. (the eagles for those less literate, erm...Crystal Palace.). Blushes.


----------



## spider8 (May 18, 2013)

Yes, for street-cred reasons I've pretended to be an Arsenal fan. But now that Palace are about to be ordained I can come out of the closet!
CRYSTAL PALACE


----------



## spider8 (May 18, 2013)

Hey Sam!
Seriously, what's your take on the Sir Alex/Moyes situation? I think that with David Moyes they're looking for another Sir Alex. Will Sir Alex be able to leave Moyes alone?


----------



## Bilston Blue (May 18, 2013)

I remember when Palace were a good team; Vince Hilaire, Clive Allen, Mickey Droy. And later the likes of Wright, Bright, Thomas, Salako, Martyn, Shaw, Young. The team that reached the cup final in 1990 were a great side, I remember being chuffed to bits when they beat Liverpool in the semi-final in the 4-3 at Villa Park.  


Sorry for hijacking the thread. Do, please, continue.


----------



## Sam (May 18, 2013)

spider8 said:


> Hey Sam!
> Seriously, what's your take on the Sir Alex/Moyes situation? I think that with David Moyes they're looking for another Sir Alex. Will Sir Alex be able to leave Moyes alone?



Sorry, I'm busy studying for exams. 

They hired Moyes for stability -- not because he's the next Sir Alex. Mourinho would have come in and won trophies for a couple of years, got bored (ironically fitting for the thread), and went on his merry way. Moyes has proven that he can consistently perform at the top level with a low budget and a depleted squad. I'm hopeful that he can do the business with an established team like we have at United. There's no reason why he shouldn't. The only problem is that he mightn't do it from the get-go. That's why SAF pleaded with the fans to give him time. You only have to look at what happened Mancini at our noisy neigbours. He wins the F.A. Cup and Premier League in successive seasons and then gets fired because he didn't win a trophy this season! Ludicrous.


----------



## ppsage (May 18, 2013)

Okay, now I'm really bored.


----------



## Bilston Blue (May 18, 2013)

Okay, PP, I'm flexible. How about the intricacies of the lbw rule?


----------



## patskywriter (May 18, 2013)

I never, ever get bored—in fact, I sometimes get aggravated because I can't fit everything I want to do in a day. I equate boredom with stupidity, but of course I'd never say that to anyone's face because I was brought up to be nice.  

Okay, wait. I just thought of a few situations where one could be legitimately bored: being in prison, being in retail, and possibly working as a 3rd-shift security guard in a safe, quiet, and uninhabited downtown office building.


----------



## ppsage (May 18, 2013)

If a pitched ball strikes the batter while (whilst?) in the strike zone, the batter is (shall be deemed to be?) out. I personally think that pitches should be called electronically. No other umpire judgement influences the game so severly. Not sure I'd endorse using a pile of sticks. 

I'm almost always bored at board meetings. But maybe finding people tiresome isn't the same as being bored? 

Childish minds are easily entertained, even, apparently, by unchanging routine. Seriously though, I like it when the crossing sign says wait and I always stop. Some people just don't know how to rest.


----------



## JosephB (May 18, 2013)

^ Heh -- most any kind of meeting is boring -- especially when some guy is endlessly droning and stammering  through some pointless thing in PowerPoint, slide after slide, rammed full of of bullet points and bar graphs etc. Pure torture.

But I think the OP is about when you have a choice or some say in it. Not imposed boredom -- like certain work situations or a Catholic mass.


----------



## Angelicpersona (May 18, 2013)

At work I don't really have time to be bored. Even though I work the overnight shift, there's always someone getting up wanting something, or cleaning to do. In my downtime I write or talk with my coworkers.
At home, I'd say it's similar to JoeB's situation - too many choices, so I'll end up sitting here staring at my guinea pigs for like 20 minutes until inspiration of what to do strikes.


----------



## Amallia (May 18, 2013)

Only time I get bored  is when I've been out in social situations. I usually get zoned into my own little world and I find that hard to do when I've been invited out. (Drinking). I've found myself bored when drunk wishing I was at home. Now I don't go out on night where the goal is to get drunk.


----------



## Bilston Blue (May 18, 2013)

I think as we get older we learn to appreciate how short our lives actually are, and how little time we get to enjoy the things we truly do enjoy, and so to make the most of that time when it avails itself to us. 

There are occasions when I find myself with nothing to do, or perhaps with not enough time to do the things I'd like to do and ill inclined to do other stuff like work-related chores or housekeeping, and so I do nothing and find myself as far from boredom as you can imagine. Doing nothing is wonderful, especially when it's quiet in the house and ideas for stories start floating lazily into my head.

P.S. @PP: not a bad go at all for a colonial.  ;-)


----------



## Staff Deployment (May 19, 2013)

Back when I actually used Facebook (and I'm miffed about this reminder you've brought me, by the way), I found that the phrase "I was bored" or "because I'm bored" was always an excuse to post something personal or put something out there that one wants others to see. The phrase offers a kind of detachment to it that you can fall back on if offered criticism. It's cowardly. And as Sam seems to understand, boredom is just a state of mind you give yourself. There's always something constructive to do.

