Hacker News Reader

Comment by warent | Hacker News Reader

When you're busy, perhaps you're bored with whatever you're busy with, and so your brain wants to do something creative.

Conversely, when you have free time, are you filling your free time with stimulus that take away the boredom? (e.g. browsing the web, video games, substances) If so, that's why the creativity and desire to learn are then disappearing.

When you have free time, try not allowing yourself to succumb to stimulus, and allow yourself to be bored. Then see if the desire to be creative returns.

View on HN

I agree, and I think there's another aspect to it: When you're busy, you want to learn something new because you know you can't actually do it. So you get all the upside ("feeling good about your resolutions") without the downside ( "actually having to do it")

Wow. That honestly blew my mind. And it rings so true. Do you have some articles with more details on this?

My free time definitely gets zapped by internet/smartphone/social media/ubiquitous computing, which is a hell of a drug and addiction to beat.

I've been struggling with it since my fascination of computers turned into a career, a catch-22 of sorts, where your livelihood forces you to sit in front of a computer screen, constantly teaching and reinforcing your neural reward pathways in a way that using technology is pleasurable, should you want to actually enjoy doing your job.

Mindfulness and meditation is the only way I can break the association but it gets mentally fatiguing having to constantly break the cycle, then reinforcing it at work, then breaking it again at home every few days.

Anyone experience this phenomenon/have a good solution that works for them, short of abandoning tech and becoming a monk?

Here's an idea:

If you run across something that intrigues you, wade into it ASAP to see if it could be 'big enough' to keep you engaged. Could be an idea, a place, a thing, an event or era, a technique ... that branches out ... or in, towards a trunk or 'stronger current'.

Each of those branches can be surveyed briefly. If the sum of your intrigues (and your notes) keeps growing as you explore, it will eventually be a stronger pull than the 'quick fixes' of modern life that aren't truly meaningful -to you-. I'm always happy to find such a thing, not worrying whether something concrete will follow or not. Exploring can be its own reward.

This is excellent advice and I seem to do it on a subconscious level in the form of hyperfocus, where an activity will consume me for hours if it strikes the right balance of serendipity and intrigue.

Maybe when I am ready to start a family, raising children will fill this void organically?

While there's some truth in this I'd advice caution in trying to avoid everything that can stave off boredom. You do need to be careful with it, but there's no problem with e.g. browsing hackernews for a while. Who knows, you might learn something.

Although if you overdo it then things like browsing social media don't so much stave off boredom but merely become a way of spending time bored.

That makes sense. When I am free, I am browsing on the web or using social media. But, when I am in a tight schedule or have to prepare for something big(Eg, exam), I want to learn something new. Will try this method.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com