» | Seven reasons why being bored is good for you at {As society gets busier and busier, we find that even when we're alone, we are constantly stimulated by smartphones and trying to keep up with social media. Have we forgotten the importance of being bored? We think of boredom as something negative, 1 be avoided, but boredom might actually be good for us. Here are some reasons why. 3 11 Creativity: Boredom leads to creativity. You {get ideas from being bored. i's ony when you"e ‘Slow down: When we're feling bored, it's easy to tum on your mobile phone or tablet for entertainment. Yt favouring this vital worl and bored that your mind has the te andthe space to develop ts onn create stimaton. ‘means we stop natcng the real word tat s environment ing 2 _Problem-solving: Our subconscious peters ch ic ead mind is usualy better at solving problems than " eck ‘ur conscious mind This is because iis ess Breaking the cycle: Research sons We &, ’ regulated by rules and protocol. But you tend to eta dopamine hit each time we experience B ‘only Ist o your subconscious mind once your someting ev. In ou fast-paced nd constantly conscious mind has a moment to sett. changing world, we have become accustomed : “we experiencing this ital the ime. By embracing 3. Sel-reflection: Beng bred ncn jou ee od cere {othink about your curent stat, in away tat Eee nomic wiieal : racing around being occupied and engaged does ta : no, Sl-eflction canbe a cats for making Taking time out: We tne ina word of 2477 “ , changes to our obs and fest. connectivity. This keeps our minds constanty active i 4 Selflessness: According to a study, boredom a eee ea eRerene up. Ee erecta oie actly als us to enter a more relaxed stato : rk es ae and siop the oer coast feling that many of charity, voluntering or donating blood. WRITING Be AN ARTICLE; LEARN TO USE PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE ? A Can you think of any reasons why being, bored might be good for you? B Read the article. Does it mention any of your ideas from Exercise 7A? € Tick the points in the article that you agree with. Put a question mark next to any you disagree with. Then work in pairs and discuss your ideas. D Do you think these statements about listicles are true (T) or false (F)? us struggle with is that realy such a bad thing? E Find another example for each of these persuasive devices in the article. “persuasivedevice | examples using the personal ‘We find ... we are constantly. pronouns you and we stimulated by smartphones... | referring to research/ | According to a study, | using declarative sentences using rhetorical questions Boredom leads to creativity, Have we forgotten the importance of being bored? 8 A Work in groups. Plan your own listicle. Follow steps 1-5. 1 Allsticle is an article that is written as a list. 1 Decide on a suitable topic. Think of it in terms of 2 isticles are a popular style for blogs and other online articles. 3 Listicles are often used in magazines. Listicles tend to use very formal language. 5 Listicles are a good way to grab a reader's attention. = numbers (eg. seven ways to leave your job). Apparently, odd numbers are more popular. 2. Gather ideas about the topic. It doesn't matter if you have too many ideas ~ you can cut down later. 3 Choose a title 4 Choose a style. Do you want it to be funny, informative, chatty or serious? Are you giving advice? Is it formal or informal? 5 Make some notes for each point in your listicle, B Write your listicle (250-300 words). Add some pictures to help illustrate your ideas.