NANA SAYS STOP PROGRAMMING CHILDREN-ALLOW SOME BOREDOM

In speaking with some modern parents, there is a guilt around not having ones children constantly entertained. Vacations, weekends and PA days seem a fodder for extreme planning. Yes activities are good. Summer camp and family vacations needed. The latest electronic gadget. The online games.
But get over it. Boredom is part of life. Boredom can breed some creative process.
It is not your responsibility as a parent to make sure your child is never bored.
Adults- do you never get bored? Of course. Even if a job is loved, there are boring moments. It is life. When I hear people say I love my job and am never bored- Right!! I don't believe you.
Endless meetings. Reports due weekly. Can't wait for the weekend.
So knowing how to grapple with our boredom gives strategies to use with our children and grandchildren.
First question, ask the child. So you are bored. What do you want to do about it? Should you jump in and give direction. Nope.
If the child can not suggest anything, then maybe suggest this idea.
Let the child know that there are many boring tasks to be done around the house. So tell the child to pick one.
Another suggestion. If a nice day, go outside and play. Winter with snowsuits. Summer with sunscreen. Unprogrammed play. If a bad day outside like rainy, then suggest to go to the play area in the house and clean it.
Give a broom or mop or whatever is needed. A garbage bag for all those wrappers that are often tossed under furniture.
Read a book.
Yes the words "it is boring" will prevail. Too bad. Get used to the idea that some things in life can be boring but need to be done. Children need to learn to take care of their own boredom too. It will make for a healthier adult.
You know the adults that you know that constantly crave something and become bored very easily.
Ever been to a wonderful social event and someone at the dinner table will say, the music, the food is so boring!! That person is boring.
I remember my Dad saying "People that are bored are also boring." I understood it as an adult better than as a child.
Boredom pushes us to act. To look for something that seems fun or maybe getting mundane jobs done.
 Sometimes it just makes us take a nap! But at least not bored.
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JUST GET STARTED TO ACCOMPLISH ANY TASK

Do you ever have days where you know you have lots to do but just can't get around to anything? Well just get started. Tell yourself you will stay at it for 15 minutes. Pulling ten weeds from a garden. Loading the dishwasher. Working on a writing project. Beginning a craft. Many tasks get finished because they were started. One word to a age. One plant to a garden. One step to a walk. More work and less thinking about it. Just think in the wonder of modern times putting a load of dishes on, one can listen to the machine do the work! Procrastination holds all of us back from accomplishing many things in life. Yes many tasks are really boring. Like digging the garden. But putting the plants in let's one have months of enjoyment! So do the boring tasks first to get to the ones really loved as a kind of reward! So what are you waiting for? Get started!

BOREDOM TEACHES US LIFE'S LESSONS

Boredom teaches us to reflect and evaluate our lives. Why do we feel bored? Is the activity boring? Is it something we do all the time and it is a rote item? I try to do my routine "boring" things in between the activities that bring me pleasure. If I do some writing for example, then some household activities, there is more pleasure in the day. Besides getting up and moving around may bring some ideas to the project at hand.  I learnt many years ago not to waste the positive energy on boring daily pursuits. So when some enjoyable interests are done, then the vacuuming or laundry or weeding can be approached with a different degree of satisfaction and less energy. They are functions that are necessary and take time. So when sandwiched between fun things or rewarding enterprises, more gets accomplished daily. Shortlisting those activities to fit in the day and not make them the day. Rewards are good for us. Set a day, or a week or a month to get those boring activities done. For example,two weekends in October will take some of my hours cleaning my garage for winter. Junk has been moved from the house to the garage over the last few months. Another boring activity- sorting and eliminating stuff not needed. To be sorted and bagged! To the curb, to a charity or do we sell it!  The garden items will come into the garage and need to be organized. Hopefully there will be one big clean spot like last year for the car! It helps to have the plans for the activities that do not bring joy but are so necessary. It is okay to call them boring because maybe they really are boring! Even if we go sailing too much it too can become boring. So jazz up your life sometimes. Throw in some fun stuff so the everyday necessary activities can be approached. One might even find a way to enjoy them because they do not consume your life.

HOW BORING ARE YOU?

