Managing Boredom and Restlessness

"Um, Yes, I’ll have the Anxiety with a side of Restlessness please…"

A huge challenge for me lately has been dealing with idleness. I find there are many days where I struggle with feeling bored. I get caught in this vicious cycle of, “I’m bored, I should do something, but I don’t really want to... I’m bored.”

What is this ridiculousness? When I’m too busy, I feel overwhelmed, but when I have nothing to do I become this crazy, anxious lady who can’t even deal. I’m discovering that this whole ‘being bored’ thing is a huge challenge for me.

While some people may crave idleness and quiet time to just sit and watch tv, these days, I loathe it. I'll sit there for a minute or two but soon enough I'll start doing other things, like blogging, coloring in my adult coloring book or reading. If I’m really hooked on a tv show (a couple of weeks ago, it was Making a Murderer on Netflix), I can sit and watch 4 or more episodes in a row. But if it’s just regular old tv (for instance, American Wedding is on TV right now - been there, saw that), I feel like it’s a huge waste of time. My mind needs something more stimulating and interesting. I crave conversation and discussion with friends and family. Sometimes I’d even rather to chores, like the dishes or vacuum, than watch tv. I just feel like I need to keep my hands busy. Is this completely insane? Am I the only one who feels this way?

I’ve been working from home this week and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself while working from home, it’s that I need to be around people. When I’m by myself, my mind wanders and in all honesty, I feel like I’m going a little crazy. I know that time alone is important. It’s a time to relax, reflect and meditate. To just do you. But for me, lately – that’s been really hard. I need someone else there to bounce my ideas off of and to give me a new perspective.

My husband and I are planning on moving soon. We want to list our townhome and buy a home in a completely different city. This freaks me out. Even though I am excited about this next step in our lives, it’s a big change. I don’t know what to expect and the anticipation of it is driving me crazy. So lately, when I have idle time, I’ve been thinking a lot about this. But something I need to realize is thinking about it doesn’t do anything. Thinking about moving won’t prepare me for it and won’t make this any less of a big step in my life.

So with that in mind, here are some things I need to work on and some things that I ask you to join me in considering this week:

• Being alone is the best time to pray. If you’re feeling worried, tell Him. If you’re bored, tell Him. If you’re scared, tell Him. And if you don’t know what is wrong with you and why your mind is racing, tell Him. Ask him to control your thoughts and to give you a peaceful mind. If you have to do this all day, do it.

• If you’re feeling restless and/or bored, take this as a challenge. A challenge to rest, meditate and be mindful of what’s going on around you. If you’re bursting with energy and can’t sit still for another minute, go on a walk. Run up and down your stairs twenty times, make a healthy snack, read or color. Do your laundry and finish the dishes. Do something positive with this time that you wouldn’t have otherwise made time for. Make a list of things to do while you’re bored and then do them.
  
  
• If your friend was telling you she was having a hard time relaxing lately, think about what you would tell her. If my friend were feeling the way I am feeling, I would tell her, “Listen, you have a lot going on these days. With taking care of a new puppy, selling your house and trying to find a new one, that’s a lot to keep track of and a lot to think about. Maybe think of ways you can prepare yourself for this move so you don’t feel so anxious about it. Try to go to the gym every day to burn off this extra energy you have. You’ll sleep better and you won’t feel so jittery throughout the day. I love you and you will get through this anxiety you're having.”
  
  
  
• Make a gratitude list. Sometimes we focus on everything that could be going better in our lives. We think about what we want rather than what we already have. Take this time to write down everything you’re grateful for.
  
• Take up a new hobby. It should be something easy that is relaxing and fun for you to do. Any time you're feeling bored, you'll have this new hobby to fall back on.
  
  
• Think about it: Are you really bored? Or are you just wishing you could do something about a situation going on in your life that you have no control over? I was considering this today during my streak of boredom. Am I really bored or am I just anxious? Wishing I could pack everything up and move us TODAY because then the move would be over and that would make me feel better…or would it? Hmmm…  

So these are my challenges for you the next time you're feeling restless, anxious or bored. Use this time of boredom to better yourself. This is a challenge for you, treat it that way. How do you treat challenges in life? Do you give up and let the anxiety take over? Or do you fight, push through, and learn from the experience? 

Your friend,

Meg