Fighting Boredom

Hi.  Winnie Griggs here. 

Right now I’m a little bit brain-fried due to fast-approaching deadlines, frustrating writer’s block and other things going on in my personal life, so please forgive me while I deviate from the normal western-focused topics we normally discuss here and go off on a tangent.   
The thing is, when I was trying to come up with a topic for this post, I stumbled on a reference to the fact that July was Anti-boredom Month.

My first thought was that it has been absolute eons since I faced anything approaching boredom 🙂
My second was how in the world did that come about?  I mean, how does one determine that such a thing needs to be recognized on a national level with an annual commemoration?  And even if someone decides that it does indeed deserve such recognition, how does one go about putting it in action?

But I’m not going to answer any of those questions today, I’m just going to talk about how I personally fight boredom. 

  • Of course, the first boredom fighter on my list is probably one that everyone of you has in your personal arsenal as well – that of curling up with a good book.  But beyond that, there are several things I like to do with my ‘spare time’.
  • I love going to estate sales – rummaging around in someone else’s things and hunting for vintage treasures is such fun.
  • I also like experimenting in the kitchen – taking favorite dishes I’ve eaten at restaurants or a friends’ homes and coming up with my own versions.
  • Calling up friends I haven’t seen in a while just for a chat or to catch up with what’s happened in their lives since we last talked is another way to get my energy back up and get me fired up to tackle whatever comes next.
  • And, when time allows, taking a road trip with friends is also a way to give me a fresh perspective on life.

So what about you?  Is there something that gets you energized and refocused when you’re facing the ho-hum of boredom?

 

 

And to do my part to help stave off boredom during this month, I’m going to offer one commenter today the first two books in my Texas Grooms series Handpicked Husband and The Bride Next Door.

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Winnie Griggs is the author of Historical (and occasionally Contemporary) romances that focus on Small Towns, Big Hearts, Amazing Grace. She is also a list maker, a lover of dragonflies and holds an advanced degree in the art of procrastination.
Three of Winnie’s books have been nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, and one of those nominations resulted in a win.
Winnie loves to hear from readers. You can connect with her on facebook at www.facebook.com/WinnieGriggs.Author or email her at winnie@winniegriggs.com.

32 thoughts on “Fighting Boredom”

  1. Love this, Winnie. Do you think it came about because about now is when the school-age children are whining “I’m bored” and driving their parents to distraction? lol

    Like Sherri, I can’t think of the last time I had so little that needed doing I was bored. I guess what I would do is go visit my folks and talk my mom into making some music together.

  2. Thank you for the chance to win your books. I read everything you write!

    I don’t see how people get bored either. There are so many things in life to do (especially reading 🙂 )

  3. LOL Winnie! I think the last time I was bored was a decade ago when I was working at my day job and forced to sit through long company meetings (the kind where somebody at the front of the room does a Power Point presentation and reads you what’s on the screen).
    On my own, I’m never bored. Who has time?

  4. My solution to any downtime is always to read a book. I don’t get enough days like that.
    National Anti-boredom Month. What’ll they think of next???

  5. I don’t usually get bored because I am sooo busy. However, to slow down i walk my dog around the block.

  6. I don’t get bored because I read. I realize I could do things like clean, but I’d rather read.

  7. Sherri – LOL I knw what a busy lady you are.

    Hi Tracy – I idn’t think of that, but you’re right! I remember quite vividly those days of my kids complaining about being bored once the initial jubilation of summer vacation faded.

  8. If I am feeling bored and need to be reenergized I like to visit a friend or go on a date with my husband.

  9. Elizabeth – Oh my goodness yes! Those day-job meetings could be mind-numbingly boreing at times! But I did some of my best daydreaming and brainstorming then 🙂

    Lori – let me just say AMEN!

  10. thanks for your post! Even with two kids and one on the way there are still times of boredom. I have 6 weeks left until I finally finish college and I cant wait but then it started to scare me because I thought what else am I going to do? so I told myself that besides reading I need to start a new hobby or something. So I think im going to take up really learning how to cook those complicated dishes that I tend to stay away from and really start what I wanted to do which was write a book!

  11. I am a reader, therefore I cannot be bored. We banned that word from our vocabulary. When our children complained of being bored they had to clean something, the barn, the hog shed, the chicken house, the cupboards and Heaven forbid, their room. We seldom heard the words, I’m bored. Of course reading a book got them out of the work and my two girls became readers, the boys did not.

  12. Who has tine to be bored with a huge TBR pile and DVD list of shows and movies to watch? I can’t remember the last time I was bored as an adult.

  13. Winnie, some excellent suggestions. I never get bored though. Don’t have time to be bored. LOL I have more than enough to occupy my time. One of my favorite things to do is sit and daydream (preferably outside.) People don’t daydream enough. In fact, people have forgotten how to alone with their thoughts. We’re on technology overload and a lot of things have gone by the wayside. I also love to take long walks.

  14. Most of the time I have all kinds of little “projects” going on that make it hard to be bored. And most of the time when I might start to feel bored, I just take a good book and before I know it several hours have passed.

  15. I read, or get on the computer when I am bored. I would love the chance to win your books.

  16. Hi Winnie I like your list of ways to fight boredom. I watch lots of TV when I’m bored. I catch up on shows I don’t normally watch, but lately, I haven’t been bored. There’s always something to do…and I do like it that way, but I don’t like to be overly busy either. That’s when the brain fries…that happens to me too!

  17. Mary – curling up with a good book seems to be a common theme here 🙂

    Joye – people with pets do have built-in distractions to ward off boredom!

  18. CateS – LOL on the cleaning option – as my house currently testifies, I avoid that little distraction as much as possible!

    Crystal – Those both sound like really great options!

  19. Howdy Winnie, what a clever post. I think I am very rarely bored. At least now that I have a smartphone. There’s a dumb game I play called Safari where I get points for joining lines of little safari animals. I can whip it out when I’m waiting in line somewhere or at the doc or dentist. But before that, I guess I always had a book at hand.

    This reminds me of my grandson (Okay, I am obsessed) when we were all at the hotel for my niece’s wedding. (He was five then.) He wanted to live in a hotel, he said, because “home” was too boring LOL.

    I never knew about Anti-Boredom Month. That cracked me up. xo

  20. I usually try to stay busy so i don’t get bored, if I do get bored I want to eat so staying busy works for me. Like when we had rain for four days straight I was out on the back porch washing it down. Today we bleached the deck getting ready to refinish it. I also try to take walks several days a week for health reasons. Keeping busy is the key to keep from getting bored.

  21. Linda – I believe daydreaming and using our imaginations is one of the keys to de-stressing and feeling fullfilled. I’m worried that this technological age, or rather our utilization of it, is ruining that for a lot of folks, especially our kids

  22. Charlene – being brain-fried is a malady I suffer from on a regular basis 🙂

    Hi Tanya – one of the things I promised myself when I got a smart phone was to NEVER download any game apps – I’m just too easily lured in to spending time there. But my kids all love them – they are forever playing with the apps on their phones

  23. Quilt Lady – unfortunately I don’t have to be bored to want to eat! It’s one of the ways I can tell when I’m fighting writer’s block – I immediately want to go to the pantry for a snack!

    Colleen – those are all things I can relate to!

  24. My first thing to do to not be bored is to read one, two or three good books. I’m a facebook person. I post very little, but keep up with everything and I try to keep up with current happenings by the internet. I text some family and friends to check on them. You can always find something to do whether it’s what you like the least to what you love. Thank you for entering me in your giveaway.
    Barbara Thompson
    barbmaci61(at)yahoo(dot)com

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