Scheduling Level 3

Boredom makes you creative. 

Are you trying to fill every moment of your day? With anything…  Work, TV, Arguments, Sports, Cleaning, Reading, Movies, Shows, always looking for something to do? 

I have seen people that do not take care of business to the point where " Are always Fires to put out". This keeps you very "busy". If you don't schedule tire rotation and oil change then your day could be filled at the side of the road waiting for the tow truck. If you don't schedule your utility payments then you can spend the day getting the power turned back on. If you don't schedule a healthy diet you can spend years and all of your money on Doctor bills. ("I don't have time to schedule exercise.") If you don't schedule time with your family you can spend lots of money and time on a divorce. 

In order to be bored you need to schedule. A story I heard many years ago was about a farmer who needed to hire extra help on his farm. Help was scarce and every he contacted was busy. He put an ad for help and a young man answered. When asked about his qualifications the man said " I can sleep on a stormy night". The Farmer then asked are there any other qualifications that you have for this job? The young man said the only one I have is I can sleep on a stormy night.". Though the Farmers was disappointed with this response, the man appeared quite strong and he desperately needed the help. He told the young man "I will give you a chance to prove yourself for several months. " So he hired him. Things seem to go well for a while. Then one night a huge Storm came up unexpectedly. The Farmer woke up in the middle of the night by the loud thunder and heavy rain. In a panic, he ran to beat on the door of his helper.  No matter how loudly he knocked, his helper wouldn’t wake up to answer the door. 

Panicked the farmer ran to the barn to make sure it was safe for the animals, and the harvest that had just been harvested was covered properly. Every time he came to a situation that he was concerned about, he realized everything had already been done. The animals were already in a barn, the harvest had been covered, and all equipment was secured and protected from the storm. Then he remembered what the young man had told him, that he could sleep on a stormy night.  

In order to make sure that we have time to become creative, we need to schedule a few seemingly mundane things that will give us much more time in the future.  Some examples are: brushing your teeth, changing oil in your car, or balancing your checkbook.  All of these things take a very small part of your time or day. If you neglect them and wait until something breaks down, your teeth will break, the engine will blow up, or you go broke. If you wait it will become more expensive and time-consuming.  You will have to spend hours in the dentist's chair, thousands of dollars getting new teeth, or you will have to buy a new car, or get a payday loan and pay interest of 400%, all because you did not schedule a few minutes a day to get it taken care of.  

There is a poem that was written many years ago that says, “For the want of a nail, a shoe was lost. For the want of the shoe, a horse was lost. For the want of a horse, the rider was lost. The want of a rider, the battle was lost. All for want of a two-penny horseshoe nail.”

Often as children we are told, and the parents felt the need that we always be busy.  Every time that we were bored, we would complain until our parents or our teachers found something to keep us entertained. We were told that “idle hands were the devil's workshop.” We would constantly be looking for things to keep us busy. We would even multitask to make sure that no second would go by where we would not be busy with something.  

I have often seen people who will ignore and let things go to the point where they break down.  These people are always talking about having fires to put out.  These people become firefighters.  We want to ask ourselves, have we become firefighters in our lives?

Intelligent firefighters will go from business to business to check on safety rather than fighting fires all of the time.  As you know when there is no fires, the firemen play cards, relax, and watch TV. Many think that they have become a burden on society then, but what they have done is their job to make sure that there are no fires. 

Do we feel that in own lives personally that waking second needs to be filled with activity? Do we feel that our children need to be active in doing something, or they will turn evil? Are we neglecting the small things so we have bigger fires to put out in the future? Are you always late rushing at the last minute to get ready? Are you always rushing at the last minute to write your paper at school or your project at work? Do you realize that you have gone weeks, months, or longer without speaking with your children or loved ones with your undivided attention, and then you have realized that you have lost them?

All of these things that we do, we do because we are subconsciously trying to avoid boredom.  The only way that we can achieve boredom is to schedule time for it.  All great things are accomplished in life because of boredom. Leonardo Da Vinci was born into a wealthy family and didn’t have to walk behind a plow to make a living.  Albert Einstein worked at a patent office where he became bored as he had very little to do.  This boredom gave him time to think, and time to create.   When was the last time that you sat around with your significant other or children and allowed yourself to be bored?

Most children need at least a half hour of silence before they feel comfortable enough to talk with you.  Disconnecting from the rat race allows couples to become intimate with each other. Only boredom gives you time to become creative, learn new things, and explore new frontiers.  Boredom allows your mind to wander to worlds and places you have never been. To schedule time for boredom, you also need to schedule time for daily essential activities.  These activities will consume a very small part of your day, but if taken care of properly this will leave you hours every day to engage yourself in boredom. We can prepare ourselves for boredom by engaging in observation/mindfulness. This will allow our minds to look for or embrace occasions of boredom.  

Boredom is a privilege. Hopefully, you are bored with all of this!.