The Everyday Minimalist | Living with less, but only the best

As a society, we are a bunch of bored folk.

When we’re bored, what do we do?

Turn on the TV
Go Digital
Go Shopping
Eat

I’m not saying that all of those activities are bad (heck, they’re on my list of things I love to do), but when done in excess or when it starts to control you, then for the most part, this turns us into uninteresting, poor and slightly overweight folk.

Oddsock

POSSIBLE BOREDOM INDICATOR #1: WATCHING TV

I firmly believe that if we are already well-adjusted and an interesting person to talk to and be with, watching a little TV here and there isn’t going to change much.

It’s when your only activity is watching TV, then it becomes a problem.

Even worse would be when it controls your life, and you actually leave early and rush home as not to miss the latest episode of [insert TV show here], or you’re glued to your phone at work or in the car (worse!), watching TV.

POSSIBLE BOREDOM INDICATOR #2: GOING DIGITAL

Going on the internet and heading over to Facebook, Twitter or surfing the web. These are all things that aren’t necessarily bad but when done to the extreme, can pretty much take over your life.

People are addicted.

For the record, I rarely go on Facebook and I don’t get Twitter updates 24/7. I try to control my usage as much as possible so it doesn’t end up dictating my activities. If I feel like reading instead, I put down everything and read.

Have you ever seen those zombies, aged pre-teen and older, holding their smartphones, texting, thumbing, scrolling and replying to messages or emails?

How about while absentmindedly trying to control their rampant, screaming, shrieking toddlers?

Or how about when they bump into you and barely give you a glance with an insincere “Oh sorry“?

It’s a disease and they don’t call it Crackberry for nothing.

*NB: Crackberry is a play on “Blackberry” a popular smartphone, likening it to crack (cocaine), a highly addictive drug.

noboundariesorg

POSSIBLE BOREDOM INDICATOR #3: GOING SHOPPING

Don’t look at me for being a saint about this. I’m an occasional sinner.

I have caught myself a number of times saying: Gee, what should I do today? Maybe I should go to the mall and just wander around.

In the past, I’d buy without having the intention of wanting to buy anything in the first place.

I’d go to the mall just to browse, only to end up with 3 bags of things.

Now, if I do go to the mall or downtown, I am firmly there to browse (mostly to people watch), take photos of interesting things and post about them.

I pick up something I like, and I think: Wait. I like this. Why? Do I really need it? Don’t I already have something JUST like it, which is why I’m touching it and excited about it?

Then I usually find a substitute or I can’t justify the price tag (even $20 is a lot of money), I put it down and walk away.

POSSIBLE BOREDOM INDICATOR #4: EATING

Yes. Eating. Who here hasn’t picked up a snack food of even hummus and crackers when we’re bored?

(Okay so in my case it’s more mochi** and chocolate, but who’s blaming who here? )

**NB: Mochi is a Japanese glutinous rice snack that has various fillings. I like green tea, myself.

This mindless eating has gotten us into trouble (hello expanding waistline!) and it also eats away at our savings.

Sooner or later, it becomes a habit and we’re 15 pounds overweight, and $150 poorer to boot.

cava_cavien

HOW TO STOP BEING BORED

EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS

Being a well-rounded person takes effort and time.

You need to pick up a book and read it, attend a class, learn a new skill, get out and volunteer, or just simply watch new things on TV, not the same ol’ shows you’re used to.

Do and watch something educational. I like documentaries like BBC’s Planet Earth, BBC’s Wild China and other documentaries.

WATCH FOR TRIGGERS

If your mind starts drifting away and you think it might be a good idea to head to the mall for fun, acknowledge the boredom trigger and ask yourself what you were doing before (or not doing) to feel like that.

The first step is locating the source of these feelings.

SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS

I like the 3-a-day rule. Set 3 things you want to accomplish each day. Anything. Then do them.

You’ll feel great because you accomplished 3 things
You’ll think: It’s only 3 things. Not 30. And you’ll get them done.
You won’t feel overwhelmed

DO TASKS MINDFULLY

Eat mindfully. When you have a plate of food, eat it. Enjoy it, savour it.

This is something I have to work on, because I REALLY love watching Top Chef or Iron Chef while I eat. I almost feel like it enhances my food because then I can pretend I am eating what they’re making on the show.

Where I draw the line is if someone is around me, like BF or my family. I won’t watch TV while eating, I’ll actually eat and spend time eating with them.

Liz

FIND ALTERNATE ACTIVITIES

Ah yes.

Go for a walk, read a book, clean the house, organize… bla bla bla.

We’ve heard it all before, and let’s face it, other than reading a book it sounds pretty boring.. no?

Find truly alternate activities that can be substitutes, that are FUN. FUN FUN FUN!!

So you want to go shopping?

Go through your closet and look for pieces that are missing from your own personal capsule wardrobe.

Read 30 items of an ideal minimalist woman’s wardrobe (definitely not what I own)

You might think that going through your clothes and listing out what is missing will make you want to shop even more but by the time you get through Mountain #2 of clothes, you’ll realize you have a lot of them and you don’t need more.

Or you will end up finding out that you have 4 pairs of bright red pants (really? ) but none that are a neutral that you can wear to work.

Play music while you’re doing it, dance around your room, read up on interior decorating sites for closet inspiration.

You will organize your closet, weed out the clothing you don’t wear, cannot fit into from last Christmas’ overeating bonanza and will need to repair or fix.

Then you will donate or sell a bunch, and end up spending 4 weekends completing your task.

There. Mission accomplished. Shopping fever averted.

