@tldr

I’ve been taking a break for the last week, spending some time in Berlin. For me, it’s required a surprising amount of discipline to really take a break. I enjoy diving into new things and becoming intense about them. It has also become my strongest habit. As I remind myself over and over to decline the many opportunities for intensity that pop up each day — there are hundreds and they can be as mundane as researching where to eat — one of the biggest things I am dealing with is a feeling of boredom. It must have been a decade since I felt boredom consistently: there is always many worlds of activity right there in my pocket. I guess we would define boredom as the awareness of a lack of stimulation while we are wanting stimulation. It’s made me realize how much I’ve been depending on stimulation — my drug of subconscious choice. Weirdly, while I’ve been doing this, I find myself dreaming a tremendous amount. Each night, I live what feels like another full day or two inside my dreams, and it has made going to sleep a phenomenally interesting event.

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