National Anti-Boredom Month
During the entire month of July, we celebrate National Anti-Boredom Month. This monthly observance encourages everyone to identify what makes us bored and find ways to battle it!
July was selected, according to the founder Alan Caruba, because after July 4th, there’s not much going on and it’s the hotter part of the summer break from school. However, that’s no excuse to experience boredom during July.
When fending off boredom, it’s important to know what the symptoms are and why we get bored. We often associate being bored with having nothing to do, but that’s not always the case. Many times, we have plenty to do or are even doing it, but the task at hand does not excite our minds. It may be repetitive or not challenging enough.
When this happens, we can become irritable, tired, or begin to not care about how well we do a task. We may also seek out stimulation to relieve the boredom. Depending on what we seek, it may be good or bad for us; We can form good habits or bad addictions.
Finding creative and healthy ways to beat boredom will improve our everyday lives. Once we’ve identified our causes, approach boredom with a set of positive challenges to keep it at bay.
Tips to keep from getting bored:
- Play – Board games are an excellent way to fight boredom.
- Get physical – Exercise not only provides stimuli but also helps change the scenery and improve health.
- Learn – Visit a museum, read a book or take a class.
- Clean -Tackling a cluttered cupboard, closet or even garage brings about a bit of satisfaction for a job well done.
- Cook – Making in our own kitchen with ingredients we enjoy gives us two ways to be satisfied.
- Be creative – Even if you usually don’t create, just trying can help break the boredom cycle.
- Volunteer – Helping someone who needs something more than you often makes us reassess why we were bored in the first place.
- Get social – Visit a friend or neighbor. Kids, this includes you! Aunts, uncles or cousins would enjoy a friendly conversation over an ice-cold popsicle.