Some other activities to stop being bored:

Go for a walk…and learn how to use that fancy camera of yours
Flip to a good documentary on TV
Cook a nice meal for your lunches for the week, dinners, or just in general
Review your schedule of things to do today, tomorrow and the future
Start a budget to manage your money (okay, this might just be me )

Extra Reading:

FB’s Guide to Selling Stuff Online (Fabulously Broke)
Inoculate [children/teenagers] against boredom (Psychology Today)
Technology giveth, technology taketh away (Steven K. Griffin)
Minimalist Woman’s Wardrobe
Minimalist Man’s Wardrobe
Minimalist Wardrobe for Children
Organizing Jewelery Part One and Organizing Jewellery Part Two
How I cleaned my closet
6 things to get rid from your closet right away

About everydayminimalist

I'm a 20-something year old girl who lived out of a single suitcase in 2007, and now I'm living with less, but only with the best. You don't have to get rid of everything to become a minimalist! Minimalism can help simplify and organize your life, career, & physical surroundings. You can read more about me as a minimalist. Or come and visit my other blog Fabulously Broke in the City where I got out of $60,000 of debt in 18 months, earning $65,000 gross/year.

http://carefulcents.com/ Carrie Smith

I used to be a TV-holic. I was totally addicted to it, all the way from junior highschool till a few years ago. Now, thankfully I have enjoyed reading books more and more, and blogging. I have found there’s so much more stuff to do, than watching TV all day or obsessing over social media. I also feel like I’m getting smarter, instead of my brain turning to mush…
MelD

Hear hear.
I only watch TV if I have consulted the listings beforehand and there is actually something on that I enjoy (usually a documentary or something about homes, British TV has some great things and I appreciate having internet to see them! I rarely watch any of the 50 regular channels available to us in various languages) and I wouldn’t delay something else in order to watch. Also I don’t play games or anything digital like that, though I will occasionally do a jigsaw puzzle or play a board game. Sometimes I get absorbed in surfing and when links lead on to links lead on to… but I would be just as absorbed if I was reading an encyclopedia – something I loved to do as a child! I have always read a lot, sometimes I now read ebooks but also real books. And mostly I love to knit or do something in connection with that and other crafts and decorate my home (apart from cleaning and maintaining it), so actually, I’m never bored… !!! (and I go out, too!)
http://yuppieinthecity.blogspot.com My money, my life

I used to shop a lot (online and in malls) and watch a lot of TV out of boredom without realizing it. A few months ago, I decided to upgrate my professional credits and go for the CFA exam. Studying for this exam has taken up so much of my free time that I haven’t shopped for over a month and watch much less TV now. I didn’t miss these activites at all and in fact didn’t realize that I stopped/reduced my time spent doing these things until recently. Before, I was watching TV and shopping not for a specific purpose other than the fact that I was bored. I still enjoy these activities, but hope that I will not go back to engaging in them as a way to cure boredom.
Amanda

I like this- I don’t have an issue with TV (given that I don’t own a TV) but I’m guilty of all three of the others. Plus some combinations of them (internet shopping anyone?).

I’ve also definitely utilized some of the tips above. Like instead of shopping, I really do organize things. But I’m a freak and I enjoy organizing my home. I also try to use the time to do all the crap I’ve been procrastinating on, like sewing the button back on the pants that have been sitting on my “to sew” pile for a month.

The only other thing I’d add is some contemplation over what it means to be bored, like the others suggested. To me, the concept of boredom suggests that we feel we have to be doing something 100% of the time. Why is “doing nothing” considered a waste of time? Sometimes it’s nice to just sit and think and do nothing. To turn off the computer and the tv and ignore the to-do list for a few minutes and just let my brain wander. Cheesy? Probably. But I don’t consider it a waste of time anymore.
Skatemurai

Mainly I would talk about spiritual side of “boredom”. What is boredom? Why is it exist?
- http://www.everydayminimalist.com The Everyday Minimalist
  
  Good point. Let me redo the post in another angle.
http://www.twitter.com/CorianneM CorianneM

I totally stopped watching tv now I’m in China. I still have a tv in my room, but after a whole day of studying I can’t get myself to watch Chinese tv shows or CNN Asia (the only English channel available besides CCTV’s International channel). I used to turn on the tv every morning for breakfast news shows (two different news bulletins and then switch to BBC Breakfast). Also don’t mindlessly watch tv when eating, because I never cook, so I can’t eat while in front of the tv! hah!

When I’m bored I usually spend a lot of time online, but being in China and *having* to use the campus internet service… sometimes the internet connection is so slow and a VPN/proxy is making it even slower, that it’s sometimes not even worth the wait to get on Facebook and other *forbidden* sites.

Being bored is actually good. I love to just lie on my bed, listen to some music and be bored. I don’t do it as often now as I used to when I’m younger, but sometimes I just love an hour or two of doing absolutely nothing and just thinking It can give you some great clarity or really good ideas.
Jola

As much as I like you posted something about not being bored, I think you’re concentrating only on some aspects. You talk a lot about TV and closet cleaning and that really isn’t what being bored is all about. I don’t watch TV at all so wouldn’t even consider watching a documentary as an alternative to not doing nothing. And closet – yes, it is an example of spending your time more productively, but just an example. You should describe the others just as much in my opinion, just to make it a really article about getting something out of the boredom. Usually I lobe your stuff, but here I just feel this article is missing something. It has a great idea, but it somehow got lost in the process..
- http://www.everydayminimalist.com The Everyday Minimalist
  
  Hahah Point taken.
  
  I didn’t want to post things like ‘take a walk’ or ‘talk to friends’, but there’s only so much you can do without spending money when you’re bored.
- http://www.everydayminimalist.com The Everyday Minimalist
  
  *processes*
  
  I already have ideas for what to write now. Thank you!

Learn How to Stop Being Bored