Sometimes we can find ourselves bored with many areas of our lives. To say " I am bored" can have many implications. What is boring? What activities do you do that bring this feeling? Many things we do routinely can be boring but necessary. The same old work meetings, the same old household tasks, the same old drive to work- well can be boring. Can we use this feeling of boredom to trigger us to find things in our lives that are not boring? Doing a boring activity like yard work but the end result is a pretty garden with the reward of it just looking good! Cleaning that cluttered closet-boring- but with the feeling of a job well done. Finishing those many little projects that take energy to complete- patch the hole in the wall, wash the car, sew on some buttons- well you know what those little projects can be. Boredom prompts us in many ways. Doing the boring things first enables us to move on to the ones with rewards. Household task, then continue reading the book. Reviewing the charts then go see the patients. Editing the written word then continue to write something creative. Boredom, boring are wasted energy users! Can we label the tasks differently? Is procrastination connected with boredom? My Dad used to say- People that are bored are also boring! Hum, some food for thought!

REGROUPING AFTER SOME EVENTS

July was a good busy month with activities and projects accomplished. A fun day trip to St. Jacobs Farmers' Market over the long weekend gave me a chance to capture some fun photos. Time now to regroup and organize some areas of my home and my life to be ready for the busy August ahead. But do you ever find it is a struggle in the summer to organize anything? I do. I get into a summer mood of moving slowly. Some activities just look boring! That's when it is important to push through the boredom and just get the jobs done! Maybe the reason for Fall cleaning- just leave things to the Fall. One massive cleanup- house, garden, and whatever else comes your way? Or little cleanups in August? Day trips and photographing the events do sound more exciting! Sitting outside reading! Leisurely walks in a park with camera in hand! Sipping a favourite drink chatting with family and friends! Or do I just work through the boredom- to do or not to do, that is the question?

A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST!

Time away from any normal routine sheds some light on life. A week's vacation, a weekend, dinner out or going to a new park for a long walk can give a refreshing new outlook on life. Routines are good as they allow us to get many mundane activities accomplished. But being stuck in a routine stifles creativity and can make life boring! Little changes- like rhubarb-ginger ice cream on a recent road trip! Goat cheese appetizer for part of my dinner! Trying a new farmer's market! Babysitting the grandchildren over dinner rather than first thing on a Saturday morning! What changes have you tried lately? Do you own your routines or they own you?

THE BOREDOM FACTOR

Is often a problem in life. Although we can be busy with the daily activities of living- children, job duties, rush hour traffic, laundry, groceries-, we can find ourselves just going through the paces. Adding something interesting to our daily routines can help with any drudgery. By looking at these tasks from a different angle may change the focus. Years ago I would try to get all my regular tasks done so I could go to do the creative ones. Burning all that energy on routines seemed wasted. So I did my creative items first then did the routine ones. Guess what! Changes the outlook. Everything gets done! Like my blog. First thing in the morning or right after work! Daily goals rather than saving everything to the weekend helps too. Monday morning shopping for example can give alot of discounted items. A local store puts lots of bread out that can be frozen for later functions. By rethinking how we do things keeps us creative. Boredom is a great movivator to add more to our lives. It can jolt us from our comfort zone. On the other hand, daily routines gives us a life. The joy of normal and enjoying the moment is a good way to live! Are you ever bored? When do you know it is happening? What do you do to find creative outlets? Have you found ways to make your daily routines more enjoyable?

DIED TOO YOUNG TO BE BORED

I read about a young athlete who died at 23. My first thoughts were she died too young to be bored with life. One of the blessings of living a long life is to enjoy the life. We all have moments that are ordinary and think we are missing out on something. What the something may be is personal to the individual. We may think someone leads a more exciting life than our life. In honour of those who were denied the opportunity to marry, have children, work at a job for years, retire, travel- let us stop and really love what we have. I have known people who died and did not get to see their grandchildren, for example. Have few regrets. Frank Sinatra's song- Regrets I've had a few- could be a good mantra! Boredom is a great motivator to do the things you want to do. Are you bored today? Do you have activities in your life that seem boring? Can you turn the boredom into a moment of self revelation? Can it spur you to do the activity with some joy or to do a different activity? We all have to do many daily tasks that are routine. Can we make those routine tasks part of happy living? What do you think?

STRESS WITHOUT DISTRESS

Was a book written by Hans Selye in 1974. He was a professor at the University of Montreal. It was a marker for theory on stress. He really advised observing the wisdom of the body. Mr. Selye believed in altuistic egotism by helping others, gaining their goodwill and trust for your good. Thus you have a sense of security and self-esteem. His motto was to earn your Neighbour's love. Interesting to revisit a book from university days. Stress does mean different things to different people. Some stress in our lives gives us motivation to perform, strive and even achieve. Too much negative stress can cause heightened anxiety and even affect our immune system. Too little stress can lead to boredom. There is so much literature written on stress and how to cope with it. Do you have strategies you use to cope with the stressors in your life? Are you tired of being told don't stress the small things? When we take care of the little problems, the big problems take care of themselves! It is also wise advice - I just don't know who said it first.