We have forgotten what it feels like to be bored. In the gap between any two moments of activity, we reflexively reach for our phones. We scroll, we refresh, we consume. This constant input drowns out our own internal monologue.
Last week, I conducted an experiment: 24 hours with zero screens. No phone, no laptop, no TV, no Kindle. Just paper, pen, and the physical world.
The first few hours were anxious. My phantom limb syndrome for my phone was real. I reached for my pocket 40 times in the first hour. But then, the boredom set in. And after the boredom, something else: Clarity. Ideas that had been buried under layers of dopamine hits started to surface.
Disconnecting isn't just about resting your eyes. It's about resetting your dopamine baseline so you can find satisfaction in slow, deep work again.
This is an excerpt. Read the rest at brainbrutalism.com.
