A while ago I talked to a senior leader who found themselves in a “lull” between major projects in their business. They admitted that they found such lulls boring and that they find being bored difficult.
More recently, I was on a group call around the topic of “Waiting”, and this also reminded me of the value of “not doing”, of creating space, particularly when one person on that call noted:
“I’m often at my most productive when I’m procrastinating”
Both conversations reminded me of a post I wrote in 2018 called “Being comfortable with solitude“, where I looked out at this incredible view in “Dumbo” in New York City for hours on end, allowing myself to be comfortable being bored.
I leave you with a quote I have often shared:
“tout le malheur des hommes vient de ne savoir pas se tenir en repos dans une chambre”
“All of humanity’s misfortunes stem from man’s inability to stay at rest in a room”
From Pensées by Blaise Pascal, written in the 1600s