Gents Weekly: Embrace boredom
Issue #23: The manliest newsletter on the internet • June 22, 2026
Welcome to issue #23 of The Gents Weekly, a newsletter for the modern man.
Every Monday, you’ll receive a weekly roundup of inspiring ideas + products to help you become a better man.
Brought to you by the men of Gents Journey — Dean Bokhari, Stephen Seidel, and Matt McManus.
📝 THE MESSAGE
A timely piece from the gents.
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Be boring
by Dean Bokhari
I’ve noticed something interesting lately:
The moment we have a lull in our lives — the moment we feel the slightest tinge of boredom — most of us whip out our phones and start scrolling away.
You’re at dinner with your wife, she goes to the bathroom, and you pull out your phone to keep yourself busy so you don’t look awkward as you sit there by yourself.
You’ve got a few minutes to kill while you wait for your buddy to arrive for lunch, so you pull out your phone and catch up on emails.
You’re waiting in line at the grocery store, so you open your favorite social media app - and the doom scrolling begins.
I’ve done it.
You’ve done it.
We’ve all done it.
But when your smartphone is the only thing you revert to when you feel “bored” — you rob yourself of so many beautiful gifts:
The gift of having a nice conversation while you wait in line at the bank.
The gift of a beautiful woman as she passes by.
The gift of noticing your surroundings.
And most important of all: You rob yourself of the gift of an idea that could transform the trajectory of your entire life…
All because you were glued to your phone at every free moment you got.
I challenge you not to look at your phone the next time you’re waiting around feeling bored.
Embrace that boredom.
Make it useful.
Once you get over the withdrawals, you’ll notice that your brain starts teeming with new ideas.
Ideas you never would’ve gotten if you occupied your brain with all the bullshit behind that little screen in your pocket.
— Dean Bokhari
Co-founder, Gents Journey
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📰 THE MOMENT
Sh*t that’s happening now, ICYMI
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This Week’s AI Prompt: Boredom
The silence isn’t empty. It’s where everything you need lives:
OK so, You’re bored.
Your first instinct? Fill it. Phone. App. Scroll. Noise. Distraction.
But here’s what you don’t know: Boredom isn’t a problem. It’s a signal.
When the noise stops, something shifts. Your mind stops performing and starts listening. Creativity surfaces. Clarity arrives. And sometimes—if you’re quiet long enough—you find the thing you’ve been walking past for years.
Most guys never get there. They grab the phone before the silence can speak.
But the silence isn’t empty. That’s where connection lives. That’s where ideas come from. That’s where you find yourself.
This prompt helps you sit with boredom long enough to discover what it’s actually trying to tell you.
THE PROMPT:
Copy everything below and paste it into ChatGPT or Claude:
I want to understand what my boredom is trying to tell me. Help me sit with it long enough to find what's actually there instead of filling it with noise.
Help me:
1. Recognize boredom as a signal (What is it saying?)
- When do I feel bored? (Be specific—what's actually happening?)
- What do I usually do when boredom hits? (Be honest about your first instinct)
- What am I avoiding by filling the silence?
- What would happen if I didn't reach for my phone?
2. Identify what emerges when I stop filling the void
- When I sit with boredom instead of fighting it, what surfaces?
- What ideas, thoughts, or feelings come up?
- What have I been walking past for years that shows up in the quiet?
- What story or project or conversation have I been circling?
3. Understand the difference between empty and quiet
- Boredom feels empty. But what if it's actually full?
- What lives in the silence that I've been too busy to hear?
- What's the thing I've been afraid to think about that shows up when I'm not distracted?
- How is boredom connected to creativity, clarity, or purpose?
4. Build a practice of sitting with silence
- What's one time this week I can choose boredom instead of distraction?
- How long can I sit with it without reaching for my phone? (Start small—5 minutes is enough)
- What do I notice when I actually let the silence speak?
- What emerges that wouldn't have otherwise?
