Look Into the Void

Letting myself get bored again

I have too many ways to distract myself. I have too many things to dunk my brain into when I get bored.

I have instagram reels for every spare moment. I have reddit if I want to find out what’s happening in the world. I check pinterest to look for DND ideas. I have substack if I want distract myself and, at least, kind of feel like I’m working.

I’m never, ever bored anymore, and I think it’s making me less creative.

When I was younger, it felt like every car ride led to a new idea, a new story. How many worlds did I come up with while I was being taken to practice or to school long before I had a cellphone of my own? Before every kid had a laptop, how many ideas did I scribble into the margins of my notebook as my teachers droned on and on.

Why don’t I let myself get that bored anymore?

Partly, I think it’s because I get worried more easily than I used to. I have more to be worried about. Bills, politics, relationships, appointments, etc. So I drown out the bad noise with distracting noise, with the latest tiktok trend, the latest internet drama.

And I’m not complaining about these distractions! I LOVE these distractions. I have my favorite creators, comics, content makers. They do awesome stuff.

But I think distracting myself so much is making me less creative.

So I’ve decided to try something new. I’m going to watch the commercials.

Putting aside how goddamn awful commercials are, how disgusting the gross commercialization of anything that’s ever been cool is, how bad the en-shittifcation of the internet has become, I’ve decided to start using commercials to my advantage.

The next time I’m watching something with commercials, whether it be TV, streaming, or something on the internet, I’m NOT going to reach for my cellphone when the ad begins.

Instead, I’m going to reach for my notebook. I want to fill those commercialized minutes with something creative, something I make, rather than something I consume.

I hope it makes me more creative. I hope being bored is something I can actually still do.

I’ll let you know what I come up with.

And if you want to go on this journey with me, tell me how you’re going to let yourself get bored. And what you created because of it.