What are you doing right now?
Besides reading my blog, of course. Please continue to do so; I promise I’ll be brief today.
Maybe you were doing some online shopping. Quite possibly you’re feeding a monkey or recaulking a friend’s bathtub. Waiting for your file upload. Whatever.
I hope you were doing something.
In an online artist and writer forum I frequent, someone recently posted that they were bored. Interestingly enough, in a different section the same person was agonizing over whether or not they could make a go of freelancing. It seemed that there were many obstacles standing in the way of what would otherwise be an unhindered rise to fame and riches.
The only obstacle I saw was boredom.
I don’t mean to get all preachy here. My soapbox is made of balsa wood anyway.
I will put my nethers on a limb here and say that if you’re prone to finding yourself bored, then freelancing or entreprenuership is not for you.
If you’re waiting around for someone to hand you a project, you may as well learn to play canasta, because you have a long wait.
Only when you work for someone else do you have the luxury of being bored. Hey, the business will be waiting for you on Monday, right? The company has sales people to make sure you’ve got something to keep you busy next week.
Or maybe not. Are you willing to gamble in a time of layoffs?
The point is that if you think you want to be somewhere you’re not, or even want to keep your level of “security” where you are, you have no business being bored.
Somewhere there is a mom who finally got the baby to sleep and is staying up all night to work on her art business. The next morning, she’ll be back at Fred Meyer ringing up groceries.
At some point she’ll have to quit Fred Meyer because she finds herself in hot demand. Awesome, yes. Accident, no.
How often do you think someone like that says that they’re bored? Or lucky?
I know I’ll get a lot of flack for this. “It’s a normal human condition to be bored sometimes. You’re an A-type A-hole.”
Hey, I admit I have random moments of idleness and times of procrastination. Human I am and human I recognize.
The difference between those who want to accomplish something very badly and those who simply wish things were different lies in how they handle their idle times.
Think about it while I go patch up my soapbox.
Amen.
There’s no such thing as boredom.
1. I laughed out loud at “I know I’ll get flack for this…” – no, not around here you won’t! Seriously. You have written total truth and if anyone takes offense, then they’re “doin’ it wrong!”
2. There’s an online artist and writer forum? I apparently need to spend even more time on the internet than I already do.
3. My boredom comes from sitting at my desk at work during those insanity driving phone calls, whereas even then I find myself doodling. Every other waking (and on occasion dreaming) moment is filled with a) ideas that I try to write or sketch before I forget, b) working on projects, c) actually trying to get laundry or dinner done, or d) collapsing to sleep.
I’ve got some extra wood glue for that soapbox if you need it… Thank you for sharing your In The Moment Rant though.
No flack from me! You hit the nail on the head. People can fight boredom by spending the otherwise boring time making their less bored life plan. Then divide it into baby steps. Then take step one now. Boredom? A freelancer has the freedom to do this so in a way being a freelancer is a good thing to be if you’re boredom prone; you may not be immediately involved in the work you are paid to do but you are free to do all the promoting in the world.
Boredom: Escape it or shape it.
The only obstacle should be freedom, and true, while working an office job, there’s not a lot of freedom. As Heather says, you can plan and create sometimes in odd moments at work if you’re a good multitasker, but you can also figure out what your Elements of INterest are and figure how you can bring these into the boring tasks at hand. See my ThePowerOfBoredom.com for more on that.
BTW, David, can I talk to you about quoting from your post on my site or in my book in progress? Contact me through ThePowerOfBoredom.com if you are willing. Thanks.
Letitia Sweitzer
Awesome post. And exactly the kind of kick in the pants I typically need.
@Sarah Lacey Amen, indeed. Looks like we go to the same “church.” ;)
@Heather There are three forums I really like:
http://illustrationmundo.com
http://freelanceswitch.com
http://scbwi.org
Lots of great conversations going on in those forums!
@Letitia You got it!
@Chloe I hope it didn’t hurt too much. I wasn’t wearing shoes. :)
I guess I expected flack from people who would insist that boredom is a normal human condition from time to time. I disagree.
I suppose it’s because I assume that most people find ways to keep their minds active even in an airport security line. Right?