I’m dealing with lockdown boredom this week. It was creeping up on me, probably due to the torrential rain we’ve been having. Or maybe because I’m starting the next module of the MA in Celtic Studies I’m doing online, and struggling with. Not struggling in the “not getting good marks” but more struggling in the “finding academic writing really boring” struggle. But it seems like I am bored because I have something to do. That doesn’t make sense. But it is something to do that doesn’t have to be done at a certain time on a certain day. I can do it as and when I want so long as I submit the assignments on time.
But I think it is something that many of us who are not working due to either, in my case, not being able to because of too many restrictions with room rentals or running workshops, or furloughed, are having to deal with. Yes there are some who have got on and wrote, found new hobbies, etc, but I suspect even they have days when they are just bored. Most of us need a bit of structure or routine and not having it wears on the soul after a while. It is not helped by going back to this rule of only being able to walk from your own home. The picture above is of a beach only 7 miles from our house. It is a huge beach and even if the car park is full and tide in there is still lots of room for people and dogs to walk, run and play, but at the moment we are not allowed to go there. And there is a possibility of incuring a £30 fine. A lot of walking somewhere a bit different for an hour!!
Yes we are really luck that we live in a beautiful part of the world and have a beach, a park, a couple of steep hills and a wood all close by. When I’m busy doing things I find that doing the same old walk every day is brilliant because I can switch off, plan my day, know how long it will take, etc. But when boredom sets in I find I need a change to liven my brain up. So how do I do that?
Well I think firstly I need to be kind to myself and accept this is how I feel at the moment. Acknowledge those feelings and name them for what they are.
Secondly I need to not compare myself with others, to not feel guilty that I’m not doing all these amazing things that I see other people doing on various social media things. Good luck to them and I’m pleased for them but I must not envy them.
Thirdly I must be careful not to just hang about with people who are also feeling bored and listless and moany. That will help my brain to just move in that direction and shape itself more and more into that lethargic way of being. But also I need to be with people who are honest about things. It is one of the reasons I love WritersHQ.co.uk because they are open about the struggles we are all having trying to be motivated as writers but also then try to give some encouragment. They are also open about the struggles they are having.
So that would then be fourth – be with likeminded people who want to move forward.
I would say there is a fifthly – which is have a place to vent and share alone whether that is journaling, talking to God, sharing with the universe, meditating – though that would have to be after venting. You can’t vent and mediate I don’t think 🙂
And then sixthly – be honest with yourself and ask “what do I need to restore my life and my faith?” And by faith that can mean many things. For me it is faith that God is here in the midst of all this with me, that God is with me even in my boredom and fedupness with the world, that God’s is on and over and with all this – in the good and the bad bits. For you this could mean something else.
Well I have just spent time putting this blog piece together and I feel better now. Not so bored. So for me I have remember that I need to write to help relieve this boredom feeling, to let go of those “have tos” that I have with the MA and housework for no reason apart from it is my house that I am keeping clean not for a 5* Airbnb reveiw, and all the many have tos that can lurk in my head.
So maybe there is a seventhly – go and do something you like doing whether it is productive or not. Just go and enjoy yourself – and maybe, as this post has done, – stretch your brain a little bit.
Aspirational Adventures 