Whether it's waiting in line, sitting on the bus, or being bored in class, I tend to take out my phone when I have a minute to kill. There are probably a doozy of reasons for this, but one I want to touch on is the desire to, funnily e nough, not waste time. Doing nothing feels very unproductive, and so doing anything at all, even if it's pointless, brainless, and mundane, feels like a step up. This is fallacious. In fact, doing literally nothing isn't all that bad so replacing that minute of boredom is likely unproductive overall. Yet, I fall into the trap, the illusion that every second counts. It's easy to feel like I'm two busy so I'll never get everything done if I stop and smell the roses. However, taking a second to stop and smell the roses is exactly what might make me more effective when I'm actually working, and trying to optimize and fill every moment of my day with activity will only leave me drained. In the fight to not waste a minute of time, I often spend hours halfheartedly doing things that are only tangential to what I really want. In short, I think it's a good idea to waste a few minutes several times a day. Be bored, use that time you'll never get back doing absolutely nothing, because doing nothing is better than doing nothing of substance. If I don't consciously choose to be present in my own life in the moments with no entertainment but the voices in my head, then I'm not really living my life at all. This has become a little esoteric and cliche, apologies to readers, but I feel that in the culture of hyperproductivity that I surround myself with, I need to force myself to slow down lest I risk crashing and burning out.