This document discusses how engaging in slow, repetitive, and tactile hobbies can help those who get easily bored and seek constant stimulation. It describes how the author realized that her favorite photography moments involved simple, boring images that allowed her to be present. She found that hobbies with basic premises like letterpress printing, distillation, and clockwork that involve repetition, taking time, and manual work provide a sense of calm and focus. The document encourages embracing meaningful tedium through scheduled engagement in interesting creative activities that allow one to feel neither constantly on nor off.

1. Patience-Based Hobbies
For the chronically distracted

2. I get bored easily.

3. so

4. I like to do things.

5. I keep myself occupied with the weird and
the new.

6. I like to go places.

7. I like to see amazing things.

8. I like to read things.

9. I require stimuli.

10. I seek novelty.

11. New, new new.

12. Go, go, go.

13. Everything goes to 11.

14. If it doesn’t, I get bored.

15. Go.

16. Go, Go.

17. Go, Go, Go, Go, Go.

18. So much going. I go.

19. People near me go!

20. We are always on.

21. On, On, On!

22. Go, Go, Go!

23. And then. Stop.

24. Crash.

25. On or off.

26. It’s exciting.
Me.
My sister,
Maggie.

27. But it is also exhausting.
My sister,
Maggie.
Me.
I’ve been like
this a long
time.

28. One day, I realized this was happening.
Me
On Off On Off On Off On Off On

29. Ratcheting up.

30. Not coming back down.

31. My only weapon was sleep.

32. Weird things started happening to me.

33. I felt over-amped.

34. I felt jittery.

35. I felt anxious.

36. So much internal noise.

37. It was very tiring.

38. Things felt off-kilter and jarring.

39. I didn’t know how to make it stop.

40. And then, in
2008

41. I got sick.

42. This was not much fun.

43. But it forced me to lay around a lot.

44. And think and read a lot.

45. I thought about things I liked a lot.

46. I noticed a pattern.

47. For example, photography.

48. A long-time hobby.

49. The times I most enjoyed photography...

50. Were the slow times

51. And the images I sought out most...

52. Were the simple...

53. even...boring ones.

54. Slow.

55. Simple.

56. Somewhat repetitive.

57. A light went on.

58. What if activities that force repetition
and patience led to a kind of
happiness?

59. Some moments when I take photos

60. I am neither on nor off

61. I just...am.

62. The premise is basic.

63. Light touches a medium or sensor that is photo-
sensitive
An image is created

64. You can jazz it up all you
like

65. But in the end, the premise is still basic

66. Could other slow, basic things
make me feel this quiet?

68. Letterpress

69. The premise is basic.

70. Moveable type* is inked,
then pressed into paper
* Or a plate

72. My tabletop letterpress

73. A basic, antique premise.

74. Repetitive.

75. Slow.

76. Tactile.

77. Sorting type.

78. Organizing, thinking carefully, cleaning.

79. Cannot be rushed.

80. Manual.

81. Quiet.

83. Perfect.

84. Distillation (2009)

85. The premise is simple.

86. To distill is to separate
something into constituent parts

87. Steam Distillation.

88. Steam Distillation
Material is suspended above water
Water is boiled, forcing steam through material,
extracting oils
Steam is cooled back to liquid form via a condenser
Separated oil and water comes out

89. Ancient, with a simple premise.

90. Slow.

91. Repetitive.

92. Tactile.

93. Manual.

94. Perfect.

95. Clockwork and gears (2010)

97. The premise is basic.

98. All things clockwork
Have an energy source
Have a way to control the flow of energy
Use gears to adjust speed

99. When I was 17, I made a clock out of
paper.

100. It didn’t work.

101. Go, go go. Rush rush rush.

102. This time, it’s different.

103. I’ve learned a bit.

104. Slowness. Patience.

105. Repetition.

106. Apply the quietness.

108. Perfect!

109. How to make this
experience stick?

110. Do

111. Choose things that are interesting and
aesthetic (to you!).

112. Choose pastimes that allow you to create.

113. Seek out things that are tactile.

114. Engage in your repetitive activity during
discrete, scheduled times.

115. Accept (and enjoy!) that other parts of life
will still be go, go, go.

116. Embrace meaningful tedium.

117. Be patient and enjoy!

118. Me.
Lyza Danger Gardner
@lyzadanger
http://www.lyza.com

119. Image Credits
All photos are mine and were taken by me, except:
Slides 24, 41-44, 59, 61, 67, 90 by David Hoenig
Slides 14, 27 by my mom, Fran Gardner
Slides 17, 87 from Wikipedia (public domain)
Slide 18 by my mother-in-law, Cathy Hoenig
Slide 26 by my stepmother, Christie Mueller
Slide 16 was taken by a former coworker, but by
whom exactly, I do not know.