There are moments in our day where we get this strange feeling of boredom. At work, busy as we might be, there are times when this feeling of boredom just sets in. At home, even though there is a mountain of household chores to do, boredom sets in. What causes that? I have discovered that there are 3 common causes of boredom:
- Routine: The work has become routine. It is no longer challenging or exciting. You could do it with your eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back.
- Meaningless: There is a sense that all these actions or things before you is meaningless. Whether it is completed well or not, brings no real satisfaction. It does not bring about a sense of accomplishment.
- Too much or no activity: At both ends of the activity spectrum, there is a sense of too much or lack of “things” to do. Too much activities will cause burned out scenario and no activity will just make you into a slug.
What do we need to do to find a balanced and meaningful way to feel significant? What do we need to do to get out of “boredom”?
I find that there are 3 ways of going about this:
- Experiment: Try new activities. Test them out. Even in the most routine of activities, try something different. For example, if vacuuming the house is your least favourite activity, try vacuuming with your favourite dance music. Try vacuuming different section of the house first. Play a game of finders keepers. Another good option is to pick a new activity that you might like to learn. Even you don’t think you would be good at it or even like, just give it a go. For example, I never thought much of gardening. I decided that maybe I will give it go and plant some herbs and invest into an organic lifestyle. Never did I imagine that I could actually successfully grow herbs but actually quite enjoy the fruits of my labour.
- Know your purpose: Purpose drives a lot of our behaviour and motivation. Without a clear sense of purpose, it is hard to go through the drudgery of life and feel that your life is meaningful. Each of us are created to play a part for the greater good of mankind. A quick way to discover what your purpose might be:
- Write: Start by writing down a simple list:
- What do you enjoy?
- What are you good at?
- What are not good at?
- What are you passionate about?
- What do you want to accomplish?
- What would others say about you?
- Write: Start by writing down a simple list:
Identify key or common words:
- Identify some common words that you have written down. They could be values that you hold important or desires to accomplish.
- For example, you might find words like creative, travel, change, challenges etc. common and exciting to you.
- Write a sentence that would best encapsulate what you have written down. Read it out aloud. Read it out to your partner or friend and see how that resonates.
Once you have discovered what feels right and comes naturally to you, you could well be on your way to discovering what your purpose is.
3. Find enjoyment in at least one activity: Find an activity or exercise that you enjoy. Whether its walking, running, golfing, dancing etc. It does not matter what that activity is so long as its an exercise that will cause you to work those muscles and heart and as a result will cause your body to naturally produce feel good hormone, serotonin. By the way, I don’t think that Candy Crush would qualify:)
To put it all together, when you are feeling “bored” in the workplace, go for a walk, explore new ideas or ways of doing your job and you will be surprise at how new ideas will bring about a change in your mindset. There are times, for me, all I have to do is rearrange my desk and I would feel like its something new and exciting. Especially when I have rearranged it so well that I would not be playing hide and seek with my stuff. It is a change in mindset, a small change is sometimes all we need to get going again.
View boredom as a means of change and it brings about new ideas and exciting possibilities because your mind is begging you to do something different.
Lisa Lam : Coach | Trainer | Consultant 