Alone and unwell in a basement apartment, she kept herself happy
Singer-songwriter Miist learned as a child to fill empty time on her own, a skill that carried her through a hard stretch of being sick and far from home until she caught herself reaching for her phone when bored.
Make Me Smile with Miist · Ep. 46: Let's Get BoredIn her 20s, the singer-songwriter Miist lived in a small basement apartment in a country that was new to her. She had few friends and her health was poor. That left her passing long stretches of days and nights by herself.
She did not feel lonely. She filled the time the way she always had, by dreaming up games in her head, building handmade projects, and later singing while she taught herself the ukulele.
She had been practicing that kind of self entertainment since she was 2 or 3 years old. As a toddler, she said, she was often left on her own for long stretches. For some of those years she watched way too much television, but that habit gave way to another one. She learned to daydream.
As she got a little older, she would wander out to the small garden by her family's apartment and spend hours discovering bugs and plants, lost in imagination. With no one else around to entertain her, she made a world out of what she found there.
That may be why the basement years did not break her. She says being able to occupy herself that way supported her mental health during a difficult period.
So she tells the next part with a little embarrassment. A few years ago, for the first time she could remember, she started feeling bored at times. When it happened, she fell back on the same reflex many people have now. She reached for a device and started tapping, swiping, and scrolling.
She gave it little thought until roughly a year and a half ago, when she caught herself automatically grabbing her phone without thinking. She started asking herself what drove the habit and what it was doing to her.
What she found unsettled her. She described modern life as always switched on and rarely left idle, and she worried that people were losing hold of their own thinking.
In the basement, with games to invent, things to make, and a ukulele to learn, she had known how to fill the time alone.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between being alone and being bored?
Boredom is the uncomfortable feeling of wanting stimulation but not finding anything satisfying. Solitude is simply being alone, which can feel neutral or pleasant. Miist says she spent many days and nights alone in her 20s without feeling lonely, because she filled the time with games, crafts, and music.
Does phone use actually make people feel more bored?
Yes. Psychologists distinguish between trait boredom and state boredom, and studies link frequent boredom to heavier phone and social media use. The relationship runs both ways: heavy scrolling can train the brain to expect constant novelty, which makes ordinary quiet moments feel more boring.
How can I practice being bored without feeling miserable?
Start small. Leave the phone in another room during meals, walks, or waiting times, and let your mind wander. If restlessness hits, try a low effort activity with your hands, like doodling, tidying, knitting, or humming, rather than reaching for a feed.