What Areas of Your Life Can You Make Boring?
I give heavy, ongoing consideration to this question.
My life is very not boring. I love children, don’t do laundry on a schedule, and insist on having uncomfortable conversations. I open cereal boxes at all the wrong angles and eat brownies over the sink. I also love camping, which in my experience is simply accepted chaos. Need I go on?
Two demanding, full-time (plus!) jobs, two little kids, and a chronic health condition and life is maximally maxed out at our house. But for the most part, I have time for the things I love. As a strategy in my personal life, I hold basement level expectations and keep things wildly dull (please, I can’t overstate how much fun I am!) so that I have time, much of the time, to be present. Be present with people, dig deep into a problem and a solution, attend an impromptu neighborhood hang, or just go on random walks by myself to look at flowers - yet again.
Boredom is a great thing. I swear by it. Here are 6 ways I make my life boring to make it mine.
Clothing. The fewer clothes, the better, and that goes for every person in my house. I tend towards fewer so there’s less to tend. I can read more of my novel or play more “garbage truck garage” with my 3 year old.
Weekends. This is my secret weapon. I make them as unscheduled as possible and as close to home as possible so my kids can be bored, too. We will all be bored, and we will all like it! My aim is the mighty joy of the scheduled impromptu.
Food. Pizza Mondays, add farmers market veggies. And in the summer, add flowers, too, for something pretty to look at over pizza slices and crunchy carrots.
Work. This is the toughest. With the exception of the things that necessarily require my extra time, my computer and phone stay out of the spaces I am with my kids and my partner. Our days our long apart but our time together is protected.
Saying No. Having things to which I always say no eliminates wasted energy on decisions. Caffeine? No. Tablets and Apple Watches? Not here. Alcohol? 9/10 times also a no, but exceptions are made when, literally, in Rome.
Small Town Living. If I could name one thing that speaks to my soul more than convenience and efficiency, I couldn’t. I live in a spectacularly convenient place. My daily habits are shaped by what is two minutes away by car or bike- school, work, farmers market, library, hikes, world-class beaches. It’s how I can do a coastal hike, take the kids to the library, and hit up a birthday party before nap time. It’s also how I keep ties, and walk and bike most days. (Although driving a longer commute would be great for more phone time with my faraway people).
Do you maximize boredom to increase the margin in your full, beautiful lives? If so, please tell me how!
I never think of your life as boring. Ever. :)