Throughout the month of August, I decided to take a break from social media. The goal here was two-fold:
1) Make more time to work on my storybook
2) Limit the input in my life
From illustrating to story editing to formatting, creating a book is a BIG TASK, and I knew it was one that was going to require a lot of time and effort. I’d also been noticing a lack of creative direction, cluttering of the mind, and a general discontentment in my life. So, saying “no” to social media for a while was a chance for me to tackle both problems at once. And something happened within the first few days that made a very big impact in both of these areas…
I got really…
really…
BORED.
That’s right. Without access to the Quick n’ Easy Fix of doom-scrolling, I had to seek out other ways to beat the boredom. And I chose creativity.
And I loved it.
At first, I found myself reaching for my sketchbook and paintbrushes simply because I had nothing else to do. But as each creative session left me feeling more and more fulfilled, I found myself seeking it out because I truly enjoyed it.
Don’t let me over-glamorize this; my no social-media challenge was NOT a comfortable one. There were plenty of days where I still had that itch to doom-scroll. There were plenty of days where I didn’t really feel like sketching, so I just had to sit with the boredom. But this no-social media challenge grew my self-discipline, gave me time and space to sit with my thoughts and work through them, and gave me a clearer direction in what I want to create and how I want to live.
And did I mention I was more creatively prolific than I’ve been for the entire rest of the year? Within the first two weeks of August, I’d already finished all of the seventeen ink illustrations for my storybook!
All this to say, I’ve gained a very big appreciation for BOREDOM over the past month. Some of the most beautiful things are grown out of the seeds of boredom! I have more I want to say on this topic, but we’ll save that chat for another week. For now, I want to challenge YOU to set aside a bit of time to simply be bored and watch what grows out of it.