How We Schedule Boredom
Boredom feels like one of those things we try to remove from our lives. However, if we just need to make one small adjustment it kinda goes away on its own. Or at least the part of it that seems negative.
Planning for boredom might seem like we’re trying to induce something mind-numbing, but it’s quite the opposite. Our brains don’t like being bored, so when they detect it, they start getting creative to fix the boredom. It’s a handy feature IF you know how to use it.
Our family has a few things that we do to highlight boredom and use it for its true purpose.
We play board games. There are complicated ones we play that require your mind to be engaged the whole time, but there are slower ones like Sky Joe, Can’t Stop, or Ah Hell that allow us to think and talk between turns. It’s really good for letting our minds get to those, “OH! I meant to tell you…”
We just sit. After the kids get home from school. After dinner. Or maybe in the middle of a weekend day. We’ve found that if we just sit then some of the kids will have some things to talk about. I think if we didn’t have these moments sprinkled throughout our life the kids would probably tell us a lot less about their lives.
We backpack. We really want our kids to love and care for our planet (and beyond) so we’ve tried to take them to spectacular places to get them hooked. The trips that are six days long are the ones where we see the kids’ attitude change regarding boredom. Being out in the backcountry, they know what is available to them: walking, looking, swimming, talking, playing, eating, sleeping, and maybe a fire. That’s just about it.
With such limited activities, thinking and connection becomes the default. Those trips are filled with such sweet moments of stillness, silliness, and connection with earth and earthlings.
Avoiding boredom feels like it would be the logical thing to do, but we’re robbing ourselves of practice reps at creativity and connection with ourselves.
