Bored? Maybe, that’s good. 

Every so often, this viral tweet makes it’s rounds on the internet again.

And every time, it reminds me of the “old days” of life pre-smart phone, when pockets of waiting and downtime were scattered throughout day-to-day life. When we would just – sit, and think, or doodle, or talk to each other. 

(Not to sound too “elder Millennial” but who else distinctly remembers life before smartphones and after? My first phone in high school was only good for playing Snake and running up my parent’s bill with $.10 texts – honestly I left it at the bottom of my bag so often, since there was so little to do with it.)

The times when, now, we immediately reach for a phone these days for a quick scroll. Car rides. Going out to eat. Waiting on an elevator. Heck, waiting at a red light. 

When did we stop letting ourselves be bored?

I’d suspect that these little dopamine machines we carry around in our pockets have something to do with our need for constant engagement.

But the problem with constant distraction is that it never gives our brains time to sort and sift through all the content and ideas its coming across. Much like a firehose, the constant stream of images and information contains too much to for my brain to even try to contain, let alone put into practice.

So I’ve been wondering lately about sitting in moments of boredom. Feeling through that discomfort.

What ideas might come about when I put the smartphone down? 

What might I notice about the world? 

Who might I talk to, without my eyes downcast and AirPods blaring another episode of We Can Do Hard Things into my ears? (gosh, I love that Glennon Doyle)

So this week, you can find me just sitting in a coffeeshop like a psychopath, just drinking coffee. Hopefully having some new ideas. But definitely being bored – on purpose.

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Alix Bryan