How to Overcome Boredom

At school I had a teacher who often said, “Only boring people get bored.” I thought that she had made this up but I recently found out it’s actually a quote attributed to author, Ruth Burke. I see the point...

People who experience less boredom are typically those who enjoy trying out new things and pushing themselves beyond their comfort zones. They are always exploring and learning without the time to be bored. I think this is an over-simplification and at one time or another everyone has to do things which they find uninspiring and boring. This is especially painful for those who are naturally exuberant and need stimulation.

I attended Durham University, 270 miles from home in Surrey. As it was such a long Journey, at the start and end of the year, my parents and I would travel a week or two early and spend a short holiday in and around Northumberland. I remember an otherwise nice week at a seaside rental cottage but having to spend hours indoors reading a compulsory book about intermolecular forces, which I’d put off, when I could’ve been enjoying the outdoors. Boredom is sometimes inevitable but you can minimise the pain.

So how do you make boring subjects less tedious, difficult and de-motivating? There are a number of points to answering this question.

Make Connections

Do you believe, as Leonardo da Vinci did, that everything connects to everything else? Is there one subject that you are interested in? Of course there is. If everything is connected, this means by definition you must likewise be interested in everything. You may not have developed a passion for the particular subject that you called ‘boring’ but there must be ways that you can make it more interesting. For example, if you love football but hate maths, you could make maths more interesting by working out statistics for your particular team. You could even use maths and Newton’s equations to work out how balls travel when kicked or explore how footballers can bend a ball using spin to change the aerodynamic forces acting on it. (I love maths much more than football – but I know I’m in the minority.)

Focus on the Goal

Why are you studying the ‘boring’ subject? Think about your ultimate goal. If the goal is strong enough then the stepping stones to get to there become smaller obstacles. Your overall motivation will help you through. Sports psychology teaches that it is important to regularly remind yourself of your goal and to picture in your mind what it will feel like to achieve it. Mette Bloch, the first female Danish World Champion in rowing, drew a picture of what winning in the World Championships would look like. She expanded the picture in her mind, imagining in great detail exactly what it would also sound, smell, and feel like. She ascribes some of her success to this technique taking her beyond the results from purely physical training.

Manage Your Attitude

In the words of Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen, authors of the bestselling management book ‘FISH!’, “You cannot always do what you love but you can love what you do.” The point is that with a positive attitude you can enjoy your work (or studies) even if there are things that you would rather be doing instead. Studying with Mind Maps and imaginative memory techniques makes the process of learning more enjoyable and creative, even if the content is not. It is hard to think of anything more boring to memorise than strings of random binary numbers (1001011101, etc) but the top memory athletes enjoy committing them to memory because for them, the numbers represent people doing interesting and amazing things in unusual locations.

“It is a mark of intelligence, no matter what you are doing, to have a good time doing it”

– Anon

Speed Read in Short Bursts

As I have already alluded to, the brain naturally craves stimulation. If you slowly plod through a difficult, dull book it seems like each page becomes more and more of a challenge. Your brain drifts off into a daydream desperately trying to find something more exciting to think about. It is far more efficient to tackle a book in short bursts of intense activity with frequent breaks. Speed read with total concentration for 20 to 30 minutes. You can gauge how long depending on the difficulty of the material and your natural attention span, but don’t work from more than 45 minutes at a stretch. Next, take a 5 to 10 minute break. This way your brain is engaged without being overwhelmed and the information is integrated and sinks in as you relax in the break. You return to the book fresh and alert to consume the next big chunk. Despite spending less time focusing on the book you will have better motivation, greater stimulation, be able to recall more and finish the book far faster with less self-inflicted tedium.

Not only boring people get bored, but those who work in a smarter way can minimise it.