Looking back, I have phases of being filled with sparks in me - be it with a massive 100 day project, learning how to play the Djembe, or buying yarn. This spark feels and sounds like a gentle hum of buzzing energy in me. And of course there are downtimes without any particular spark, where I am partially feeling guilty about not having a spark and being envious of those who are doing their thing (yep, I know we all run on different clocks and cycles). In between these sparks are periods of time when I am bored. Where I think I am not doing much.

When I say I am not doing much, I can almost hear Gerben (my partner) say, “but you do a lot”!

It is true. I am doing stuff - working, yoga and strength training, watching series, reading on my kindle to fall asleep in the night - these feel like a routine and that buzzing energy is almost inaudible.

I used to say with pride “How can anyone ever get bored when there is so much to do! Look at that bookshelf at home and the series to be watched and the things that need to fixed and the recipes to be tried!”

No ideas

Of late, the more I think about the “doing” part, and question the need to be productive, the more I begin to appreciate being bored. Boredom can manifest in different forms. The one I am familiar with is just being on the couch and not having the energy to do things I know I should be doing (the harmful voice which uses words like should shows up, silently). A lot of times I don’t let boredom even surface by going into a consumption mode - watching things, scrolling on the phone, and playing games. And while I am bored and not distracting myself on purpose, I observe ideas taking shape in me. Sometimes for a few seconds at a time and at times a full chain of thought during a yoga class.

One idea

I have been thinking of starting a newsletter, also because of the Substack craze and seeing a lot of designers/Product Managers (my tech bubble) using newsletters to build their professional brand. It didn’t feel energizing to me though and on the contrary, it felt like a lot of effort. Questions were unanswered in me.

What would I get in return? What would people want to read? Why would they want to read? Aren’t a lot of us busy and overwhelmed?

So in this spree of boredom and not feeling a spark, I felt nudged to go to my familiar source of inspiration - books by artists.

I picked up Austin Kleon’s Steal like an Artist to see what sparks emerge in me. Last weekend, while reading this book on the train, I realised that ideas (yes, several!) did brew in me. The newsletter is an idea, although it did not give me a spark. Later in the week at a yoga class (when I had no devices but just myself), IT came to me! I knew I wanted to send out digital postcards! That gave me a bounce in my step on my way back from the class.

Tomomi’s postcards were also source of inspiration that I can trace back. When some ideas keep re-surfacing over time, I believe it’s a sign to listen deeper.

The idea

I struggled with picking a tool, then struggled with figuring it out, and then struggled with the layouts etc. The writing part was the easiest and felt effortless. By the end of a few hours, I had my first digital postcard - tested and ready to be sent!

While I am still exploring what I want to share in this little space, some ideas I have are to share artists I like, what I am thinking about, or what I am doing (hobbies, games, experiences). 

Just like postcards, this digital version will be in your inbox at varying frequency. Just like postcards, feel free to write back (or not) at your own pace.

Sign up here to receive my digital postcards: https://bit.ly/bindudigitalpostcards