The Bored & Brilliant Challenge

Recently in one of my classes, we had to read the book Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi. Throughout the book, Zomorodi redefines boredom and encourages the reader to evaluate their time spent on their phones. She does this by creating a seven-step program, The Bored & Brilliant Challenge, to track your habits and take control of your phone instead of having your phone control you.

The Challenge

Challenge One: Observe Yourself

The first challenge of program starts with tracking every pickup and my screen time. iPhones do this through Screen Time.

Challenge Two: Keep Your Devices Out of Reach While in Motion

This challenge includes listening to music while in motion. I always have my headphones in while walking around campus or on CTA or music on in my car when I’m driving. I look at my phone while waiting at crosswalks or to look at directions. This challenge is going to be difficult.

Challenge Three: Photo-Free Day

No photos? This one is going to be the hardest because I am constantly taking pictures. I Snapchat my friends or take videos and pictures of things I want to have memories of.

Challenge Four: Delete That App

I haven’t figured out which app I am going to delete yet. It’s going to be hard no matter what.

Challenge Five: Take a Fakecation

This challenge is about unplugging for a set period of time. No responding to any notifications. I’m going to aim for half a day. I don’t think I could do a whole day.

Challenge Six: Observe Something Else

This challenge is going to a public space and just sitting there to notice the little things but tech free.

Challenge Seven: The Bored and Brilliant Challenge

This challenge has three steps. The first is to think of a problem you’re constantly avoiding and name it. Step two is to set aside 30 minutes, distraction free, and either watch a huge pot of water come to a boil or write 1,0,1,0 until the paper is filled. Step three is to then let your mind solve the problem with no distractions.

My Results

Challenge One: Observe Yourself | Monday, March 15

My Screen Time was 4 hours and 16 minutes, and I had 168 pickups. It’s a lot, but I honestly thought it was going to be more. Apple keeps a history of your screen time and pickups, and I was looking back in my history. It was a high day compared to others, but I did find some days that had over 200 pickups. I have a habit of responding to texts once I receive them which is the cause of most of my pickups.

Challenge Two: Keep Devices Out of Reach While in Motion | Tuesday, March 16

This challenge wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was definitely weird not having music in while walking around today. I kept my phone in my bag which was easy and didn’t make much of an impact. I didn’t think about anything in particular while I was walking around from place to place – just about how cold it was or different songs that were cycling through my head on repeat. Luckily, I didn’t need to use any directions today which kept my phone out of my hand.

Challenge Three: Photo-Free Day | Wednesday, March 17

This day was hard. I was doing pretty well until my roommate and I got our annual shamrock shakes for St. Patrick’s Day, and I took a Snapchat for my Snapchat memories. Other than that, I didn’t take pictures. It was hard though. No screenshots, no pictures, nothing. It felt weird. I love my pictures, and I love looking back on them. I don’t think I could do this day again.

Challenge Four: Delete That App | Thursday, March 18

When I woke up, I deleted TikTok. I found myself scrolling through Instagram or watching YouTube to fill the time normally spent on TikTok. It helped that it was a busy day so I wasn’t on my phone much to being with. Instead of watching TikToks when I was finally done with class for the day, I watched YouTube for hours instead. One plus was that since YouTube videos are longer, I was able to still get stuff done while watching whereas with TikTok my whole focus is just on my phone since it requires you to scroll constantly.

Challenge Five: Take a Fakecation | Friday, March 19

I can’t do a whole day as much as I would like to. I decided that I was going to put my phone on Do Not Disturb for my “fakecation” while I was at work, and I got a lot of work done which was nice. Throughout the day, I did reach for my phone less. I made it a point to ignore my notifications and look at my phone less. This day was also pretty busy which made it easier to keep my phone down.

Challenge Six: Observe Something Else | Saturday, March 20

This challenge ended up being pretty easy. I was traveling and on a plane for most of the day. The majority of the time I was just staring out of the window and looking at everything. I was able to see Loyola’s campus from the plane which was really cool to see, and I would have missed it if I had started my movie right away. The circumstances made this challenge easy, but I don’t mind just sitting and observing. Being at Loyola, I go and sit by the lake often and just observe.

Challenge Seven: The Bored and Brilliant Challenge | Sunday, March 21

My problem: Internships. I sat and wrote out 1,0,1,0 for 30 minutes and then got to thinking. I can’t control the ultimate decision of whether I get hired or not, but I can control my skills and my resume. One thing that I can do is get certifications for certain hard skills that I have such as Adobe and Google Products. I am making this a goal for the summer. Another thing I can do is just update and elaborate on my resume. I feel like doing these things will help lead to an internship.

In Conclusion

I honestly thought that the challenges were going to be a lot worse. It wasn’t too bad though. I enjoyed doing them, and they really opened my eyes to how much I use my phone. Since doing the challenges, I have tried to be on my phone less and to disconnect more. I encourage you to take the Bored and Brilliant Challenge and to see how you do.