Is being bored your biggest problem? Well, don’t think that it is a trick question. In reality, boredom often doesn’t allow us to move forward with assignments we have, to-do lists, and life plans in general. Why so?
In a recent study, it was found that idleness makes people bored and unhappy. Scientifically, boredom has only recently been studied. In 2012, psychologists at the University of York at Toronto tried for the first time to come up with a scientific definition of the condition. They studied hundreds of theories and conducted dozens of interviews to find out exactly how people feel when they are bored. Scientists defined boredom related to attention: a person is bored at the moment when he not only has nothing to do, he wants to do something, but for some reason cannot focus his attention on any business.
You Don’t Have To Get Bored When Writing Essays
Let’s turn from theory to practice. There are some tips, and life hacks you can use right away in order not to get that bored when writing essays. We can’t promise you will never get bored, however. Try and see what works better for you.
- Fight for better topics. Yes, sometimes you don’t have any choice. You are given a topic and have to deal with it. But in most cases, students can influence the topic they are going to write about and minimize boredom, you need to choose the most engaging one for you personally and prove to your professor that it is a better choice than a standard one. Again, this trick won’t work in 100% cases, but keep trying,
- Think, what in a particular assignment can relate to your experience. Most probably, you won’t write about this experience unless your task is to write a reflection paper, but it will help you not to lose interest too fast. Give it a try, don’t immediately say “nothing related to me.” Even if it is a technical essay or analysis of some book, try to allocate a narrative that corresponds with something you are at least familiar with in your real life. Associations are a powerful tool, and they make your brain spark with ideas. And you never get bored, while ideas are popping out in your brain.
- Form a team. It is a tricky one to accomplish during the pandemic, but still, it is possible. You don’t even need people with similar topics — you just need people writing essays with a similar deadline. Deadline is important because the focus of the group should stay approximately at the same level. Exchange ideas and support each other. If you couldn’t find how the topic of your essay relates to your life, ask your peers — they may share some inspiring stories. Collaboration in the short run suppresses boredom.
- Break your assignment apart and work in small timespans. Often, you get bored because you get tired. Your attention starts drifting, and you call it, “I got bored.” Often the reality is your brain got overheated. A great solution is to start working in brief periods, plan them in advance, and follow the schedule. The best program that will help you accomplish it — Pomodoro. Download any Pomodoro tracker and follow the rules strictly — 5 min rest for every 25 min of research and writing, 20 minutes for every four 25-minute spans. You will be surprised about how effective.
- Treat yourself. The system of remuneration is a great way to dial down boredom. Come up with some ideas on what you can do that will spark interest and wire your dopamine level. Dopamine is not related to happiness itself, it is related to the awaiting of happiness or remuneration. You can treat yourself with something nice after finishing 100 words of your essay, or unite this point with a previous one, and get some treats after the preliminary defined number of Pomodoros.
- Delegate some of your assignments. No matter how much you try, there still will be assignments that can bore you to death. Education, especially in terms of writing academic essays, is not an entirely fun time spending. To deal with tasks you have zero inspiration about, you can pay someone for writing some essays and papers for you online, and switch over to papers that spark at least some interest in you. Choosing a reliable writing service, like WriteMyPaperHub, for example, pay attention to reviews and transparency of pricing policy.
Now, once you have all these tips in your pocket, get to know more about the hazards and benefits of getting bored. Who knows, maybe you can use it in your essay one day?
Is Getting Bored When Writing Essays THAT Dangerous?
Scientists discovered that those who are often bored are also more prone to depression, aggressive behavior, drug, gambling addiction, and alcoholism. But the trustworthy enough causal relationship between these phenomena has not been established. It is unclear whether depression and addictions cause boredom or vice versa. It has also been found that those who constantly complain of boredom are more likely to die young. It is logical to presume that early deaths are more associated with aggressive behavior and addictions, but not directly with being bored.
Every “Boredom” Has a Silver Lining
Behavioral economists at Carnegie Mellon University believe that boredom is a signal from the brain that mental resources are being used ineffectively, which means that a person should switch to another activity. According to a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Angela Duckworth, boredom, like other emotions, arose as a result of human evolutionary development with a specific purpose. So fear and anxiety were essential for survival. And boredom is to spur mental development. Without her, according to Duckworth, we would simply repeat the same actions over and over again. Boredom forces us to move on and switch to new activities when the old ones can no longer teach us anything.