The Beauty of Boredom
Deliberate rest is delightful; allow yourself to appreciate it!
BY MAX PRITCHARD
Undergraduate college students are busy. At the bare minimum, they’ll be taking around 15 credits, which ensures forty-five hours of homework and class time per week. Then, there are jobs, student group commitments, friendships, relationships, hobbies—the list goes on. I’ve found that this can lead to a mindset where every waking hour needs to be spent being productive. I’ll do homework while on calls with friends from back home or I’ll listen to online lectures while making dinner. And then, any time that I’m not doing something to advance any of the aforementioned commitments, I’ll feel incredibly guilty. In our current environment, with the emphasis on a 'grind mentality,' or on doing every little thing possible to set oneself up for post-college success, doing nothing feels like a terrible crime.
In reality, I think it’s more of a lost art. There is so much to be gained from allowing yourself to take some deliberate rest and find comfort in ‘boredom.’ For starters, setting aside time to pause and rest is very beneficial for your health. Taking breaks from both work and media consumption has been found to improve your mood, help with mental health, and decrease stress. Constantly pushing yourself, on the other hand, is a surefire way to get burned out and overwhelmed. Although it can feel like a waste of time, consistently taking intentional time to rest can actually be more efficient in the long run.
Even beyond any physical health benefits, I think there’s just something wonderful about simply allowing yourself to be at peace with your surroundings. As an undergraduate, aspects of life such as where you live, who you see, and what your day-to-day experiences are will almost certainly be completely different in a few years. Taking time to slow down and properly appreciate small moments is an excellent way to make the most of these distinct stages of life.
Many of the memories that have stuck with me the most are from times when I was simply soaking in the world around me, not when I was trying to do a million things a minute. It’s so valuable to set distractions aside once in a while to find comfort in one’s own thoughts and space. Our time can so easily become commodified, with every hour a chance to work or earn more; even our free time is spent socializing, pouring energy into passion projects, or distracting ourselves with social media. Within this context, allowing yourself to simply be, even for a short amount of time, is a radical act of self-care.
Sources:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/social-media-breaks