Health / Wellness

Could Boredom Help You Be More Focused?

There are actually many benefits to boredom.

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Ed. note: This post is by Jeena Cho, a Legal Mindfulness Strategist at Start Here HQ. She is the co-author of The Anxious Lawyer (affiliate link), a book written by lawyers for lawyers that makes mindfulness and meditation accessible and approachable. Jeena offers actionable change strategies for reducing stress and anxiety while increasing productivity, joy, and satisfaction through mindfulness.

One interesting observation I made during my month-long silent meditation retreat was how long it took before the phantom vibration went away. I’d constantly catch myself reaching for my iPhone because I felt it vibrate — except that the phone wasn’t on me. It was miles away, resting comfortably with my husband (who unfortunately had to pull double duty, managing not only his digital device but mine as well).

I think the next frontier in human evolution will be to figure out how to live, how to co-exist with our digital technology. One interesting thing about this technology is that it is intentionally designed to be highly addictive.

We’re quickly losing the ability to engage in deep work, to focus for sustained periods of time, to pay attention to a singular activity. We’re also losing the ability to be with boredom.

There are many benefits to boredom, including:

  • Spurring creativity;
  • Make new, innovative connections; and
  • Deliberate actions.

Continue reading over at Jeena’s website…

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