Bored? Go Bizzaro.

If you’ve ever been a fan of either superheroes or Seinfeld, (as this geeky girl clearly is) you already know about Bizzaro World.

An invention of DC Comics, Bizarro World is a planet where everything is the opposite of what you might expect. Superman (called Bizarro) is a super villain, the planet is cube shaped, hello is goodbye and vice versa…you get the idea.

In one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes, Elaine makes some new friends. Each is a doppelganger for one of her usual gang but his exact opposite in demeanor and personality. In effect, she’s met a Bizzaro Jerry, George and Kramer.

Not surprisingly, (the human brain absolutely loves the combination of familiarity and newness), she gets drawn in to the Bizarro group.

The point here is that, although we all find comfort in consistency and routine, we also crave novelty. When you experience boredom, it’s actually a cue that your brain wants you to shake things up a bit.

Am I suggesting you watch Seinfeld to cure your boredom? Well, no, but if you decide to anyway (you’ll notice I’ve avoided spoilers), it’s the “Man Hands” episode you’re looking for. ; )

This Week: 
Finding the novelty in your day to day routine.

Each day this week, pull yourself into the present moment (and out of the rut) by trying one of these:

• Take a completely different path to work.

• Sit in a different chair than the one you normally sit in at your kitchen table.

• Stop for coffee at a place other than your usual or go inside instead of driving through.

• Invite a colleague to lunch that you know little about.

• Get dressed up. Or if you dress up every day, go casual.

• Cook an exciting recipe for dinner and put candles and cloth napkins on the table.

• Try a new form of exercise.

• Hang out in that room in your house that you rarely go in.

• Make a plan to do something this weekend that you never do (go to a farmer’s market, get tickets for a play, go hear some live music, take a picnic to the park…).

• Spice it up in the bedroom by trying something new.

• Shut down all of your electronics for the evening.

• Hang out in a bookstore after work.

• Make up your own!

Here’s to having a a Bizzaro week.