words,sometimesyou’vejustgotto
shakethingsup!Needsomefresh
ideasforkeepinglifefresh?Readon.
Whileyou’reworking
Spendingtoo much timein the
sameenvironmentcankeepusfrom
achieving‘flow’– beingimmersedin
anactivitywithfullenergyandenjoy-
ment.Changesdon’thavetobebigto
makeanimpact,accordingtoleader-
shipcoachRachelLoock.Buysome
flowersforyourdesk,shesuggests.
Moveyourhomeofficetothelibrary
ora coffeeshopa fewdaysa week.
Approacha routinetaskina newway.
Forinstance,ifyou’rechargedwith
leadinga Mondaymeeting,trystart-
ingitwithmeditationora discussion
that’snotwork-related.
Withyourpartner
“Boredomisanemotionalstateand
happenswhencouplesstoptakingthe
opportunitytogrowanddeeplycon-
nectwitheachother,”saysDrVenus
Nicolino.Lookfornewchallengesto
takeontogether.Trymixingupdif-
ferentsetsoffriendstodosomething
creative,suchasa groupcookingles-
sonora themeddinner.
Insteadof“Howwasyourday?”
tryasking“Whatareyoulooking
forwardtotoday?”or“Isthereany-
thingI canhelpyouwiththisweek?”
Ourcuriositycanremindpeoplethat
we’reinterestedinwhotheyare,and
that’sthekeytomaintaininginti-
macy.Studiesshow that being curi-
ousaboutotherscanmakeusmore
engagingtobearound,too.Whenyou’reeating
Eatingfoodsinunconventionalways,
suchasusingchopstickstopickup
kernelsofpopcorn,canresparkthe
excitementwefeelwhensomething
isbrandnew.Considerthechop-
sticksa metaphor for shaking up any
familiarhabit.Duringyourcommute
Ifyoudrive,takea differentrouteor
listentoa newpodcast.Ifyouwalk
oruse publictransport, greeta
strangerorputawayyourphoneand
dosomepeoplewatching.“Simply
observingone’ssurroundingsmay
seemboring,butdonemindfully,it
canbecomeinterestingandeven
potentiallyprofound,”saysDrTim
Lomas,alecturerinpositivepsy-
cholog y.Justremember,whatever
youdotoquellboredomtoday,try
somethingdifferenttomorrow – and
thedayafterthat.
NEWYORKTIMES(MARCH29,2019), © 2019 BY NEW
YORK TIMES, NYTIMES.COM.Thesameold,sameoldisasurepathto
boredom. Try mixing things up136 April 2020
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