Of course hanging out on a writing site isn't the most constructive use, but whatever.


----------



## ppsage (May 19, 2013)

> not a bad go at all for a colonial


If only this were so for at heart I am a confirmed Loyalist, and curse Lord North daily. If he'd had the wits to stamp out those motley guerrillas, I probably wouldn't have to pay £552.99 monthly health insurance premiums. Talk about taxation without representation. I'm not even mentioning the slavery, indigenous genocide and continental land grab won in that upset victory. Or clinging past all reason to the death penalty. But I can alas be no colonial, for birth and circumstance have irretrievably stamped me insurrectionist, if I will it or not. Which is discouraging albeit not by necessity boring.


----------



## JosephB (May 19, 2013)

You could move to Canada.


----------



## ppsage (May 19, 2013)

> You could move to Canada


Wanna buy my house?


----------



## JosephB (May 19, 2013)

No thanks, I already have one.


----------



## philistine (May 19, 2013)

JosephB said:


> Sort of paralyzed by indecision. And then I'd always feel guilty and annoyed for wasting that time. Maybe some people who say they're bored just have too many choices.



I experience this sometimes. At any given time I'm working on my writing, reading a book- or several-, sketching a portrait, have a mountain of classic movies to run through, working on a sculpture, taking pictures, editing said pictures, etc, etc- it's endless. Facing all that, I'll sometimes end up doing nothing whatsoever, and essentially spinning my wheels until the free time had disappeared.

As for being genuinely bored, I probably experience the feeling once every few months, and it disappears as quickly as it arrives. Armed with both a vivid imagination and an insatiable curiosity, I don't think boredom and I will ever be very much acquainted.



patskywriter said:


> I sometimes get aggravated because I can't fit everything I want to do in a day.



Also, this. I've spent countless days being awake for eighteen hours or more, my day packed wall-to-wall with hobbies, work, pleasures, leisure activities, and whatever else- and it still doesn't feel like I've had enough time. I've frequently gone to sleep after one of these days thinking that 'I hadn't done enough', despite being what in almost anyone's opinion would have been described as spending the day very productively.


----------



## JosephB (May 19, 2013)

philistine said:


> I experience this sometimes. At any given time I'm working on my writing, reading a book- or several-, sketching a portrait, have a mountain of classic movies to run through, working on a sculpture, taking pictures, editing said pictures, etc, etc- it's endless. Facing all that, I'll sometimes end up doing nothing whatsoever, and essentially spinning my wheels until the free time had disappeared.
> 
> As for being genuinely bored, I probably experience the feeling once every few months, and it disappears as quickly as it arrives. Armed with both a vivid imagination and an insatiable curiosity, I don't think boredom and I will ever be very much acquainted.



When I changed majors from painting to graphic design, I told myself I’d paint in my free time -- but I’ve barely picked up a brush since. I also got married right out of school and had kids (not exactly in that order) -- that has a lot to do with it.  I wouldn’t go back and change a thing -- but I never had a time where I could pursue interests and take advantage of a little disposable income. Now the only thing I’m really doing besides writing fiction is writing and recording music -- and I don’t do much of that. The good thing is, our kids will have flown the coop when we’re still in our forties -- my wife is planning on going to seminary -- so I imagine I’ll have a lot more time to pursue all my artsy endeavors. Regardless, I can’t remember the last time I was truly bored.


----------



## hamster892 (May 19, 2013)

For me, someone who likes daydreaming and writing and reading, boredom is a state of mind that _terrifies _me. After being bored for an hour or so, I start to panic and look for something, anything, that engages my creative side. I don't want to be an unanchored, rudderless boat as piglet said.


----------



## Deleted member 49710 (May 19, 2013)

I spent at least half an hour watching the earthworms in my garden after a rain tonight*. I think it's safe to say I am almost totally immune to boredom.

*they stretch out superlong! they have disgusting worm sex! if you poke them they shoot back into the ground real fast! it's like a big gross worm party!


----------



## NathanBrazil (May 20, 2013)

Did you just say worm sex?  :shock:


----------



## Tiamat (May 20, 2013)

I can think of at least a dozen people that would equate watching earthworms to boredom.  I'd agree with your assessment that you're immune to the condition.

I get maybe eight to ten hours of down time a week, if I'm lucky, so my immediate reaction to hearing someone complain of boredom is to refrain from hitting them in the face with anything that's not nailed down.  Occasionally, I get to read, play a game, go have a drink, or what have you, but mostly, I'm at work or I'm at work at home.  I envy people their boredom sometimes.


----------



## Cran (May 20, 2013)

I used to get terminally bored in school; if I had no choice but to sit there, I'd completely disconnect and go off on some daydream adventure (usually a spin-off from the last book I read). These days, I only get bored if I'm stuck in a hospital bed without books or laptop or interesting people to chat with; generally, I revert to type and daydream, but more often about the next story I want to write or re-draft.


----------

