Getting Nothing Done
It is easier than ever to get nothing done, and it is harder than ever to do nothing. You could spend an entire weekend binge watching a tv show on Netflix, and no one would even think twice about it. When Monday comes around you will have gotten nothing done and It would probably seem like the easiest thing in the world.
But try sitting in silence for 15 minutes.
Don’t pull out your phone, don’t turn on the TV, don’t play with a fidget spinner, just sit and think. I think for most people those 15 minutes of silence would be much more difficult than an entire weekend of staring at a tv screen.
People are so used to being entertained every second of every day that they don’t know how to be alone with their thoughts. It’s an illness that poses a much bigger threat to humanity than Coronavirus. I’m not trying to sound judgmental; I would not have realized the severity of the issue if I had not seen it in myself. The moment my mind becomes bored I will take out my phone and start scrolling through Instagram or YouTube without even realizing what I am doing. Even if I was in the middle of something else, I will sometimes get distracted or lose interest and immediately pull out my phone. Then when I do realize that I have stopped listening, or reading, or whatever I was doing before I will refocus on the task at hand, But if it fails to be as entertaining as my phone I will be back on YouTube moments later. It’s something that I am working on improving about myself.
The reason our phones and TV’s are so addicting is because they are so good at engaging our minds and making us feel like we are actually accomplishing something. When someone is moving toward a goal that they set for themselves, they feel good. Their brain gives them a little hit of dopamine and next time they want something to do, they are more likely to choose a productive activity. However, video games, social media, and TV shows are able to trick our brain into thinking that we have done something productive, so we receive that same little dopamine hit without any of the productivity.
I’m not against technology. I think our smart devices are incredible and allow us to be connected in ways previous generations couldn’t even imagine. The problem is that if we aren’t careful the things we own can start to own us. Don’t let your smartphone be smarter than you. Make sure you’re the one in control. Try setting you phone down and letting yourself be bored once in a while. Boredom isn’t bad. How many great ideas came about because someone was bored? If people were completely engaged in meaningless pursuits all the time they would have no desire to try and come up with anything new. Learn to be comfortable with being bored and I think you will find that once you clear your head of everyone else’s content, your own thoughts will become much clearer.
