‘Worst 47 minutes of my life’: Kendall Gilding on the one thing she can’t do anymore

I challenged myself to try to do this one thing we all used to do every day - it was the worst 47 minutes of my life.

Kendall Gilding challenged herself to sit, people-watch, brainstorm and be in the moment.

I took myself for lunch the other day. Just me. No phone. No laptop. No book. No distractions.

After eating I challenged myself to sit, people-watch, brainstorm and be in the moment. It was the worst 47 minutes of my life!

I ordered a salad (to feel smug), sat in the sun (to feel relaxed), and then immediately looked around panicked – like someone who’d accidentally left the house without pants on.

The lunch date taught me something uncomfortable: I’ve completely forgotten how to be bored.

Like any muscle – if you don’t use it, you lose it! The sudden onset of resistance was a painful as lifting weights.

Once upon a time, boredom was part of the human condition. We queued for things. We sat on buses and stared out windows. We watched the water boil in a kettle.

We were bored all the time – and it was good for us!

I’ve become an expert at avoiding boredom.

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I could have a master’s degree in ways to multi-task in order to escape it, and my skilful execution became glaringly obvious while I was hanging the clothes on the line one day.

We have a quintessential Australian backyard – a Hills Hoist positioned inappropriately far from the house, making it a backbreaking task just to arrive at the line with a basket full of wet towels. So, if I’m going to make the journey out there, it had better be worth my time!

There I was – massive pile of washing, perfect sunny day, standing outside hanging clothes. Except I’ve come to see the task as a “waste of time”. Surely, it’s more productive to just throw them in the dryer.

Kendall Gilding at home. Picture: Laz Smith

Enter “hyper-productivity”. What if I do two tasks at once?

I’ll listen to an educational podcast while hanging out the washing. That way my brain is working at the same time!

This kind of productivity spiral isn’t new to me. Phone calls I need to make – I’ll save them for when I’m driving, that way I can do two things at once.

Catching up on a friend’s video message – I’ll watch it while I’m exercising, that way I can do two things at once. Rehearsing scripts for an upcoming job – I’ll practise while putting on my makeup, that way I can do two things at once.

As a society we’ve never been more productive or had more tools to help us achieve goals faster.

A microwave heats or cooks food 10 times faster than the stove, a vacuum cleaner gets the job done better and faster than a broom, driving is quicker than walking, a phone call is more efficient than carrier pigeon.

Now, boredom feels like a personal failure.

Just last week, I was brushing my teeth, replying to an email and helping my five-year-old do sight words – simultaneously.

Kendall Gilding. Picture: Portia Large

By the end of it, my inbox was clean, my child was literate, and I have no memory of which teeth I brushed.

Here’s the plot twist – I don’t want to be busy anymore. I want to be bored. I want to roll out a mat in a park, lay down and stare at the clouds.

I want to sit in a waiting room and read a New Idea from 2018.

I want to remember what it’s like to have a wandering mind, not a scrolling thumb.

Even our children aren’t allowed to be bored anymore. We schedule them to within an inch of their lives – piano, swimming, gymnastics.

Then if they dare utter the words “I’m bored”, we hand them a book, a toy, a screen or educational craft and tell them to emotionally regulate.

Look, I’m not going to throw my phone into the ocean and move to a monastery. But I’m starting to challenge myself with little doses of boredom each day – because it’s good for the soul and even better for my nervous system!

The next time I’m waiting for a coffee, an Uber, a meeting – do I have the strength to just be? No scrolling. No emailing. No optimisation. Just sit there.

After all – our next wave of productivity is already here! Artificial Intelligence is about to revolutionise our time in a way we’ve never seen before. We thought the internet was a leap – prepare for a chasm!

Soon enough we’ll have robots doing all the work, so we can finally sit down and enjoy a solo lunch, in the sun, while people-watching on James Street.

Originally published as ‘Worst 47 minutes of my life’: Kendall Gilding on the one thing she can’t do anymore