The War on Boredom shares some traits with other recent and ongoing wars against mental states. These wars waste a lot of resources. I think the War on Boredom can be won without resorting to buying plastic things like gaming consoles or supersoakers.

First things first. You must know your enemy…

Boredom is an emotional state experienced during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the opportunities surrounding them. The first record of the word boredom is in the novel Bleak House by Charles Dickens, written in 1852, in which it appears six times, although the expression to be a bore had been used in the sense of “to be tiresome or dull” since 1768. – Wikipedia*

The first line of defense against boredom is to carefully examine the opportunities surrounding you. Sign up to local newsletters that include events calendars. Organize your stuff. Read the user manuals of the gadgets that you already have. If you are reading my blog, you obviously have access to the internet. The internet has been an unceasing source of information and entertainment for me for over ten years. We abandoned a gaming console in Africa late last year. I thought that the kids would be begging for a replacement. So far, they are keeping boredom at bay with online and outdoor activities. Sometimes they even read BOOKS :)

I am not a crafty person, but some people certainly are. The greenest way for these people to fight boredom is to make useful and/or decorative items out materials that would otherwise be a burden on landfills or recycling facilities.

I am looking for some allies in this green War on Boredom. If you can think of any great ways to fight boredom without wasting plastic please leave a comment :)

I’m going to end this post with a few videos advertising plastic crap designed to fight boredom on it’s home turf (the office). I hope you find the videos entertaining, but please don’t buy this crap. I don’t want to pick on Vat19 – they sell some really awesome canvas bags.

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