Busy busy busy or bored?

It might seem strange, but being bored and being too busy is in fact the same: lack of attention and planning. I'm not talking about the temporary, short and passing boredom or busy periods, I'm talking about the chronic cycle of not knowing what to do next, or not knowing where to start.

(c) Garfield

Source: web.cortland.edu

Excellent article about this to be found here: 
10 ways to conquer boredom and feeling too busy

So, if it's attention (span) that's the problem, see what we can do. Which of those 10 ways would work for me?

Externally:

1. Plan Ahead – Though I'm a little bit depending on class hours, social activities or others, planning really helps to fill in my time usefully, and at the same time getting things done without too much stress and worrying. If you're quickly bored, planning gives you something to look forward too and divides your time into smaller chunks. Same with being busy: plan your tasks, but also quiet time.
2. Win-Win – Not always feasible, but try to make boring things that must be done more fun. Music or friends are my keywords here.

   

   Source: cowanglobal.com

3. Prioritize – There are of course a thousand things you can do, chores waiting, goals to be achieved and events to be attented. Don't be afraid to skip some, as your time is, and always will be, limited. Set your own priorities which can help you to 'pick' the most optimal spending of your time at this moment, and you don't get caught in the busy-busy-busy cycle where you just start the first task that crosses your path (usually the unimportant ones). 
4. Put Quality of Experience First – I think this is related to no. 3: there is a difference between quality of living and status, social obligations or a bigger paycheck on the other side. Do what you truly want to do (in term of goals to achieve).
5. Escape the Motions – Habits have proven to be very useful for me, if they are 'good' habits that help me reach a goal. Yoga in the morning or doing the dishes straight after the meal help me, yet eating hamburgers after choir rehearsal or skipping that one early class were a habit just as quickly, and obviously getting me nowhere good. Check your routines and ask yourself if they are 'good' or 'bad', and don't be afraid to break even the good ones after some time, or there is our old friend boredome again.

Internally:
Most of the ways to improve your quality of experience and conquer boredom are internal. Less what you’re doing, but how.

1. Build an Inner World – I don't think you should build such an extensive inner world that you lose all contact with the real world, but it can be good to 'find' some things you can't find in the reality that surrounds you, inside yourself. This thinking experiment can be anything from reviewing ideas to planning future goals, creating stories or finding new ideas, it is just wonderful what you can do without any external 'help' or stimulus: don't be bored on a train or while waiting for something: explore your own fantasy!
2. Seek Quality in the Now – What are you doing right now? All this planning and future goals are nice, but if you can't find anything you like in what you are doing at this very moment, you will not reach that far-off goal. While some tasks can be boring, there is so much interesting, challenging or new in any situation, so find this and even the boring taks in 'the Now' will be rewarding in their own way.
3. Resistance is Futile – Feeling too busy or bored both reflect that you don't like the situation as it is. Instead of keeping this negative cycle of thoughts and acts, you can break it in two ways: Accept the situation and make the most of it, or try to change the situation by fully breaking away.
4. Unchain Yourself - Why do you feel busy or bored? Because we feel the

   

   Source: randomactsofleadership.com

   need, the pressure to do something at all times. This makes you feel lazy when bored, and prevents you from doing anything about being too busy: after all, you have to go to class, have to study, have to have several interesting hobbies, lots of friends, you can't miss this or that event, can you? Yes you can, according to what you deem important. Of course, you'll have to accept the consequences: not going, or going and not studying, not showing up in class or work, all these actions or decisions cause different results. But mostly, it's true: freedom is in your mind.
5. Stop - Break through that pattern of boredome or business: stop and reflect, break the habits that get you nowhere. The loop of 'I'm so bored' or 'I'm so busy' can be easily interrupted for a few minutes of reflection or thinking more deeply, and even this short time can give you a fresh outlook on things, or the solution you need.  Stop and conquer.