Ask HN: How do you handle boredom? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do you handle boredom?

22 pointssysadm1n12 comments

I like to think I can manage boredom with my smartphone. I mindlessly scroll social media and get my giggles when I'm bored. But it has a law of diminishing returns. Eventually I just get sick of social media and the Internet in general. It doesn't spark the same joy. I walk a good distance everyday which helps & gets me back into creative mode when I need to work on a side project.

Like what even is boredom? I've looked it up, but the term for me is a lot deeper. I get very deep boredom or extreme boredom to the point I have to go outside for a walk just to do something, even if there is no goal other than to walk.

What do you do, to defeat boredom? I'd like to hear your thoughts!

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Boredom is a term that is applied to a bucket of actual root causes.

It could be procrastination. It could be dopamine tolerance (and seeking higher levels). It could be lack of perspective (expecting something to be more exciting in the moment than it ought to be). It could be a signifier of tiredness, or in the extreme burnout.

Perhaps try this next time you feel bored:

- Am I physiologically in need of recovery? Water, Food, Rest, Blood flow?

- Am I psychologically in need of the essentials to task ownership? Do i know the why of what I'm trying to do? (Review the why of your goals and task) Am I applying sufficient discipline to that which past me has decided would be best for my future self? (Apply Discipline equals freedom and Atomic Habits) Am I spinning on decision fatigue / paradox of choice ? If so choose something, act and live in the moment, reflect/adjust course later. Meditation can help.

- Am I spiritually in need of something? Again things like understanding your place in a greater story, the why of what you're not doing. Connect with a higher power or an inspirational+aspirational story if need be.

I personally like using exercising (something simple like following some HIIT video on YouTube) as a way of fighting boredom with “something useful”.

In a try to fight boredom in a more “unproductive” way, I bought an Xbox too. My biggest challenge with it is actually when to stop playing.

I also like the strategy of going for a walk. I normally don’t plan ahead where to go… actually I like choosing a direction that “I never took before” and let the “universe surprise me”. 99% of the time I just find different ways of going to the same places (haha) but I find it kind of “meditative”.

I just don't get bored. You have to have some goal. Not necessarily career or self development.

One of my recent goals was making better, simpler, cheaper food. I'd start with the best, most expensive version of a recipe. Then I see what I can remove. Does it work without garlic and onions? Can I substitute milk for cream? What happens if I replace this spaghetti with macaroni or those shell shaped pasta? How much quality can I get from just cheap cheese and butter?

Even walking has a lot of depth. On an evening walk with my kids, we discuss the trees we see along the way - why does this tree have these spiny leaves but the others don't? How did that plant get on top of that tree? Why are so many caterpillars on this plant but not that one?

Solo walking, I turn it into a mini sport, find the most effective way to walk. How do I propel myself faster? Can I keep my feet low to the ground and make longer strides to conserve energy? Even walking becomes a challenge like archery.

Walks are nice. I try to go to the gym when that doesn’t happen I smoke some weed. Usually I end up calling my extended family and seeing how they’re doing.

I try to keep myself occupied by side projects since my day job is quite boring. It also helps talking to strangers on the internet through Omegle and HN.

For the past ~6 months of so I have been using the Headspace app to practice mindfulness and meditation. I like this app very much. It can give one new perspectives on what is sometimes called ”boredom”. For me Headspace has worked well but YMMV.

try going beyond boredom. Further. Then you won't care/feel about it the same way. And/or understand what some particular boredom is (and there are many flavours).

How.. depends where are you / what you can afford/allow yourself.

A somewhat speculative example from oz: go take a floating house (boathouse?), at the mouth of Murray river (or at other end, all the same). Stock with food+water+whatever. Float it.. Stream is like 3km/h, house-speed is like 5-6km/h, constant (numbers are examples, but you should get the idea). Murray is like 2500km long. After a week you'll be bored. After 2-3 weeks you'll be halfway the journey.. beyond boredom. News? What are these?

i did not do the above, although it was on the todo list for some time.. long time ago. But recently, i went on a 1500km road-bicycle trip across the country, specificaly avoiding any big road/city/crowd. Will repeat when i can. Slow continious motion works. Tomorow becomes today, but one does not care anymore. Regardless of the holes. Bees escort you. Colour of asphalt depends on colour of rocks of the region. People.. may not really "see" you because you are impossible to be there. Hence definitely no fake talk. And being beyond most "civilisation" Rules/laws (yeah 40km/h limit uphill, no worries :)

I have not been bored once in over twenty years. I have an endless to-do list with literally thousands of items on it of things I'd like to do or try. That's not even including the project management system for biz.

How could anyone be bored in 2022? Ditch the algorithmic social media echo chambers and learn some skills that aren't related to your job that genuinely interest you and bring you satisfaction.

I treat boredom like bugs. The best way to not fix bugs is to not create them. I always have a book I’m reading on my kindle / phone / audible. I have sources of technical information like HN and read the articles. I read Wikipedia articles about stuff I encounter. I absolutely avoid all social media.

I pick up new hobbies.

right now i just got into 3d printing and CAD. i make up parts to facilitate my other hobbies, like woodworking. just designed and printed a reducing adapter to go from my jointer to a dust collector.

find some real world hobbies that interest you.

I welcome boredom. In fact, I create it regularly. It’s an opportunity to quietly think and reflect.

Maybe it’s why I’m not posting “Ask HN: How do I defeat my addiction to social media/smartphones/dopamine?”

You cannot defeat boredom just like you cannot defeat your shadow. You can only embrace it

I look for something interesting on HN. But, um, it doesn't work all that well if I do it too many times in the same day...

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