On Doing Something Daily: Boredom is the Beginning of Something Interesting

Here’s something I learned, then forgot, then learned again about doing something daily. It can create boredom.

But that’s a good thing, because boredom is the beginning of something interesting.

Over a year ago, I made a decision. I decided I was going to post at least one sentence every day to a blog and see what happened. Well, a lot of things happened, one of them being that I got bored.

I Got Bored Out of My Grind

I got bored with just sentences, so the sentences became paragraphs and the paragraphs became articles, essays, rants, and confessions.

Then I got kind of bored with that, and started writing poems too.

Then I got bored with seeing nothing but text on my blog, and, being too lazy to dig up stock photos, I started drawing my own pictures.

Then I got bored with my old blog and started this one because I wanted to reach more people, and I did, and it’s been nothing short of wonderful. You people rock.

And the Beat Grows On

Now, dear mild things, let me ask you something. Do you see a pattern?

I committed to doing something daily, did it, repeatedly got bored, and thus repeatedly sought and found new ways to do it. The execution changed, but the commitment stayed the same.

Oops, I Didn’t Do It Again

Then I did something kind of dumb: I quit doing it every day.

Oh, I had my reasons. I was going to focus on bigger projects. I was going to write a book, create a workshop, and perhaps build a business. Here’s what happened instead.

I lost some of my drive, some of my passion, and almost all of my focus. The ideas that once came in a steady flow began to slow. The stream became a trickle. The trickle became a drip.

I found myself constantly fretting over outcomes and spending very little time engaged in any kind of process.

I felt horrible. I felt desperate. I felt lost.

Let Me Blog My Memory

Then I remembered what got me this far in the first place: doing something daily.

So once again, I’m posting at least one sentence every day to this blog. Of course, it usually ends up being more than a sentence, but it doesn’t have to, and knowing that makes all the difference.

Whew! It Still Works.

Guess what’s happened since I recommitted.

The ideas have started flowing again. I’m focused and driven and passionate again. And, every now and then, I get bored again.

I get bored with the writing style I’m using, the subject matter I’m revisiting, the pictures I’m drawing, and the boredom of being bored. But just like before, the boredom sends me looking for new ways to do things, which almost always results in something interesting.

And, lo and behold, I’ve started working on that book again, thinking about that workshop again, and wondering if there isn’t a business in here somewhere. And I find all of that quite interesting.

Lesson Relearned.

Now, I remember. You do it every day, you get bored with it, and then it gets interesting. Now, I just have to remember not to forget again, which I won’t if I just keep doing something daily.

So, I ask you. What’s the one thing you can do each day? How will you bore yourself? How will you make it interesting when you do?

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