Relearning Boredom
AirPods and their consequences have been a disaster for the human race.
I love my AirPods. I was given the first 1st generation AirPods Pro as a gift years ago. They are undoubtedly the highest ROI (usage-wise) gift I have ever received. They just work! With a a pop of the case and Face ID unlock on my phone, I can instantly listen to CIA conspiracies, 2 Brooklyn guys making dick jokes or 150 bpm German techno. The real world and its boring sounds - trains, ambulance sirens, elevator babble - are drowned out.
- Going on a walk to the grocery store? Why not improve it with a podcast?
- Commuting to work? Why not use that time to catch up on an audiobook
The reasoning is mostly sound.
I like to consider myself a fairly productive person. Be it maintaining a simple wardrobe or avoiding social media, I gobble up whatever tricks are trending on Hacker News. This affords me additional free time with which I can "pursue meaningful pursuits". I should write more and actually make progress on the tiny projects I want to work on. Over the last couple of months, I have come to believe that none of this stuff tames what I call "the itch".
I don't know if I can thoroughly describe the itch, but I can describe situations when it occurs. It happens on weekend afternoons lounging in the apartment. It happens in between sets at the gym. It happens at work... all the time.
I would not say the itch is one-to-one with boredom though the two are probably deeply intertwined. You can feel it, hence why I call it "the itch". Fortunately, we have so many ways to scratch it. Scroll Instagram or Twitter! Check your inbox for the 19th time.
However, we are smarter than that. We are "productive" people. So, instead we'll watch something informative on YouTube or catch up on that audiobook. I am not wasting time. I am cooking dinner while also listening to a bunch of VC bros discuss politics (I don't actually do this). Just like that, the itch is relieved.
Lately, I have been trying something different to interesting effect. For years, I have drank the kool-aid. I switched to an RSS reader and prioritized audiobooks over music. What I have come to realize is all that tinkering is still "scratching the itch". Just like a physical itch, I have come to believe that scratching it, in any form, only makes it worse.
Instead, those moments of boredom - the walk to the store or break after a set - may actually be extremely important to our wellbeing. In some short experiments, I have found that time gives my brain the space to process all the things I am thinking about or working through, like this post. Even more interesting, it is in those moments, that I am, suddenly if by some natural force, propelled to do something.
I cannot strongly state others may similarly benefit. I am too lazy to review all the science around this.
- I know there is a famous study finding people prefer shocking themselves to deal with tedious monotony.
- I know Blaise Pascal, the French mathematician said “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
- I have been slowly working through "The Annotated Turing". Did you know Alan Turing once said the main idea for approaching the Entschediungsproblem came to him while lying in Grantchester Meadows?
I am absolutely no Alan Turing. I ain't Steve Jobs, bro!
However, I am going to experiment more with this. I have had some good results so far staring at my ceiling.
I think I am going to leave my AirPods at home this week.