No, I don’t want to entertain you.
You have to get entertained, a little too much, in fact.
Today I want to remind you to get bored.
Nobody likes boredom, and no creator or brand online will ask you to feel bore because it will impact their business. So it doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that I told you the truth in this email.
You know, before I was in this flowy mode, I was the next Ali Abdaal, yeah, that productivity Youtuber. I have been guilty of
eating while listening to a podcast
bathing with music
writing while on the phone
cooking while watching an interview
making a list of what I want to watch that weekend
reading an article half asleep (I am not joking 😂)
There was no time for boredom in my life 5-6 months ago.
I was a machine, trying to do more than I could for God knows what reason 🙈
Then something happened.
I asked myself why are living like a robot. Is that how you want to do things?
Of course, not.
When I was following this no breather multi-tasking routine, my brain was always in simulation. Always doing something because of which the ideas I was getting were so conventional.
There was no space for serendipities or aha moments.
I love space.
In school, remember when everyone would bunk, but you had to attend the class. And you’re terrified about what you’d do without your friends. But then you get bored, so you decided to talk to the backbenchers and learn that they were actually cool people. So your day turns about way better than you had expected.
Imagine you were slightly like my previous robotics self—you’d carry a book, your PS4, or your laptop to use when bored 🤖
You wouldn’t have the opportunity to interact with those cool kids.
Getting bored is important.
When you’re bored, you have to use your imagination and come up with better ideas. You give yourself some space from tech and entertainment.
When was the last time you were bored?
Last Week’s Finds
Lesson of the week
Just being who is the easiest way to live.
Book of the week
I am not forcing myself to finish any book, so I stopped reading the one I was reading last week (Verlyn Klinkenborg’s short book on writing).
I picked up The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz past week, and I am enjoying it so far. Ben is the co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, one of the top VC of firms in Silicon Valley. His story about running companies and meeting Mark Andreessen or having the worst IPO in history shows the hardship nobody talks about doing hard things. A good read if you’re slightly interested in start-up and business.
Video of the week
This Ted Talk by American author Barbara Sher shows us that all of us can fulfill someone else’s dream. It’s beautiful and shows the power of community.
Quote of the week
If you have one person who believes in you, you’re a lucky one.
Song of the week
A. R. Rahman Meets Berklee medley is superb. A perfect Sunday jam to celebrate India winning its first gold in track and field 🇮🇳
Genre: Bollywood.
Creation of the week
First time I overshared my life online 😅 A Day In the Life of a Full-Time Marketing Designer and a Part-Time Creator
Remember the book I loved last week? I wrote about it here.
Please read it here.I also wrote short poetry on some complicated human emotions.
If you enjoyed any bit of this email, feel free to share it with your friends.
I will see you next Sunday with something new and experimental.
Have a fun and exciting week ahead :)
Love and light
Shreya