Boredom for Creativity

date: "2024-12-07"

Boredom

As a developer I naturally spend a good chunk of my day-to-day life staring at a screen.

Ironically, over the past few years I slowly grew disdain towards technology of any kind. I've recently started throwing my phone in a random drawer, just because I feel annoyed when I look at it or have it somewhere in my sight.

I think the reason for this growing disdain is partly due to the internet's capacity to turn me from a natural creator into a consumer. Nevermind how mindful I try to be and how much creative work I have to do in a day, I often find myself getting sidetracked into watching youtube, or opening up facebook or scrolling on some other never-ending feed.

The thing about creativity is that it is difficult. Consumption is easy. But the more I consume, the less drive I have to do something hard. But why do I automatically go to consumption if I know that creating something will make me much happier?

Because I am addicted to noise. I don't like it when it's quiet; quiet is boring; and boring can feel unbearable at times.

So in the end, if I want to live a life of creativity and receive the joys that come from it, I should allow myself to feel the discomfort of boredom.

This simple deduction can be extended to a lot of other situations in life. Emotions are designed to guide us, not torture us. The more we run away from them or mask them with superficial solutions, the more we are going to live unfulfilled lives.

Rules

To be pragmatic, I have divised a few rules to help me get back to center.

  • I leave my phone to charge at my desk at night.
  • I begin my day without having my phone by me for the first hour.
  • Whenever I am working on something, I leave my phone either in my backpack (if I am in the office) or in a different room (if I am wfh)
  • Phone is always on "Reduce Interruptions" mode. I can check if I have received any messages at any point.
  • Whenever I eat or cook food, I don't listen to music or watch any TV/entertainment.
  • When I get the chance I go for a walk outside without listening to anything.