40 Comments

I love you brought fun back! Such an overlooked quality. Not everything needs to be so heavy all the time. ( As an over-thinker I need to remind myself of this often!) :)

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Nov 16, 2022Liked by Rob Walker

A driving game along the same lines. I like to imagine that of the next 10 cars that pass me, I get to choose one of those cars as my prize. But, it's like the white elephant game. If I pick the 3rd car that's a 2010 BMW, I don't get to keep that cherry renovated Ford Bronco convertible that passed by at number 7. Buyers remorse!

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Maybe I'm an extrovert, but I love having conversations with strangers. When sitting at an airport gate or on the back of a supermarket line, I look around at the people around me, try to find something of interest they might be wearing or reading, and just launch into a little conversation. Amazing how many people relish the opportunity to break their own boredom by having a nice chat with someone new (and presumably about something that's important to them like their book, a cherished article of clothing, etc.)

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Relevant: Jessica Hagy on boredom: https://thisisindexed.com/2022/11/the-media-is-the-mayhem/

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Nov 20, 2022Liked by Rob Walker

Boredom/ anxiety-trick at social events I didn't particularly want to attend is ,'I'm undercover, trying to find useful information, don't know from who, but there is definitely something I sholud learn here.'

This gives me interest and social courage, helps me ask much better questions and I always end up enjoyin the event, even when I was SURE I wouldn't.

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Nov 15, 2022Liked by Rob Walker

When I am bored, I scan the crowd and imagine who I would like to spend the night with - but, hey, the T shirt idea is great too!!

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Be a professional reframer and get bewildered every moment of your life. 🙌

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Dec 9, 2022Liked by Rob Walker

My wife is a nurse. One of the games she plays in the airport is to scan the people around her and find a person who looks most likely to have a medical incident, decide what it would be (heart attack, trip and fall, stroke, etc.) and then game plan what she would do in that situation. She then looks for other people nearby who she would give certain tasks in the event of the medical emergency. Who would be best to ask to help her physically help the sick person (help with CPR, hold the person's head, etc.)? Who would be the best to send for help? Who would be most likely to get hysterical and impede aid, and what task could she give that person to get him or her out of the way?

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That sign remix is so excellent!

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Nov 17, 2022Liked by Rob Walker

The t-shirt game sounds great, but it's difficult over the holidays when everyone's wearing coats. Our favorite for busy airports and waiting rooms is "Guess their occupation." You have to name people's occupation AS THEY PASS BY and make a little story about it, i.e. "Nanny who's kidnapped a rich kid only to find out they're a brat!" "Blogger moonlighting as shoe model, to make ends meet" or "Trump's interior designer." You can also elaborate with "Guess where they're from?" but sometimes that's too easy. Julio Torres would be my go-to celebrity guest player for this : )

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Love the t-shirt game! I like to play “How are they connected?” which works especially well in coffee shops, restaurants, malls, etc. Basically, I just try to guess how two (or more) people are connected to each other. Those two people waiting for their coffee—are they on a first date? Are they married? I don’t see a ring…oh they just waved goodbye and now she’s leaving, maybe they were just strangers making small talk!

I’ve never thought of it as a boredom busting game before, but it definitely is! It’s really interesting to observe the ways people interact with one another and see what clues that can give you into the nature of their relationship :)

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I actually do read people's tee-shirts and not because I'm bored. It's like spotting weird vanity plates -- I love the endless speculation that led them to, in the case of one license plate, declare "LIFESND" == Send life or end life? I still wonder about it. The woman driving the black BMW had a helmet of platinum hair, huge black sunglasses and a very red mouth.

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Oh man, so much to love in here!

First, "The always-enjoyable game: Would I wear that T-shirt?"

I've been meaning do a series for my newsletter where I stop New Yorkers and make them explain the t-shirt they are wearing because yeah, I have the same questions you do. But I couldn't play your specific game because I wouldn't be caught dead in a t-shirt, period.

The sign is great! I like the before as much as the after, though, because I think whoever did the original did a pretty good job!

And very cool you were first with pothole guy.

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Today might be a boring-adjacent day for me. I’m going to be playing ALL of your games!

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Love this! Yes, boredom really isn't what it used to be.

I wrote about the benefits of bathing yourself in boredom if anyone is interested in reading:

https://www.jasonchatfield.com/blog/bathe-yourself-innbspboredom

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Nov 15, 2022Liked by Rob Walker

I loved the idea of the t-shirt game! Will have to do that when with my kids and waiting for something in a public space ...

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