5. Turn boredom into discovery
- What's the real issue underneath my desire to fill the silence?
- What am I trying not to feel or think about?
- What would change if I let boredom teach me instead of fighting it?
- What's the one thing that shows up in the quiet that I need to pay attention to?
Here's when I feel bored: [Describe when it happens and what you usually do]
Here's what I'm probably avoiding: [Be honest]
Here's what I hope to find in the silence: [What are you looking for?]
Don't let me rationalize filling the void. Help me sit with it long enough to hear what it's saying.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The AI is going to help you reframe boredom from something to escape into something to listen to.
By the end, you’ll have:
A clear understanding of what your boredom is signaling
Awareness of what you’re avoiding by staying busy
A concrete practice for sitting with silence
Access to the ideas, clarity, and creativity that only show up in quiet
A plan to turn boredom into discovery instead of distraction
WHY THIS MATTERS
Boredom isn’t the absence of connection. It’s the doorway to it.
When you stop filling every moment with noise, your mind stops performing and starts listening. Creativity surfaces. Clarity arrives. The purpose you’ve been too busy to hear finally gets a chance to speak.
Most guys never get here because they’re too afraid of the silence. They reach for their phone. They fill the void before it can speak.
But what if you didn’t? What if you sat with it long enough to discover what’s actually there?
That’s where the real stuff lives.
Run this prompt. Sit with the silence. Discover what emerges.
Drop one thing you discover when you sit with boredom instead of filling it. Let’s see what shows up in the quiet.
— Matt McManus
Co-founder, Gents Journey
Boredom Is a Doorway
👊 THE MOVES
Media for men.
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What You’ve Been Walking Past
Watch I You Need to Be Bored, By Arthur Brooks
Boredom isn’t a problem; it’s a signal.
When we stop filling every moment with noise, something shifts. The mind stops performing and starts listening. Creativity surfaces. Clarity arrives. And sometimes — if we’re quiet long enough — we find the thing we’ve been walking past for years.
Most of us never get there.
We grab the phone. Open the app. Fill the silence before it can speak.
But the silence isn’t empty.
It’s where connection lives.
Lessons from My Daughter
My wife and my oldest were recently away on a trip, and my youngest lasted twenty minutes before the verdict: “Dad, I’m bored.”
My answer? “Good.”
No iPad. No screens. Just sit with it.
She was not thrilled.
Then something happened.
She built a fort.
Created a unicorn.
Made up games with rules that changed every five minutes.
Her boredom became a world.
I've seen the same thing happen with coaching clients. The moment the noise stops, the real stuff surfaces—the idea you've been circling, the story you've been afraid to tell, the purpose you've been too busy to hear.
Boredom isn’t the absence of connection.
It’s the doorway to it.
Here’s a question from our Journey Deck:
What’s one way you are of service to others?
Turn Boredom into Creation
Here’s my challenge for you:
Set a timer for 10 minutes.
No phone.
No music.
No podcast.
No distractions.
Just sit.
Keep a piece of paper nearby. If a thought comes up, write it down and return to being present.
When the timer ends, spend the next 10 minutes creating.
Write something.
Draw something.
Build something.
Call someone.
Start something.
It doesn’t matter what you create, but only that you create.
Boredom isn’t the destination, but the bridge to your journey.
From activity to stillness.
From stillness to awareness.
From awareness to creativity.
Try it this week and let us know what surfaced for you in the comments below.
— Stephen Seidel
Co-founder, Gents Journey
🔗 MEANINGFUL MENTIONS + MAGIC LINKS
Fun stuff you’ll dig about our theme of the week.
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NatGeo’s Brain Games Boredom Busters for your kids
💻 REAL MEN HAVE A COACH IN THEIR CORNER
Stop playing small, step into the man you know you are.
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We’re looking for ten men who want coaching and guidance to level up in life + work. If that’s you, fill out this form, and we’ll be in touch.
Until next week,
—The Gents
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